New owner! Just a few quick questions!

[blued]

Hey!

I am a proud new owner of a baby ball python.. Ive had him for a week or so, and want to check a few things real quick. I checked temperatures for him using a digital thermometer and putting the probe IN the substrate to measure surface temps. I found that the hot side with a heating pad is 92 degrees flat, while ambient side is 82 degrees flat. I know the basking should be good, but it the ambient side a little too warm or should it be okay? Also he is just going into shed... should i raise the humidity a little to 65-70% or so to hellp with shed? Should i help him shed in the longrun? or will he figure it out on his own for the most part! Sorry for my ignorance, just trying to learn!

[honeybee]

Congrats on the new noodle and welcome!

Your temps sound just right, 82 is a great temp for ambient and the 10 degree difference will help your little guy regulate his body temperatures. What are you using to achieve temps? If using a heating pad or a CHE, I would definitely recommend investing in a decent thermostat or dimmer respectively. This will ensure your heating pad/CHE never gets too hot and injured your snake.

If your humidity is sitting around 60%, I dont think you'll need to raise it. Ideal humidity for thes guys is about 60-70%, so as long as your able to maintain that he should have no problems with his shed. Are you using a digital hygrometer to measure the humidity? Just like with thermometers, digital is always better than those stick-on analog things.

I'd love to see pictures of your snake and his setup!

[Craiga 01453]

Hey!

I am a proud new owner of a baby ball python.. Ive had him for a week or so, and want to check a few things real quick. I checked temperatures for him using a digital thermometer and putting the probe IN the substrate to measure surface temps. I found that the hot side with a heating pad is 92 degrees flat, while ambient side is 82 degrees flat. I know the basking should be good, but it the ambient side a little too warm or should it be okay? Also he is just going into shed... should i raise the humidity a little to 65-70% or so to hellp with shed? Should i help him shed in the longrun? or will he figure it out on his own for the most part! Sorry for my ignorance, just trying to learn!

Congrats and welcome to the forum, you've found a great place to learn.

Your temps are fine.

Are you running your heating equipment with a thermostat?

Also, your probe shouldn't be anywhere the snake can move it, pee on it, etc... because if they can, they will and that could lead to dangerous heat spikes.

Yes, I would bump your humidity to around 70% throughout the shed cycle. Your snake will shed on his own, and assuming husbandry has been right he should have no problem shedding on his own, hopefully in one piece. However, since you've only had him a week you may see that he sheds in pieces, which is ok. Just work on keeping his husbandry solid and you'll be fine.

[blued]

Congrats on the new noodle and welcome!

Your temps sound just right, 82 is a great temp for ambient and the 10 degree difference will help your little guy regulate his body temperatures. What are you using to achieve temps? If using a heating pad or a CHE, I would definitely recommend investing in a decent thermostat or dimmer respectively. This will ensure your heating pad/CHE never gets too hot and injured your snake.

If your humidity is sitting around 60%, I dont think you'll need to raise it. Ideal humidity for thes guys is about 60-70%, so as long as your able to maintain that he should have no problems with his shed. Are you using a digital hygrometer to measure the humidity? Just like with thermometers, digital is always better than those stick-on analog things.

I'd love to see pictures of your snake and his setup!

Thanks for the info! I am running a heat pad and have a 100watt infrared bulb. All of my gauges are digital so no worries there! The only problem i have been running into is that the temperatures keep on changing. My hot spot because of the heating pad is pretty constant, but the main temperature or ambient temperature is varying a lot! I even have the lamp on 24 hrs and sometimes it seems to get cold! It must be my room temperature changing pretty often. Any ideas to overcome this problem? I know most people keep a 12/12 light cycle, but that 12 hours off gets the enclosure much too cold. Sometimes my temps are perfect, and sometimes it seems to be falling a little colder. Any idea to over come this?

[Sunnieskys]

I your heat mat regulated with a thermostat? Is your Che on a dimmer? I didn't see an answer when asked before. If they are not that's why you are getting a fluctuation. Unplug your heat mat until it is regulated. You can seriously burn your snake it has happened multiple times in the past month alone.

Temps are correct. Raise humidity to 70 at the first sign of shed and keep it until shed.

And congrats on on your little beep!

[SDA]

Terminology for heating for ball pythons can be a bit awkward when starting out as we refer to three temperature points (hot side hide floor, cool side hide floor, and ambient air in tank). When you say ambient do you mean the temperature of the air in the tank or the surface temperature on the cold side? The big thing to keep under control is the air temperature in the tank and the upper range of the temperature for belly heat.

The reason these are the key components to a happy snakes is one (ambient) allows them to keep an overall pleasant temp just like we would in the winter when it gets cold and we turn on the heater to stay comfortable. We really don't want it to get too cold. The agreed upon minimal comfort level for that air temperature is 75 degrees. One you start sitting below that your snake can have trouble warming up and can develop all sorts of unwanted health issues like respiratory problems. The main thing we want to do for that belly heat is keep it under 95. Now you don't want to keep it near that either. 95 and above can start to put the snake at risk of burns and make it agitated if that is the only main hot spot to warm up. A too warm snake is an irritated snake and you don't want that. .

Now there is also the colder side of the tank to consider. When a snake needs to cool down its body, it can't sweat nor internally control temps. To do this it will switch between warm and cold side. This is also why you will hear that 75 degree number on the cold side. Now this is not the absolute coldest spot of the tank, it is the cold temp inside where the snake can "cool off". This is also why a second hide is recommended for a ball python. They are burrow dwellers by nature so a second hide on the cool side that is kept above 75 degree and pretty close to 10 degrees cooler than the warm hide is perfect for them to thermoregulate or control their body temps and still feel safe and secure.

So if you can keep the ambient or air temp of the tank around >75-82 ish you will have a happy and healthy snake. Keep that warm spot under the hide 88-92 and you will provide a spot where it can warm up when it gets cold and lastly keep a cool hide that is around mid 70s to 80 should give them all they need.


I sure hope this brings a bigger picture of the heating that a ball python does well in. These are not hard and fast temperatures but you should be able to easily get a feel for what is good and what is not for a snake. Main thing is not to let that air temp fall too cold or too fast. Keep that above 75 degree as a guide.

[blued]

I your heat mat regulated with a thermostat? Is your Che on a dimmer? I didn't see an answer when asked before. If they are not that's why you are getting a fluctuation. Unplug your heat mat until it is regulated. You can seriously burn your snake it has happened multiple times in the past month alone.

Temps are correct. Raise humidity to 70 at the first sign of shed and keep it until shed.

And congrats on on your little beep!

I had a thermostat in the substrate on top of the heat pad, but that is all. And no it is not on a dimmer. is on 24 full power. This leaves the actual air tank temp around 70-80, it depends, but surface temp on cold side high 70s, low 80s, which hot surface temp is the high 80s, low 90s.I think that if anything the cold side maybe a little cold, but he loves sitting on the hide on the cold side, and never goes onto the hot side. not sure why. if i put it on a dimmer id be afraid that the temps would drop much to low. when i get back home, i will get exact temp measurements from exact locations. It all depends on where the digital probe is located and where the heat lamp is located. Where should i put each for the most important results?

[Sunnieskys]

The probe for the thermostat goes between the heat mat and tank on the outside of the tank. Someone link a pic please lol. And you can keep your dimmer on the highest output but still needs to be regulated. Probes should not be in substrate since your snek can move it, pee on it, poop on it or get stuck on however your keeping the probe in place. Nothing sticky ever goes into the tank. Welcome to the newbs club. We have all been here. Lol

[SDA]

We need to make sure our definitions for control and reading of heat isn't crossed either. Just as a clarification:

Thermostat = device to directly control the energy output of a heat source. A thermostat needs to have a probe attached to detect the temperature of the heating element it controls.

Thermometer = device to read the heat outputted by a heat source. Thermometers can have a probe but not always. Probes for thermometers are like probes for thermostats, they both register the heat generated.

Dimmer = rheostat = device to limit the electrical current to an attached device. Great for ceramic heat emitters (CHE) as it can limit the current thus limiting the heat on the surface of the CHE without needing a probe. You do need some way to measure the heat inside the tank in order to adjust up or down the dimmer switch.

For an under tank heater (UTH), the thermostat probe goes outside the tank in direct contact with the UTH, for thermometer probes, they go inside the tank and for hot side reading, the probe goes under the substrate at the warmest spot inside the tank.

Making sure everyone is speaking the same language

[tttaylorrr]

Someone link a pic please lol.

couldn't find PitOnTheProwl's original diagram