Heating questions! Hot side vs cool side!

[greengirl238]

Hello everyone!

My boyfriend and I got a ball python last night, and what a sweetie. This is my 2nd snake (I had a red-tail boa when I was a child) and my boyfriend's first snake. I just had a few questions which I wasn't sure of.

Right now, for heating, I have a heat lamp (black light) on one side (for the cooler side which stays around 77-80°) and a basking light on the other. The basking light is proving to be too hot (nearly 100° so I immediately turned it off). This is my first ball python, and my first snake which I am caring for on my own. For the warmer side of the terrarium I am aware it needs to be around 90°. Does anyone have any recommendations as how to keep it around 90°? Would getting a small UTH for the warmer side work better (since I know they require belly heat)?

Any help would be much appreciated!

[Homegrownscales]

Yes a uth and a thermostat would be much easier than messing around with a light. Ambients are hard to keep in a tank especially bigger ones so it may be useful to you to get a smaller wattage light. Be aware lamps do suck your humidity.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

[RestlessRobie]

Yes UTH and a T-Stat are a must I also use a Ceramic Heat Emitter CHE on a dimmer to keep my ambient temps up

[The Serpent Merchant]

Ball pythons need the cool side to be 78-82 degrees and the hot side needs to be 88-92 degrees.

I would replace both lamps (the bulbs that is) to these:http://m.petsmart.com/mt/www.petsmar...3&lmdn=Reptile

The cool side should be a 50 watt and the hot side a 75 watt. Both lamps should be on lamp dimmers so you can adjust the amount of heat they put out.

UTH's are great but require a thermostat and they do not effect the ambient temperature.

What are you using to measure your temperatures and humidity?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

The key is regardless of the heating device you MUST use a thermostat to regulate the temperature and avoid overheating.

[greengirl238]

Yes a uth and a thermostat would be much easier than messing around with a light. Ambients are hard to keep in a tank especially bigger ones so it may be useful to you to get a smaller wattage light. Be aware lamps do suck your humidity.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

Okay so a smaller UTH (& thermostat) for the warmer side. Would you recommend another smaller UTH for the cooler side as well? The light seems to be working really well and keeping it at the right temp (around 80°). I'm looking to spend as little money as possible at this point as I've already spent nearly $300 on everything thus far I'm not too concerned with humidity as our room stays pretty humid and the the hygrometer hasn't dropped below 50-55%, so if I could stick with the light that'd be great. However if it's really recommended that I do something differently I want to make sure my BP has a good home! I've just read 1000000 different things but not one has given it to me straight about how to keep his terrarium the right temp.

[k8nkane]

They don't "require" belly heat. They never had it in the wild and survived just fine. That being said, most people prefer UTHs.

Either way, you need some form of temperature control for the lamp or the UTH; that's why the bulb got too hot.

I have a CHE on a dimmer + a space heater for ambient temps. CHE's give off only heat, no light, which will cut out your need for a basking light. You just need one side of the tank to be warmer than the other; hot side between 88-92 degrees and the cool side about 10 degrees lower.

If you go with a UTH, make sure you have that controlled as well on some sort of dimmer, whether a cheapo rheostat or a top of the line Herpstat. This will prevent the UTH from getting too hot and burning the belly of your snake.

What are you using to read temps/humidity?

[k8nkane]

No UTH on the cool side. It defeats the purpose of having a "cool side" if the UTH is there warming it up.

What are the ambient temps in your room?

I keep the cool side temps where they need to be just by using a space heater (also temp controlled) to heat up the room warmer than it normally would be.

[greengirl238]

Ball pythons need the cool side to be 78-82 degrees and the hot side needs to be 88-92 degrees.

I would replace both lamps (the bulbs that is) to these:http://m.petsmart.com/mt/www.petsmar...3&lmdn=Reptile

The cool side should be a 50 watt and the hot side a 75 watt. Both lamps should be on lamp dimmers so you can adjust the amount of heat they put out.

UTH's are great but require a thermostat and they do not effect the ambient temperature.

What are you using to measure your temperatures and humidity?

I have 2 Thermometers and a hygrometer. One Hygrometer and thermometer are on the cooler side, and the other thermometer is on the warm side.

For the bulbs, how do I get the dimmers? Would it be cheaper than at UTH and thermostat?

[k8nkane]

Are they dial thermometers/hygrometers, or digital? Digital will be a lot more accurate than the dials you get in a pet store will ever be.

In the hardware section at Walmart, they sell an Accurite digital thermometer and combination hygrometer. It measures two temperatures (one with a probe) so you can stick the thermometer on one side to measure those temps and the probe on the other side to keep track of that side. It also measures the humidity. It's only about 13 bucks.