Best way to maintain proper temps/humidity in an aquarium/Cats

[Metaphor]

After some debate I just adopted a craigslist ball python who came with his setup. He's a 3 year old(4 in January) stunted male; he's very small (I'll be able to post his weight and length soon but I'm currently leaving him alone as much as possible and hoping I can get some weight on him). I'm having a great deal of trouble getting the basking and ambient temps right as well as the humidity. We just got him and he's currently in his 20 gallon long with an UTH(8 watts), a 75 watt zoomed night bulb, cypress substrate, a large water bowl, a great deal of fake plants, and a couple pieces of wood(grapevine?). He didn't come with any hides but I did find an appropriately sized box for him until we can purchase a couple of hides for both sides of the tank tomorrow. He's currently on the cooler side of the tank and I just added the little box to try and coax him over to the warmer side.

I know aquariums are notorious for having temp/humidity issues but I never had any issues back when I had snakes. I even plugged both heating devices into our wattage meter to see if they were working. Our house temps range from 68-72 and I'm only getting high 70s-low 80s on the hot side. The humidity is 40-45%. Would a ceramic heater be the best way to go? I know they can be drying but I'm hoping switching to a coconut substrate, misting, and covering part of the screen top could help get the humidity up. Is there a better option? I should note that we also have cats and we're currently keeping the ball in a spare room for fear of the cats knocking his heat lamp("75 watt fire ball" - my boyfriend) off. Since this is our only snake we'd love to have him in our living room and in a more "naturalistic" setup. I've seen devices that hold the lamps in place above enclosures; has anyone used these or made a DIY version of them? I want to create the safest(for the snake, our cats, our home) and least expensive heating method here; any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

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Just a note: the previous owners had a rheostat/thermostat of some sort and are currently trying to locate it. If they don't, we'll be purchasing one. Also, my five cats have shown little interest in him; we're just paranoid about the possibility of them knocking the heat lamp off

[barbie.dragon]

My room averages a little cooler than your house. I keep the tank wrapped up in a blanket I don't use and cover the top with a damp towel. Does wonders. I have a black light lamp at 75 watts and a uth. On the hot side you need it to be 86-90 (depending on your snakes preference) at the "basking" spot. So the hot spot should be hot not the ambient temperature.

[Metaphor]

I'm glad you've had success with a damp towel over part of the tank as that's what I was going to try next. We did partially wrap the tank in an insulating material and that's how I got the temp on the warm side up from 71 to the low 80s. He's survived for over 3 years in these conditions but I'm striving for around 80 on the cool side and 90 on the warm side. He had an RI in the past and I'd really hate for that to occur again as we live in the middle of nowhere and I haven't even managed to find a cat vet whom I like. I'm willing to travel to treat any issues that come up but hoping to avoid them.

[gruneaugen86]

This will help with humidity: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ght=tank+setup

Also, I use coconut husk as a substrate, it definitely helps with humidity issues. I'm not much help when it comes to ambient temps in a tank, though. I just kept the room temp up to 80 deg when I used a tank (I recently switched to a PVC cage and now use a radiant heat panel to keep the ambient temp up). Thermostat is definitely a must - I highly recommended a Herpstat if you can afford it. Seriously the best investment I've made for my BP.

Edited to add: Check this out too http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ght=tank+setup

[BHReptiles]

I'm not going to address humidity because the others have done a great job of that.

I had a cat who would knock over the heat lamps on my corn cages. I used to just sit them on top of the screen top. However, one day when I was asleep, she went into the other room and knocked off the lamp (I had a timer on them, so they come on at 7 in the morning and go off at 7 at night). The lamp had landed perfectly and burned a whole straight through my carpet. If I had not smelt the burning carpet, I am convinced my apartment would have caught on fire. After that incident, I started buying clamps to clamp the lamp to something sturdy so it couldn't be knocked off.

[eatgoodfood]

Where are you measuring your temperatures and with what. You should measure the surface temperature of the glass on the hot side, as the snake can burrow and come in contact with it, it might be warmer than you think. As someone else stated you need to get a thermostat to control the UTH. I would also suggest covering part of the lit with plexiglass to keep heat and humidity in. You can also keep the water bowl on the hot side to try to get the humidity up. I would say your first concern should be to get the temperatures correct then work on the humidity.

[dav4]

You can insulate the sides and top of your tank with sheets of styrofoam. It really improves heat retention within the tank when your room cools down.

Cats can be problematic with heat sources and cool houses. They always search out for those warm spots to take naps. One of my cats recently collapsed the screen top on my blue tongued skink's cage which was heated with a CHE...luckily everyone but the screen top survived unscathed. The skink is in a custom melamine cage now.

[Annarose15]

One trick I've learned to keep a cat off the top of a tank is to place rolls of inside-out packing tape on top of the cage (sticky side out). Cats absolutely hate it when it sticks to their fur. I placed pieces on the lid and on the table around the tank, and my cat hasn't jumped up there since (removed the ones on the table after two weeks, but still keep the ones on the tank). Note: The tape can pull the finish off if the table/stand is wood. However, I agree with others that you still need a clamp for the lamp as a fire safety precaution.

When you cover part of the lid, whether it is with a towel, plexi, whatever, make sure there is an open gap on each end to allow air exchange. You don't want to trade low humidity for a stagnant petri dish. And DEFINITELY make sure you have a thermostat on the UTH and are measuring the surface temp of the glass above it to know your true hot spot. It might be much hotter than you think, which is why he won't go in that hide.

[VooDooDoc]

One trick I've learned to keep a cat off the top of a tank is to place rolls of inside-out packing tape on top of the cage (sticky side out). Cats absolutely hate it when it sticks to their fur.

I was once told to use aluminum foil that cats hate the way it feels on their feet. I used to have a problem with my wife's stupid cat eating my plants and getting sick. I covered the plant stand with foil and the cat hasn't touched them since.

As to the OP, make sure the UTH is on a thermostat or rheostat, they can get hot enough to kill unregulated. I would first worry about getting the proper temps and then worry about humidity. If you are looking for a cheap thermostat, here is a good choice: http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR.../dp/B000NZZG3S many folks on here will tell you to stick with the expensive ones, and I'm sure you get what you pay for, but the hydrofarm works perfectly fine for me.

[jedidiah578]

a cheap alternative to plexiglass on the lid is window film like you put on windows in the winter. I use this method & it really helps hold in humidity & heat. But any heat lamp you use is going to dry out the air. I made a home made humidifier for my glass enclosure that continuously adds humidity to the enclosure. You just need to use an air pump for an aquarium run the air line with bubble stone on end into a sealed container with water then another line exiting the container and into the snake enclosure. I heard a sponge at the top of the container helps it work better. if my photo link works thats a drawing of how i did it. http://s1303.beta.photobucket.com/us...tml?sort=3&o=0