heating

i will be gettin a ball python soon and will b keeping it in a 55gal tanki already have some red heat lamps from a former iggy, so what are the pros and cons to lights and uths? also what is the purpose or putting the prob from the thermometer on the bottom of the cage say over the heat pad if useing one compared to just putting it on the back of the tank? would also appreaciate any other heating advise yall may have

thanks for the info
justin

lights suck humidity out of the air because they get so damn hot, so that's the disadvantage to them. so they suck alot more electricity, so you pay a few more dollars each month for em.

putting a probe on the back of the tank doesn't measure the hot spot temperature (the place where you really want to make sure it doesn't get to hot) all it would measure would be the air around the probe, which doesn't help a whole lot at all.

I suggest not using a 55 gallon tank because if its the same size as my fish tank which is a 55 gallon, your heating about 40 gallons of air that the ball python will hardly ever be in. people can have problems setting up glass cages and getting temps right, and a 55 gallon is huge, floor space would be fine for a ball but their just too tall. you might need a UTH and light just to keep temps right, which then opens you up to humidity issues. its not that it can't be done, just a pain compared to a tub.

Id use a more low profile cage, or a plastic tub. uth/flexwatt will heat a tub no problem.

my thing with wantin to use a tank is i want it to look nice for my guests to see, i like the ideas of tubs if ur gonna breed and keep a ton of snakes but for now my plans are to just have a few so i would like to show them off, i do plan on making a custom cage as i did for my iguana but for now i dont have the extra time so i was gonna use my old tank, but thanks for the info

justin

I would recommend an under tank heater. You want to cover about 1/3 of the bottom of the tank with an under tank heater. You could go with the general stick on variety or you could DIY with heat tape. Either way, I would recommend at least a rheostat (dimmer) for controlling the temperature.