Newb needs help.

[theskyturnsgrey]

Ok, so I'm sure you have heard this question before, but I want to make sure that I do everything right for my future ball.

1. I wanted to get an under tank heater, i was considering cobra heat mats, but it said that it produces constant 100 degrees of heat, and ive read that the ideal basking spot should be 90 degrees, so any suggestions for that would be great. a relative of mine puts a ceramic tile on the part of the glass with the mat and then covers the tile with astroturf. would this be a good idea?

2. Can anyone recommend a great looking but also functional bark substrate?

3. will a water bowl in the tank provide the humidity i need for my python.

any and all help would be GREATLY appreciated.

[ddbjdealer]

1. I wanted to get an under tank heater, i was considering cobra heat mats, but it said that it produces constant 100 degrees of heat, and ive read that the ideal basking spot should be 90 degrees, so any suggestions for that would be great. a relative of mine puts a ceramic tile on the part of the glass with the mat and then covers the tile with astroturf. would this be a good idea?

I'm pretty sure the 100 degrees of heat is the heat ON the heater, through the glass/enclosure to your viv, it will be less than that. Under tank heat is your best option for heating your enclosure as it won't hurt your humidity levels as much as lights do. The main thing is, you need to get a digital thermometer to measure the temps INSIDE your snake's enclosure. Move the thermometer around to get accurate readings on a few different areas of your viv. 82-84 cool side to 92-94 warm side.

2. Can anyone recommend a great looking but also functional bark substrate?

I use Aspen shavings. Don't use anything with oils in it such as cedar. It can harm your snake. Newspaper is cheap and the easiest to clean/keep up though.

3. will a water bowl in the tank provide the humidity i need for my python.

It depends. Do you have a screen top to your enclosure? Are you using a plastic tub to house your snake? The best way, again, to monitor this is to get a thermometer with a digital readout that also includes humidity readings. 50-60% most of the time is great, 70% during shed times. If your water bowl doesn't do the trick, you can try misting the viv once or twice a day with a spray bottle to get the humidity up to where it needs to be, or introduce a "humid hide". This can be any kind of plastic type bottle or dish with some wet paper towels or some moss in them.

Hope this helps. There's lots of GREAT information on this site and many others. Take a look at the caresheets and browse around the husbandry portion of the forums and read about other people's problems and questions before posting your own. A lot of common questions can be answered just by reading other people's posts!

Enjoy your new pet!

[Eddie_Z]

Ken did well to answer most of your questions. One suggestion I have though for any undertank heater is to get some sort of temperature control mechanism. There are lots of good ones out there that others are far more informed of. If you want to go cheaper, like I do, you can pick up a rheostat. Just know that if you pick up a rheostat, you are going to need to monitor your temps every single day, a couple of times per day to adjust the slider. I have my little girl right in my room so I check the temps when i first wake up, adjust the rheostat as needed, I check them once during the day & re-adjust if need be & then I check them before I go to sleep. Hope that helps a bit.