How cold is too cold

Winter is creeping up and it is cold outside and inside my house. I have no heat and a separate space heater is not an option. Right now it is 60 deg inside my house.

It is 92 deg on the warm side of the tank, belly heat. Ambient temperature on warm side is 75 deg and 65 on the cold side. Humidity is 52%. I have a heat lamp on the warm side right now.

I read that putting foam insulation boards around the outside of the tank work well but I have no money to purchase them. Would using cardboard instead help keep the cold out? I have lots of cardboard.

Those are pretty dangerous ambient temps. You're going to have to do something major about your set up. I just barely manage in my basement which is 68-70 degrees.

Cardboard is better than nothing but I doubt that is going to fix your problem with a room at 60 degrees. Even with belly heat at 92 degrees you risk an RI with those ambient temps.

I wish I could offer more help but what you really need is a space heater.

Maybe a tub would help keep some of the heat in?

The heat lamp has warmed it up some. The ambient temperature is 84 on the side with the heat lamp and 74 on the other. Now I'm going to have humidity problems. The humidity is already down to 45% and I'm sure it will be in the lower 30's by morning.

Well humidity isnt that big of an issue compared to Temps. If they go into shed just soak em. Keep them temps up! Here in Central Florida we got a cold snap of 50!!!! I had to Put up a few space heaters and some Styrofoam in the Herp building out back.

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Originally Posted by casper

The heat lamp has warmed it up some. The ambient temperature is 84 on the side with the heat lamp and 74 on the other. Now I'm going to have humidity problems. The humidity is already down to 45% and I'm sure it will be in the lower 30's by morning.

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At least you got temps up into acceptable ranges- below 70F you risk RI. I personally don't like to see less than 72-74 if that. You can do things to bring the humidity up- misting or better yet adding a moist hide filled with organic Sphagnum moss that is kept moist.

You can add the styro-board insulation around your set-up to help insulate it, but with room temps that cool, I doubt you'll be losing the heat lamp.

Currently the temps on the cold side of the tank is 64 deg, warm side is 74 and Inside the hide its 93 (heat pad). Humidity is 48%.

Inside my house is 52 deg.

I have Styrofoam covering most of the tank. Aluminum foil covering half the top and a wet towel cover the other half. Should I add a 2nd heat lamp? If so how can I keep the humidity up without keeping the substrate soaked?

Please no space heater suggestions. I can NOT have any.

This is going to be a long winter.

If I were you I'd get another heat pad for the cool side.

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Originally Posted by unrezt

If I were you I'd get another heat pad for the cool side.

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I don't think that would solve the ambient temps would it?

Idk if this would be dangerous, or even help but I was thinking that since some uths were ok with being stuck to the sides of tanks, maybe you could put a layer or two of something in between the glass and the outside of the tank (back?) and a second uth? of course you would need another thermostat, possibly just a dimmer. Would that work? Would it even be safe for the snake? essentially, would laying a uth on the outside of the back of the tank be dangerous?