Tank setup and help new owner

[Damondpeppers]

I have a few questions, I am I new snake owner became a snake owner 4 months ago and my snake only 5 months old now had him since he was a month old I changed tanks when he was 3 months cause he was half way out his old tank and my girl freaked out so I now have a 20 gallon critter cage with the slide lid so there's no way he getting out that,he seem to love it the tank but i have it a simple set up nothing crazy he has a log hide and has two tree branch one branch he uses it has a hide anything I can should change or add to it it's hard to keep the humidity up it's starting to stay around 35% and my cool side is 78.6f and hot side is 95.7f with the red bulb and also with the heat pad on the side of the glass I don't think the heat pad help much but at night the cool side drops to 74 to 75 during the day he always around 76 or 78 r


1.0 normal Bp #jr

[dr del]

We have a sticky you might find of use.

[PitOnTheProwl]

The UTH doesnt do much for ambient temps but if you put it u der the tank you will want to regulate it with a thermostat.
Check out the care sheet on this site.

[Damondpeppers]

The UTH doesnt do much for ambient temps but if you put it u der the tank you will want to regulate it with a thermostat.
Check out the care sheet on this site.

Can I add the thermostat to the uth brand all living things and if so should o leave it on the side of the tank or move it to the bottom


1.0 normal Bp #jr

[KMG]

Any uth should hook up to a tstat. They are a must for uth. Using them without is very risky. I would not move the uth to the bottom until you get a tstat. When you do remove it do it slow and easy. Bending the uth to much will cause the element inside bend and break causing the uth to malfunction. Once its removed you can put foil on the sticky part and then tape the uth to the bottom of the tank. Doing this will allow you to remove the uth whenever needed in the future.

As for you current tank I would cover the majority of the screen with something. I use foil wrapped cardboard. This will help hold heat and humidity.

Also the branch and branch that you are using as a hide is not a very good option. Also the half log is better than the branch but still not the best for a snake. Ideally you want a hide that has one small door that is snug to the snake. The log is offering some security but the branch is not offering anything.

Placing the log against the back wall is good and you could make it even better by adding moss to the front to create a door of sorts. Moss is also good to make a hide that is to large feel smaller and more secure to a snake.

These are great hides because they are sturdy, cheap, and easy to clean.
http://www.reptilebasics.com/hide-boxes

[thejennabird]

Really, seriously you should follow that tutorial Dr Del linked to as closely as possible.
Covering the top of your tank with tin foil will help with the humidity.
Yes, a thermostat will work with your UTH.
Get your thermostat first (I recommend this one as a cheap, reliable option). THEN move your UTH to the bottom, where it will be more effective.
Get two tight-fitting, fully enclosed hides (such as these)... one log isn't really that great.

[Damondpeppers]

He uses the log he goes on top of it and lay there and rap around it I was gonna change the hide but I see that he on it a lot when he leaves out his log in looking to order a thermostat tmr I was looking at a Vivarium Electronics VE-100 Thermostat or the ve-200 is the ve-100 good enough or should I go with the little more price one and just get the ve 200 I was gonna put tin foil over it today but saw o didn't have any so Imma get some tmr also now should o just use foil alone or use I puts a thin peace of cardboard and put the foil over that so I can make a tight fit on the top screen


1.0 normal Bp #jr

[Damondpeppers]

the last pic is when he was little younger now he to fat to lay across it like that but he uses it so should I still take it out then and replace it with a better hide or leave it since he seem happy with it


1.0 normal Bp #jr

[Damondpeppers]

If I was to order the hides which size should I got with both small or get a small and medium my snake is 5 months old going to be 6months the end of November and he weigh 275 grams on October 20 so he gonna be getting weighed again right before he eat I keep track of he eating and shedding and weight with a app that I have


1.0 normal Bp #jr

[KMG]

It is very possible that your ball was laying out like that because it wanted more heat from the lamp. Providing a regulated uth will keep your snake from needing to do that. An IR temp gun could help you figure out what your surface temps are.

I wrapped the foil around cardboard to make it rigid and give it insulation. Just cut a window big enough that your lamp does not touch it and has a gap on about an inch, at least.

I personally like using lamp stands to suspend my lamps over the tanks instead of having the fixtures rest on the screen. This protects the screen from getting hot and protects me from having to move a hot lamp around. This can me dangerous as it can melt materials it touches. Also moving the lamp around and banging it around shortens the life of the bulbs. The big box pet stores have these for about $20.

As for the hides I believe each size has suggestions for the snake size it should handle. You should have at least one hide on each side.

As for the tstat I like to suggest getting the best one you can afford. Many times one snake turns into many snakes very fast. Having the tstat that can handle more than you need is great if you can afford it.