setup

[daveyboy]

could you advise how my viv should be setup,i have a 3ft wooden viv,with heatmat at one end this is controlled by a mat stat,there is a light fitting for a basking bulb when the basking bulb is in the temps go up to 40 degrees should i lower the temp on the heatmat?

[dr del]

Hi,

Well yeah the temps need to be lowered (assuming thats degrees centigrade ) but how you do it depends on other factors.

What are the temps at the cool end when the hot end hits 40?

You already have a T'stat on the heatmat but do you have anything on the heat bulb? I call it that because ball pythons aren't great baskers on the whole so having a bulb only on during the day or providing white light for example isn't a good idea. You can however use a red bulb - possibly even blue 24 hours a day without stressing them though it will lower humidity somewhat.

If it is an incandecent bulb you're using then even a cheap dimmer switch can control it a little but if it is a ceramic bulb then it's best placed on another T'stat to prevent problems due to the high temperatures they can reach.Oh and bulb or element it needs to be gauded to prevent the snake getting burnt.

The reason I asked the cool end temps is as follows;

ball pythons prefer belly heat but heat mats dont heat the whole cage. So if your cool end is between 80-84f without the bulb then I would just leave it off and turn the heatmat T'stat down until the hot end was right.

If the cool end was under 80f then I would use some control method to adjust the bulb till it was right then use the heatmats T'stat to set hot end.

It might take a week or so of fiddling to get the temps right both ends but will pay off in the end.

Check out the other caging threads for good tips as well and if you need to see what gaurds I was talking about have a gander in my gallery page.

To recap I'd use the bulb as little as required to maintain cool end temps and use the heatmat to provide the hot end temps.



dr del

[daveyboy]

cheers 4 ur help,might explain why royal wasnt eating heatmat mat has warm end at 92,cold end was 77,nice snakes youve got

[dr del]

Why thankyou,


I really like the high contrast on Luna too. I hear ya on the feeding thing - one of my little hatchlings is still "dinner resistant" at the moment and it's driving me nuts.

Trying to get a frozen gerbil for scenting and can't seem to find gerbils of any description anywhere - some one else in edinburgh must have a stubborn royal.


They do come round eventually - the other two have just made my night by;

snake A) eating his first half grown mouse instead of a fuzzy and

snake B) eating 2 mouse fuzzies at once - and this his first without having to be scented with rats.


dr del

[daveyboy]

luna was feeding like a devil since she was born,guess she just playing catch up now,it does drive you nuts,she hasnt eaten 4 two weeks just keep trying on a weekly basis,my temps on hot end are still going up to 40 hot end but cold end stays around 77,might be this heat issue stopping her feeding.