Overhead lights running 24/7 questions

[AnnaK231]

I've got a ball python that can't be on a UTH for a couple of weeks (hopefully less). To keep his tank warm I've got two 75watt infrared bulbs running in a double dome. I switched to two infrareds from a daylight basking & infrared because he can get his day/night cycle from the window (and I've read they don't need day/night cycles) The tank is a 55gallon glass with screen top and foil on 90% of it. The dome is on one side of the tank and I've achieved a decent hot spot/cool side. I have one light that runs 24/7 and the other is on a timer that switches it on and off every 30min-1 hour.
Edit: at night only one is on and his hotspot is about 86
and the cool side is about 80-82...does that need to change?


My questions are
1: Would putting a thermostat (dimming or normal) be better than the timer? Would it just be eliminating the frequent temp monitoring?
2: Would a rheostat (from my understanding acts as a light dimmer) be better?
3: Should I just get a lower wattage bulb? Or a combination of smaller bulb and one of the above?
4: Would the switching on and off of one light bother the snake?

[anicatgirl]

Anyone? I can't comment usefully, but I would also like to know the answer

[Sauzo]

Your set up is fine but I would personally use CHEs as they last longer than bulbs but otherwise it seems fine. To answer the questions though....

1: A t-stat would work fine on a bulb but you would want a dimming t-stat. Herpstat or Vivarium Electronics offer them(the VE one is the dimming model). A proportional one can cause the light to strobe really fast and for a CHE, you want a dimming as well. I wouldn't bother with a t-stat though for a light bulb. I would just use a T-stat for a RHP or UTH.
2: I would use a rheostat aka lamp dimmer. I use them on all my CHEs. You got to check on them daily but once you get them dialed in, they usually only fluctuate a few degrees depending on how much the rooms temp fluctuates.
3 I always go with a higher wattage since you will be using a lamp dimmer anyways so its better to have more if you need it than not enough if you need more.
4: Are you talking about an infrared bulb? If so the snake wont see the red light anyways so it wont matter except for the change in temps. Why are you turning one off? You don't need to do a night drop on them. I would just either run one big CHE on a lamp dimmer or if you need to run two bulbs to say heat the whole tank, just run one on one side with a lamp dimmer and one on the other side with a lamp dimmer and adjust each as needed to reach your hot side ambient temp and your cool side ambient temp.

And just to give you an example, for my beardies 55 gallon cage, I run a 100 watt heat lamp, 60 watt CHE, T5 Reptisun 10.0 UVB tube and a T5 4k daylight tube in the cage and I get around 82f cool side and a basking spot of 102f. All the lights are on timers except the CHE which runs 24/7 to give her night time heat in the winter. So its easily achievable to get the right temps with one bulb. Also I don't have a top on her cage so with a top to hold in humidity for a ball python, you wouldn't even need that much lighting as the top would hold in a lot of heat as well.

And also you don't NEED a UTH or belly heat for a ball python as long as you got warm enough ambient temps. My red tail boa has never had a UTH since she was a baby and she is going on 2 years now and she is fine.

[Rickys_Reptiles]

I've got a ball python that can't be on a UTH for a couple of weeks (hopefully less). To keep his tank warm I've got two 75watt infrared bulbs running in a double dome. I switched to two infrareds from a daylight basking & infrared because he can get his day/night cycle from the window (and I've read they don't need day/night cycles) The tank is a 55gallon glass with screen top and foil on 90% of it. The dome is on one side of the tank and I've achieved a decent hot spot/cool side. I have one light that runs 24/7 and the other is on a timer that switches it on and off every 30min-1 hour.
Edit: at night only one is on and his hotspot is about 86
and the cool side is about 80-82...does that need to change?


My questions are
1: Would putting a thermostat (dimming or normal) be better than the timer? Would it just be eliminating the frequent temp monitoring?
2: Would a rheostat (from my understanding acts as a light dimmer) be better?
3: Should I just get a lower wattage bulb? Or a combination of smaller bulb and one of the above?
4: Would the switching on and off of one light bother the snake?

1) Thermostat is always best, most accurate way of controlling temperatures
2) rheostat is basically a dimmer, and no, this would not be better than a thermostat.
3) I'd suggest moving to a ceramic bulb with a thermostat
4) Yes and no. They don't particularly enjoy lights as it is which is why the ceramic bulbs are best. they provide heat, but no light.

Also, you should keep the temperatures consistent 24/7. Don't drop it at night.

[Reinz]

Maybe I got a bad one, but the Ceramic heater bulb I got had a very disappointing output, or I should say lack of.

It was 60 watt and felt a fraction of the heat of a 50 watt I/R bulb.

I love to hear that is just an anomaly.

[Rickys_Reptiles]

Maybe I got a bad one, but the Ceramic heater bulb I got had a very disappointing output, or I should say lack of.

It was 60 watt and felt a fraction of the heat of a 50 watt I/R bulb.

I love to hear that is just an anomaly.

60 watts is pretty small. I usually recommend starting with a 150 watt ceramic bulb. Rather go larger than smaller - since it'll be regulated with a thermostat it can't get too hot anyway.

[AnnaK231]

1) Thermostat is always best, most accurate way of controlling temperatures
2) rheostat is basically a dimmer, and no, this would not be better than a thermostat.
3) I'd suggest moving to a ceramic bulb with a thermostat
4) Yes and no. They don't particularly enjoy lights as it is which is why the ceramic bulbs are best. they provide heat, but no light.

Also, you should keep the temperatures consistent 24/7. Don't drop it at night.

I'll definitely look into a ceramic bulb. Is that also referred to as a CHE? Or is a CHE something different?

If I got a ceramic bulb and put it on a thermostat to use as my primary ambient heat source could I also get a low wattage infrared to see what he does at night? Would the thermostat lower the ceramic bulbs heat output to compensate for the heat coming off the infrared? Or could I go with a "moon light" bulb?

The only reason I have the light going off at night/on a cycle is so it doesn't get too hot. It's basically acting as a thermostat right now.

[Rickys_Reptiles]

I'll definitely look into a ceramic bulb. Is that also referred to as a CHE? Or is a CHE something different?

If I got a ceramic bulb and put it on a thermostat to use as my primary ambient heat source could I also get a low wattage infrared to see what he does at night? Would the thermostat lower the ceramic bulbs heat output to compensate for the heat coming off the infrared? Or could I go with a "moon light" bulb?

The only reason I have the light going off at night/on a cycle is so it doesn't get too hot. It's basically acting as a thermostat right now.

The thermostat will take care of the temperature of the CHE (Ceramic Heat Emitter). If you want a light, just get a red bulb, you don't need it to emit any heat.

I recommend something like the Spyder Robotics thermostats. They can be a bit expensive, but they are well worth it!!!