Hi everyone, I plan on getting a Ball Python (Python Regal), this will be my first snake. A roommate of mine use to have one, I think it was a boa but he did not have anything for it except a tank… Of course I played with garter snakes when I was a kid but that was just in a shoebox for a week or so until I got caught and was promptly told to get rid of it. J

I have a 33-gallon (36”X12”X18”H) tank that I will use aspen and will have two hides (hot & warm) digital thermometer’s & hydrometer’s etc.

I am in Vancouver, BC Canada our weather is very close to what Seattle, WA experiences, and I live in a condo southern exposure.

My main concern is the heating. I was thinking of getting a Herpastat II and two UTH pad’s Exo Terra by Hagen:
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products...ave_desert.php
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products...rainforest.php
is what seems to be available locally not sure if I should be using the rainforest or the desert yet. Any suggestions? If I can I find a Zoo Med pad (going to ask Zoo Med to provide me their local rep’s number maybe he can tell me who sells them here locally) I will pick it up because that’s what everyone else seems to be using, also what size of pad’s would you recommend 2 X 12”X8” is what I was thinking or 2 x 10.5”X11” Exo pads? Now is the Herpastat II a bit overboard? I was planning on putting a pad on the left side of the tank and another on the right plugging each one of the UTH pad’s in to it’s own probe and set the temp’s for like 85F for the cool side and like 90F for the hot side. With a night drop of say 5 degrees for each side. I was thinking of putting the water dish in the middle between the two pad’s. Is this a bit overboard? Would a Herpstat ND be sufficient with only 1 pad on the hot side be enough? Or would the one pad not be enough to keep the hot side at 90F & the warm at 85F?

Once I get the enclosure setup of course I will nail those temps down a bit more accurately… Kind of typing from memory.

Do you think a ceramic heat emitter will still be required for the hot side? If so what wattage would you all recommend for a 18”H tank. My local stores carry the Exo Terra ceramic heat emitter:
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/heat_wave_lamp.php

Nowhere do they indicate the depth that they can heat to? They go by aquarium size ie: 150 Watt for a 30-40 gallon is what I think it said. Thus far I have had no luck finding a local store with a clue.

Any feedback would be appreciated. I am not that concerned about spending some extra $ at the end of the day I want it done right… This don’t mean I am made of $ either… heheh