Is a 100 watt bulb too much for a 10 gallon tank?

So I just went out yesterday and bought my first snake (I BP). I love him already and want to make sure I do everything right. The guy at the store said he was less than a year old, and set me up w/ a 10 gallon tank, water bowl, a hide, some aspen, as well as a digital thermostat, a lamp, and a 40 watt bulb.

I set it all up yesterday, but the temp never even got to 75 degrees. I went to a different store today and bought a 100watt day bulb (the same exact kind that I had just stronger/a daylight blue) and a red 75watt bulb for the night. When I came home I read online that a 100watt bulb would cook anything in a ten gallon tank and got nervous so I raised the bulb a few inches off of the top of the screen. The temp got to about 79. I just switched to the night bulb (75) and the temp is now a 80.4 degrees. Since I switched to the stronger bulbs he's been sitting on top of the hide (about six inches under the bulb). I would think he'd move if it was too hot but I'm not sure. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post... I'm obviously new to this.

p.s.
I think he's starting to shed, his skin looks very wrinkly and his eyes look cloudly from certain angles.

i use the same wat for one of my females its get about 86-90 in her hotspot and if its to hot she gose by her water dish

Thanks for the quick reply, is that in a 10 gallon tank?
I was told that 80-90degrees is ideal, and that's just not going to happen with with a 40 watt. I def. don't want to burn it or dry it out, by using 100watt all day and 75 at night.

Hi,


I don't see an under tank heater or thermostat on your list but they would probably solve a lot of your problems - oh and you should really get a second hide the same as the first for the other side.

We recomend small ,dark, tight hides for them to help them feel really secure.:)

Here is a link to a sticky we have on setting up a glass tank.

Oh and make sure the lid is secure - these things are amazing escape artists.:D

**edit**
Whoops forgot to give you a link to our caresheet - it should help with some of your questions too hopefully.

And I also forgot to say :welcome: to the site!:D :rockon:

**end edit**



dr del

Thanks dr del,

I do have a thermostat, If you have any reccomendations on what type of under tank heater I should buy please share. The tank is only 10 gallons, so the hide I do have and the water bowl take up almost the entire tank, but I'm going to try to squeeze a smaller hide in onthe opposite side of the water.


lol...The care sheet is actually how I found this site, and what made me decide to join, sounds like you guys know your stuff.

I understand the whole "hard to setup" thing with a 10gal... I have my yearling corn in one and barely have enough room for the stuff.

My suggestion on UTH would be ZooMed 10-20 gal heat mat. Also a suggestion on hides: get two identical ones, just small so they both fit. My corn has two "Den and Dine" stump hides and he just loves them. And they both fit quite well in the tank with room to spare for his water dish and climbing "tree".

Also remember that the water bowl doesn't have to be really big...especially in a small tank.

Good luck :)

Thanks Argentra,

Is the UTH typically left on 24/7, just during the day, or just to make sure temp stays up as neccesary?

i use a 100 watt + the foil on the tank with the black ducktape but i gotta 2 y/o female with a 39 gallon tank

Alright, so I bought a UTH for a 10-20 gallon tank.

My next question is if anyone here has used these on the side of the tank. My original purpose for buying it was to generate some heat from the bottom up, but I have nothing to put my tank on except my wooden dresser next to my bed. The instructions say that you can place it on the side, but I want your opinions. I'd really prefer to put it underneath, I just can't find anything to put between the tank and my wooden dresser to prop it up.

Most UTH's you buy come with little rubber feet that you put on the corners of the tank to hold it up. If not, you can find them in a variety of different sizes at any hardware store, and probably in the hardware section of most stores that have hardware sections.


Even with the little nubs under the tank, when I had a glass tank/UTH combo on top of a nice piece of wooden furniture, I just placed a sheet over the top of the furniture to protect the wood from any potential scratches or heat damage. Worked perfectly and easily.

My current setup is a tub with flexwatt strips under it. The clamped ends of the flexwatt are kinda bulky, so I need to raise the tub up a little higher than those rubber feet might do.....I just got some of my kids' giant lego blocks and taped one in each corner of the tub to create feet. It's ok to be creative sometimes. ;)