New BP owner - need help with temperatures

[Hootea]

Hi guys!!!
So I am picking up a lovely albino ball on Friday and he will be my first snake! I've been working on his tank for about a month now and I'm getting down to the nitty gritty with trying to make sure that everything is perfect for him when he comes home. I'm struggling with my termpatures, though. I have a RepiTherm uth for a 30-40 gallon(his enclosure is a 40 gallon breeder) and it's hooked up to a thermostat set to 91 F. We noticed that my ambient readings on my two digital thermometers were 75 on the hot side and only 70 on the cool side- much too cold! We went and bought a heat lamp to supplement this? We got a Zilla brand lamp and 100w black night heat bulb. I noticed it raise my ambient only slightly but now my hottest spot is 95 F. We have an infrared heat gun to check. The top of my substrate(coconut husk) on my hot spot reads anywhere from 75-85 but the glass beneath where the uth was was reading 95 F. I'm wondering if this substrate might read a little cold? I'm not really sure what to do with my temperatures and if my digital ones are just reading off. I really need some help, does anyone know what I can do? Thank you!

[Craiga 01453]

Welcome!
You found a great place to learn and a great community.

First off, are you regulating your temps with a thermostat?

[Hootea]

Welcome!
You found a great place to learn and a great community.

First off, are you regulating your temps with a thermostat?

Hi, thank you!! I was told about this place so I thought I'd ask here.

The uth is hooked up to a thermostat that is set at 91 degrees, the prob is directly taped to the uth in the space between the uth and the table. Each side of the tank has one thermometer with the probes placed on in the tank on top of the substrate(they were slightly above it before). There is a third thermometer/hydrometer in the tank attached to the center back of the tank, about halfway up. The lamp doesn't have a thermostat or anything. Does this info help?

[tttaylorrr]

welcome!!!

were you trying to use the UTH to boost the ambient temps? that's not how they work.
i use a 100w CHE bulb in my 20gal enclosure. you might need a higher wattage. also, is the bulb set over the warm side or cool side?
if you're actually using a thermostat, then the temperature should never go above the temperature it's set to. where are you placing the thermostat probe?

[tttaylorrr]

The lamp doesn't have a thermostat or anything. Does this info help?

ALL heat sources MUST be regulated. get a rheostat or lamp dimmer to use with the bulb to help dial in the temps.

[Craiga 01453]

Yeah, it sounds like you're going to need a higher wattage to heat a 40 gallon. Also, like tttaylorrr said, all heat sources should be regulated. This will prevent dangerous heat spikes as well as to give your enclosure a stable ambient temp.

Also, is your BP a juvenile?

[Hootea]

Thanks for all the advice guys, much appreciated.

The UTH was to be the main source of heat. We discovered it was just not getting the tank very warm so we added the lamp yesterday. I never read anything about the lamp being regulated, I will go out and buy a rheostat today then. The bulb is more over the warm side. The problem is the substrate is not warm, but the glass got up to 95 when we added the lamp since the thermostat is attached to the UTH and not the glass of the tank, so that we can regulate the uth. Would it be better to attach the thermostat probe to the glass of the tank on the inside and that way if the lamp overheats it, it will cool the UTH? I'm just wondering as I have really high 95 on the glass by the uth and lamp, but the low 70 on the cool side. It just seems to be heating unevenly, and the glass getting hotter than the substrate. Should I be measuring my glass or top of substrate for my ambients?

My BP is a bit older, he was born in 2013 I believe. He's pretty much fully grown. One of the pet stores here in town is owned by the breeder so they have lots come through but he was just super sweet and friendly when we met him so we picked him.

[tttaylorrr]

Thanks for all the advice guys, much appreciated.

The UTH was to be the main source of heat. We discovered it was just not getting the tank very warm so we added the lamp yesterday. I never read anything about the lamp being regulated, I will go out and buy a rheostat today then. The bulb is more over the warm side. The problem is the substrate is not warm, but the glass got up to 95 when we added the lamp since the thermostat is attached to the UTH and not the glass of the tank, so that we can regulate the uth. Would it be better to attach the thermostat probe to the glass of the tank on the inside and that way if the lamp overheats it, it will cool the UTH? I'm just wondering as I have really high 95 on the glass by the uth and lamp, but the low 70 on the cool side. It just seems to be heating unevenly, and the glass getting hotter than the substrate. Should I be measuring my glass or top of substrate for my ambients?

My BP is a bit older, he was born in 2013 I believe. He's pretty much fully grown. One of the pet stores here in town is owned by the breeder so they have lots come through but he was just super sweet and friendly when we met him so we picked him.

thermostat probe never goes inside the enclosure. that creates too many variables for the reading, i.e. urine, poop, the snake pushing and moving it around, etc.

the UTH does not affect ambient temps. it is only meant to provide belly heat.

you should be taking your readings from the bottom of the enclosure; the snake will burrow down.

most of us tape the thermostat probe to the outside bottom of the enclosure and place the UTH over the probe like a sandwich. this will give a more accurate reading of the bottom of the enclosure. try bumping the thermostat's temp down until you're at 90° on the inside.

i'd recommend moving the bulb to the cool side instead of the warm and seeing how your temps change.

[Craiga 01453]

Thanks for all the advice guys, much appreciated.

The UTH was to be the main source of heat. We discovered it was just not getting the tank very warm so we added the lamp yesterday. I never read anything about the lamp being regulated, I will go out and buy a rheostat today then. The bulb is more over the warm side. The problem is the substrate is not warm, but the glass got up to 95 when we added the lamp since the thermostat is attached to the UTH and not the glass of the tank, so that we can regulate the uth. Would it be better to attach the thermostat probe to the glass of the tank on the inside and that way if the lamp overheats it, it will cool the UTH? I'm just wondering as I have really high 95 on the glass by the uth and lamp, but the low 70 on the cool side. It just seems to be heating unevenly, and the glass getting hotter than the substrate. Should I be measuring my glass or top of substrate for my ambients?

My BP is a bit older, he was born in 2013 I believe. He's pretty much fully grown. One of the pet stores here in town is owned by the breeder so they have lots come through but he was just super sweet and friendly when we met him so we picked him.

No problem, happy to help.

Your UTH is there solely to provide a hot spot, not for ambient temps. That's where an additional heat source comes in.
As far as where to measure, you want to measure the glass itself because your snake can and will dig itself down to the glass. It is recommended to only have 14" or less of substrate above your hot spot.

And lastly, I only asked about whether the snake was a juvenile because a 40 gallon may be too large and could lead to feeding issues. However, since yours is an adult, no worries there.

[RickyNY]

Have you read this sticky:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-With-Pictures!

Did you put too much substrate on the bottom? If you read the sticky it says not to use more than 1/2 inch.