# Ball Pythons > BP Husbandry >  Can I strictly use heat pads to heat my cage?

## Silarous

I just got my first Ball Python last week and I am trying to get down the heating solution.  Right now I am using a heat lamp and two 12x8 heating pads to heat the tank.  I have a 30x12x12 glass tank with a screen top.  I have plastic wrap covering 70% of the screen to hold in the humidity and have a towel on top of that to help hold in the heat.  The remaining 30% is where the heat lamp is sitting.  I have a heat pad on the bottom of the tank at each end and am using dimmers to regulate the temperature.  I have the temperature probes under the terrarium carpet liner against the bottom glass and the hot side is reading 97F and the cool side is 83F.  The snake is spending 70% of his time in the hide on the hot side and the other 30% on the branch above the hot side hide directly below the heat lamp.  My ambient temps are between 75-80F.  

What I would like to do is eliminate the heat lamp if possible.  I'm afraid if I do so I won't be able to maintain the proper ambient temperatures.  Is what I have sufficient enough to go without the lamp?  I have yet to see him venture to the cool side of the tank.  What does everyone use to heat their glass tanks?  Thanks!

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## mercerasian

That is way too hot on the hot side. It should be around 90 and the cold side should be 80s. You should look into getting a thermostat, even if it is just a cheap Hydrofarm thermometer. You can't always be there to maintain the proper temps so you should invest in a thermometer to keep it regulated for you. 

I personally use a heat lamp and heat pad on the hot side. I have a hydrofarm thermometer regulating the heat pad to 90 degrees (with the probe between the heat pad and the glass of the tank) and I have the heat lamp on a dimmer. It keeps the hot side ambient at around 88-90 degrees on the hot side and 80-83 on the cold side. The room my tank is in is kept at around 75-80 degrees. The tank lid is covered in aluminum foil with a circle cut out the same size as my heat lamp to trap as much humidity in as possible. I maintain a steady 50-60% humidity with just misting a few times a day and it easily can be up'd to about 70% when my snake goes into shed.

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## TheSnakeGuy

FIRST: The MAX high temp for your hot spot should be no higher than 95 degrees. Your terrarium is too hot. 88-92 is generally recommended. 

You can use belly heat only, but you would have a hard time keeping up ambient air temps with a screen lid. I use heat lamps the same as you, but I'm researching on building myself a lucylid. I will include links to the pages where it's shown. It's "almost" a completely sealed glass box that holds heat and humidity well. Also you can use bigger UTHs because the side of the tank is a bigger surface area than the bottom, and the heat has less room to travel up away from your snake. Do some more homework and reduce your temperature, but stick with your lamps for now.

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/show...mageuser=15408

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...arium-Solution

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## Silarous

Thanks for the suggestions.  I know the hot side is a bit hot but I figured the temp was a bit cooler on the top of the terrarium carpet since the probe is underneath.  Is there a thermostat that I can use to automatically regulate both of the heat pads that I have?  That way I can set one to the 88-92 and the other to 80-83?  If I completely covered the top of the tank to help insulate it, could I remove the heat lamp all together?  I just want to try and hold in as much humidity as possible without under heating the tank.

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## The Serpent Merchant

> Thanks for the suggestions.  I know the hot side is a bit hot but I figured the temp was a bit cooler on the top of the terrarium carpet since the probe is underneath.  Is there a thermostat that I can use to automatically regulate both of the heat pads that I have?  That way I can set one to the 88-92 and the other to 80-83?  If I completely covered the top of the tank to help insulate it, could I remove the heat lamp all together?  I just want to try and hold in as much humidity as possible without under heating the tank.


The herpstat 2 can run 2 separate heat sources. Otherwise you will need 2 individual thermostats:

http://spyderrobotics.com/home/products.html

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## LLLReptile

I'll disagree somewhat and say 97 is alright as long as your cool side is cool.  97 will not burn your snake - I am sure you can put your hand in the hot side and touch the warmest part of the cage and leave it there for a few minutes without burning your hand.  As long as the cool side is below 80, and the snake is actively seeking out the warm side, that sounds like you have things about right.  Ball pythons don't NEED a 97 degree hot spot, and that does dry out the air, but if you're able to make it work...well, what works, works.  However, there is the issue of the probe being closer to the heat pad than the snake can actually get, which makes the high temp inaccurate for what the snake can really experience.  

Why not move the probe to above the carpet and see what the snake is actually living at?  Seems a little unnecessarily to me to know the temperature of an area the snake isn't actually touching, y'know?   :Smile:   Might as well see what temps are where the snake is at, if that's at all possible.  

Since your hot side IS so warm, though, you'll probably be just fine to use nothing but heat pad(s) to heat the cage.  Plug it in to a thermostat and you should be golden! 

-Jen

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## shogun

I'm surprised at how many people actually use glass aquariums/terrariums. 
I have always found them to be terrible at both keeping humidity and ambient heat at optimal levels.

When I first started keeping ball pythons, before I bought my first rack, I used plastic sweater boxes with some holes drilled a thermostat and heat pads.
They work really good, and are cheap to set up. You just need to make sure the lids snap tight.

You could try this, or save yourself a few headaches and pick up a cheap rack.   :Smile:

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## Silarous

> I'll disagree somewhat and say 97 is alright as long as your cool side is cool.  97 will not burn your snake - I am sure you can put your hand in the hot side and touch the warmest part of the cage and leave it there for a few minutes without burning your hand.  As long as the cool side is below 80, and the snake is actively seeking out the warm side, that sounds like you have things about right.  Ball pythons don't NEED a 97 degree hot spot, and that does dry out the air, but if you're able to make it work...well, what works, works.  However, there is the issue of the probe being closer to the heat pad than the snake can actually get, which makes the high temp inaccurate for what the snake can really experience.  
> 
> Why not move the probe to above the carpet and see what the snake is actually living at?  Seems a little unnecessarily to me to know the temperature of an area the snake isn't actually touching, y'know?    Might as well see what temps are where the snake is at, if that's at all possible.  
> 
> Since your hot side IS so warm, though, you'll probably be just fine to use nothing but heat pad(s) to heat the cage.  Plug it in to a thermostat and you should be golden! 
> 
> -Jen


I put the probe under the carpet because I didn't want him to get tangled on the wire running to it or to move the probe around.  I figured the carpet is only maybe a 1/8th of a inch thick, temps shouldn't be but a couple degrees difference I wouldn't think.  I went ahead and ordered the Herpstat 2 so I can properly regulate the two areas to the temperatures I want.  Do any of you strictly use UTH's to heat your tanks?

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