Is my set-up ok

I just got a new bp... ive been reading many things to the point where im kind of confused.... I have a 20g tank ... a heating pad on one end in the corner with branches and tree... i have a 40w day lamp and a 15w nite on the other side directly over the hide....do i need the lamp because the side with the pad should be the hot side? and if so should i put the hide over the heating pad and put the trees and branches on the other side after the lamp is gone? from what ive reatd the heading pad doesnt make that big of a change in temp so right now would that be considered my cool side and the lamp is my hot side?

Hi There! Welcome to the Site!

Ideally you would want to put 2 identical hides in your "Aquarium" style setup. One on the hot side and one on the cool side so that your snake does not have to choose which hiding spot he likes better, instead he will be able to choose which temperature he prefers. Make sure you are using some sort of thermostat on your UTH though as they have the potential to get really hot especially when used on a glass tank. If you don't already have a digital thermometer you should get one so that you know exactly what your temps are

Check out the Caresheet for everything you need to know.

2nd that.

IMO toss the day lamp. Reason being it's doing to decrease your humidity so you'll have to mist much more. They night lamp will decrease your humidity, but not as quickly as the day lamp. Just out of curiosity do you use a screen top and what kind of substrate do you use?

:welcome: to BP.net. Oh and you must post some pics of your bp.

I have zoo med eco earth subtrate.... and i have a screen top... humidity hasnt really been a problem. i jus ordered digital thermometers... One of my biggest mistakes was buying the zilla starter kit... i got it on fri last week and ive basically re-did the whole tank. Pics will be comming soon

Those starter kits are really over priced junk.
Id toss everything but the sub and the tank itself. I would get the uth and a thermostat. And the set up will be much easier to control. The uth will also benefit the ball so much more than top heat.
For a tstat Hydrofarm makes an affordable yet reliable one.

Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

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Originally Posted by Homegrownscales

Those starter kits are really over priced junk.

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Yup, I would have to agree.

OP: Where in Canada are you located?

DCanada... I'm guessing you're in Canada?

The lamps is only needed if your ambient temps (the temperature of the air in the tank) is lower than 78F.

The hot side/cold side can be confusing. But basically, it's this - you have a heat pad that heats the ground of one side of your tank. That's your hot side. That's what the ball python feels on his belly (so we also call it belly heat). This should ideally be set within the 90-92F range. The heat of the heat pad would graduate from hot to not-as-hot the farther away you go from the heat pad. So that, for the size tank you got, the other end of the tank away from the heat pad would be at the ambient temperature. This is what's considered the cold side.

It is best to put a hide on both the hot side and the cold side.

Now, if your air temperature (would normally be the same as your room temperature inside your house that the tank is in) is lower than 78 (like maybe in the winter in Canada...), then you will need to supplement the heat with a heat lamp or heat emitter to go on top of the tank (normally closer to the hot side or towards the middle of the tank). The lamp wattage needs to be adjusted so that the air temperature stays at around 80-82F. This should be enough to keep the ground temperature on your cold side to that same temperature as well especially if your tank sits on a solid shelf and not open to room air from below.

With heat lamps - they are known to zap humidity, so you'll need to tweak your humidity setting to stay within the 50-60% range.

Hope this gives you some good info.