How can I raise the ambient temperature?

[ceca2015]

1. How long have you had your ball python?

3 weeks.

2. How old (or how big) is your snake?

21", 102g

3. Does it eat on a regular schedule?

yes

4. How long since its last meal?

today

5. What type/size prey is being offered?

small mice (7-12 g)

6. How often do you offer food?

every 4-5 days

7. What type and size of enclosure does it live in?

10 gallon aquarium. mesh top is covered with tin foil and tape and has 3 ventilation holes. one is 6" x 6", another is 4" x 3", and the last is 3" x 5", but is always covered with a wet wash cloth.

8. What are you using as substrate? If it has depth, how deep is it?

paper towel; three sheets deep.

9. What type of heating do you use?

UTH and occasionally a heat lamp (which only raises the temps by 5 degrees and sucks the humidity.

10. Do you use a thermostat to control temperatures?

no

11. What do you use to measure/monitor temperatures?

thermometer on side of tank near the bottom connected to a humidity gauge (2 in 1) and a probe thermometer sitting on the heating pad to monitor its temps.

12. What are the surface and ambient temperatures in the enclosure?

basking area: 90 ish. ambient: 70.

13. What is the average humidity level?

55-60%

14. How many and what type of hides does the snake have?

2 hollowed logs.

15. Is water readily available at all times?

yes

16. Does the snake live alone or does it share the enclosure with anything else?

alone

17. How often and for how long is the snake typically handled?

every day other than the 2 days after she eats and for about 30 minutes to an hour.

18. Does the snake have any medical history (old injuries or illnesses)?

malnourished. not really a health condition.

19. Do you have any other reptiles? Have you brought in any new reptiles recently?

no

20. Is there anything specific or unique about your situation that we should be aware of?

if you need to ask anything, i will answer.

[ewaldrep]

ambient temps and humidity are difficult, to say the least, in a glass enclosure. I struggled with it until I got a plastic tub and suspended a CHE above it to boost ambient temps where I wanted them.

First things first though, you definitely need a thermostat for your UTH. Most UTHs can reach temps that are way too hot for your baby bp and can cause serious injury or death. I used dimmer switches until I could afford a thermostat so that may be an option if you are tight on cash.

Next, hollow logs are not considered good hides for bps because the back is open and contribute to stress. The small hides from reptile basics would probably work great for that size.

Hopefully others will chime in with more helpful tips. Good luck.

[KMG]

An ambient of 70 is way to cold. It needs to be above 78. You can insulate the sides of the cage with cardboard, foam, etc. It sounds like the heat lamp needs to stay on.

Not having a tstat is very dangerous. Your uth needs to be regulated.

[BPro927]

An aquarium for enclosure is (in my opinion) the worse possible choice.

Animal plastics!!! I have a t-8 divided. A herpstats 2. Radiant panels and flexwax uth.

A screen/mesh top is almost impossible to have good air temps and correct humidity.

I'm not thrashing you, just a suggestion on a way to help.

Good luck! :-)

[martin82531]

An aquarium for enclosure is (in my opinion) the worse possible choice.

Animal plastics!!! I have a t-8 divided. A herpstats 2. Radiant panels and flexwax uth.

A screen/mesh top is almost impossible to have good air temps and correct humidity.

I'm not thrashing you, just a suggestion on a way to help.

Good luck! :-)

I have both a T8 and a terrarium and have no problems keeping humidity and temps in both.


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[KMG]

Yall need to slow down. Let's work on getting a tstat first.

I have a ball in a glass tank and have no problem creating the proper environment. The only issue I had was humidity but humid hides solved that. Glass is not ideal but still very manageable.

[norwegn113]

I have kept several glass cageswith good results here is what I do. I use a foil faced insulation with air holes cut in it to cover the screen, then I use a uth on a thermostate under the hot hide. I use a infrared (red ) bulb on a dimming device so I can fine tune the ambiant temps. The red bulb stays on 24/7 and I have found that placing the bulb directly over the water dish keeps my humidity at a constant 50-60% hope this may help you.

[Rob]

Glass tanks suck for keeping bps. End of story. Can you get the right conditions? Yes, but theres a common theme with everyone that does. You basically have to MacGyver the thing. "Just get some tin foil, a wet cloth, mist every hour" so on and so on. If people want to keep up with that and have what looks like a lab experiment in your house that's cool. But I would suggest getting a tub or rack or pvc enclosure and make your life easy.
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[norwegn113]

Glass tanks suck for keeping bps. End of story. Can you get the right conditions? Yes, but theres a common theme with everyone that does. You basically have to MacGyver the thing. "Just get some tin foil, a wet cloth, mist every hour" so on and so on. If people want to keep up with that and have what looks like a lab experiment in your house that's cool. But I would suggest getting a tub or rack or pvc enclosure and make your life easy.
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Wow a little harsh there rob. Tubs and racks do not make good display habitats as most are non see through and pvc enclosures can get a little expensive.

[Rob]

Wow a little harsh there rob. Tubs and racks do not make good display habitats as most are non see through and pvc enclosures can get a little expensive.

Not harsh, just true. I have keeped glass tanks and they are just a pain to keep up. And once you have towels and what not all over them they arnt great to look at. If your going to make an investment on a nice bp, I don't see a problem dishing out a little extra on a nice place to put them that's easy to maintain.

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