Upgrade!

[LivingwithBalls]

I have finished upgrading my 36x18x18 for my ball python! I did a foam background which turned out great considering its my first, I have a cypress mulch/repti bark substrate, 3 large pieces of unique wood I found outside(I baked them first) and some fake leaves. The tank has sliding glass doors, it's pretty nice and I got it for 35$. He is really enjoying the fake leaves, as he's never experienced them before. Lol he thinks he's a tree python... Anyways, the hot spot is at a perfect 90 f and is controlled by a rheostat. Now the only thing I am concerned about is the ambient temperature. I can't get it any higher than 65f. Any affordable suggestions ? Also, should I light the cage, or will that bother him? I will be posting pictures tomorrow!


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[Sauzo]

Is it a PVC cage? If so, best bet would be to get a RHP. Then you can ditch the UTH or at least I don't use UTH with a RHP and I don't think Mr Misha does either. Think a lot of others do though so its up to you. If its just a screen top cage, then probably a CHE. I use a CHE in my 36x18x12 glass tank for my BP but I also use a UTH since it is a glass tank. In my Pro-Line 48x23x14 I just use the RHP on a Herpstat.

Lighting is fine if you want but I wouldn't use some intense crazy bright lighting. Just something like leds or fluorescent tube. I have my BP glass tank close to my bearded dragons and BCI cage so she gets ambient lighting from them. In my BCI cage, the Pro-Line, I only use a 18" T8 4500k daylight tube. Its really up to you but as far needing light, no a BP doesn't need lighting in their cage, its more for the owner.

[LivingwithBalls]

Is it a PVC cage? If so, best bet would be to get a RHP. Then you can ditch the UTH or at least I don't use UTH with a RHP and I don't think Mr Misha does either. Think a lot of others do though so its up to you. If its just a screen top cage, then probably a CHE. I use a CHE in my 36x18x12 glass tank for my BP but I also use a UTH since it is a glass tank. In my Pro-Line 48x23x14 I just use the RHP on a Herpstat.

Lighting is fine if you want but I wouldn't use some intense crazy bright lighting. Just something like leds or fluorescent tube. I have my BP glass tank close to my bearded dragons and BCI cage so she gets ambient lighting from them. In my BCI cage, the Pro-Line, I only use a 18" T8 4500k daylight tube. Its really up to you but as far needing light, no a BP doesn't need lighting in their cage, its more for the owner.

No, it's not a pvc. It's a glass terrarium. Does the Che need to be on a thermostat?


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[LivingwithBalls]

Okay, so I finally got some pictures. They are not the best (cellphone pics) but you get the idea. the background, which I carved and painted myself
and the inside view. Let me know your thoughts!


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[Sauzo]

No, the CHE can be on lamp dimmer aka rheostat but you definitely want the UTH on a T-stat. Looks good but you are asking a minimalist person who keeps 2 hides, aspen and a water bowl for both my snakes. Not sure why there is a thumbs down on the heading in my post but I didn't put that there, just so you know.

[BrianDallek]

I wish people would do some research before putting so much time and effort into trying to make an aquarium work for a ball python. they are not worth the effort at all. They are ground dwellers and don't need the height, which is where your loosing heat. From the picture it looks like there is a screen top on your cage?? You will never keep ambient temps up with this. cover it. They also don't need the sticks or the foam wall...those are for your viewing pleasure. Honestly man it is gonna be hella hard to keep this setup clean. Oh and that circle temp or humidity reader in the pic...throw that crap right out the window cause you are not getting any where close to an accurate reading with it. You need a infrared laser http://smile.amazon.com/Etekcity-Inf...ity+dual+laser to read your hotspot and http://smile.amazon.com/AcuRite-0061...words=accurite to read humidity and ambient temp.

[KMG]

Pay no attention to the thumbs down. I must have fat fingered something.

It would be much easier if you kept your issues in one thread instead of spreading the information among a few. It makes for a lot of wasted time and questions on both ends.

You would have a very hard time trying to get a rhp to work in that tank.

You could save a lot of heat by covering the two open sides and much of the screen top.

I used foil covered cardboard to make a cover for my screen and used thick art paper to cover the sides. These two things gave me a good boost in my temps.

If your using just uth for both sides the fix could be as easy as adding a heat bulb or a che. I wouldn't worry about it killing the humidity and would just add some moss to the hides. My 40gal tank needed a 100w che and a 60w bulb to keep the temps right but I still had perfect sheds by doing nothing else than adding damp moss to the hides.

[LivingwithBalls]

I wish people would do some research before putting so much time and effort into trying to make an aquarium work for a ball python. they are not worth the effort at all. They are ground dwellers and don't need the height, which is where your loosing heat. From the picture it looks like there is a screen top on your cage?? You will never keep ambient temps up with this. cover it. They also don't need the sticks or the foam wall...those are for your viewing pleasure. Honestly man it is gonna be hella hard to keep this setup clean. Oh and that circle temp or humidity reader in the pic...throw that crap right out the window cause you are not getting any where close to an accurate reading with it. You need a infrared laser http://smile.amazon.com/Etekcity-Inf...ity+dual+laser to read your hotspot and http://smile.amazon.com/AcuRite-0061...words=accurite to read humidity and ambient temp.

I did plenty of research, actually. He actually quite enjoys the extra hight and goes climbing frequently. It's only 18" tall. It is a screen top, covered with a towel. The sticks and foam wall are certainly for my viewing pleasure, I enjoy making pretty display tanks. But to my surprise as well, he does use the sticks and the wall for climbing. Not sure what's so hard about keeping it clean... Having experience with frogs, I also have experience with humidity levels. I use the "crap" hygrometer for a general idea, but a digital one is just as bad . Water gets up the probe and then you are still getting an inaccurate reading. I do have a temp gun, I believe it's mastercraft brand. I also have the zoomed digital thermometer with probe. Everything is under control here. One of my hobbies is making nice display cages, so I didn't mind the extra hassle to get it set up and actually enjoyed it.


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[LivingwithBalls]

Pay no attention to the thumbs down. I must have fat fingered something.

It would be much easier if you kept your issues in one thread instead of spreading the information among a few. It makes for a lot of wasted time and questions on both ends.

You would have a very hard time trying to get a rhp to work in that tank.

You could save a lot of heat by covering the two open sides and much of the screen top.

I used foil covered cardboard to make a cover for my screen and used thick art paper to cover the sides. These two things gave me a good boost in my temps.

If your using just uth for both sides the fix could be as easy as adding a heat bulb or a che. I wouldn't worry about it killing the humidity and would just add some moss to the hides. My 40gal tank needed a 100w che and a 60w bulb to keep the temps right but I still had perfect sheds by doing nothing else than adding damp moss to the hides.

Maybe I will go with the Che then. I've never had humidity problems with any of my reptiles, and owning frogs I know all the tricks to keep it up! The top is covered, but unfortunately it's not enough


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[LivingwithBalls]

Oh and sorry for making another post.


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