new to BP's need some help.

Hi,
I just got my first BP or snake for that matter. i need some help getting his cage setup right. first let me say i have had him for about a week now, he is about 3 months old about a foot long. what i have so far... 20g long tank with screen top, zilla UTH connected to a light dimmer switch, repti bark bedding, a digital thermometer, a hydrometer, 2 hides, and a water bowl. i also use a heat gun to measure temp. i just put the UTH on today and my temps read for belly heat 85ish on the hot side, 80 on the cool side with ambient air about 80 all around. i have the zilla UTH turned up all the way so far to see if it will warm up more. humidity is 50%. just need some advice on where to go next. are my temps ok? humidity good? let me know what u guys think. ill try and get some pics when i can.

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Originally Posted by nlutfi

Hi,
I just got my first BP or snake for that matter. i need some help getting his cage setup right. first let me say i have had him for about a week now, he is about 3 months old about a foot long. what i have so far... 20g long tank with screen top, zilla UTH connected to a light dimmer switch, repti bark bedding, a digital thermometer, a hydrometer, 2 hides, and a water bowl. i also use a heat gun to measure temp. i just put the UTH on today and my temps read for belly heat 85ish on the hot side, 80 on the cool side with ambient air about 80 all around. i have the zilla UTH turned up all the way so far to see if it will warm up more. humidity is 50%. just need some advice on where to go next. are my temps ok? humidity good? let me know what u guys think. ill try and get some pics when i can.

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I try to keep my hot side between 89 and 91 but im having an issue getting my uth to stay below 95. And thats with the dimmer way down. If ur only gettin 85 i assume you have the rainforest. And from what ive heard they will never get hot enough for balls.

If you ask me, the ambient/cool temps are perfect. When you measured the hot side, did you take the temp directly on the glass underneath the substrate? And did you take the temp outside or inside the hide on the warm side? Just for reference, with my enclosures, the floor temperature inside the cage but outside the hide is around 85, but inside the hides it's closer to 89. It's worth checking both inside and outside the hides.

Aside from adjusting the hot side temp (you want it 88-92) which you only needed to turn up ever so slightly, not all the way like you said you did, your setup sounds fine. The nly other thing I'll add is that a 20gal can be a bit big for a smaller bp like yours, so you may want to grab some fake plants to "clutter" up the cage, and some black construction paper to black out the sides and back of the tank. It'll make him feel more secure.

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Originally Posted by Simplex

I try to keep my hot side between 89 and 91 but im having an issue getting my uth to stay below 95. And thats with the dimmer way down. If ur only gettin 85 i assume you have the rainforest. And from what ive heard they will never get hot enough for balls.

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I've used both the rainforest and the desert for balls and never had an issue. You just have to run it a little higher, but you should be able to get the right temperature.

to test heat on the hot side i am using the heat gun straight to the bedding but not to the glass underneath. im getting about 83-83 inside and outside the hides on the substrate. i do have a small bonzi tree in the cage and some fake plants and branches. do u think i need a more powerful UTH to get the hot side warmer? also i offered a meal for the first time today, a live hopper mouse. but he seemed to have no interest. last time he had eaten was about a week and half ago at the breeders. how often should i offer food? thanks for the fast replies.

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Originally Posted by nlutfi

to test heat on the hot side i am using the heat gun straight to the bedding but not to the glass underneath. im getting about 83-83 inside and outside the hides on the substrate. i do have a small bonzi tree in the cage and some fake plants and branches. do u think i need a more powerful UTH to get the hot side warmer? also i offered a meal for the first time today, a live hopper mouse. but he seemed to have no interest. last time he had eaten was about a week and half ago at the breeders. how often should i offer food? thanks for the fast replies.

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Check the temperature on the glass. If that's in the right range, then you're golden. The snake will more than likely end up pushing the bedding out of the way and sitting directly on the glass anyways, so you want to make sure that temperature isn't too hot. I don't think you'll need a different heater, just play around with the dimmer until you get it to the right temperature.

Since he didn't take the hopper, try again in about a week. It's important that you give him time to settle in, so don't mess around with him or handle him until he's eaten a meal (you can take him out if you need to clean and such, but don't handle unnecessarily). If he still doesn't go for it, then you can either contact the breeder and ask them how they were feeding him and try to mimic what they were doing, or come back on the forum and ask. There are lots of people with great answers on here. :)

Sounds like you have a good set up and I agree with the other comments. I'd just like to add that I like the humidity a little higher. I shoot for 60%, then if it drops a little lower, that's ok. With a screen lid, I like to keep a damp cloth covering about half of the top. In the winter, I stuff a towel around the back and sides to insulate the glass.

so directly on the glass im getting 101 degrees, scary! i turned the UTH down to drop the temp. i do have about an 1 1/2" -2" bedding should i take some out on the hot side so hes closer to the heat.

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Originally Posted by nlutfi

so directly on the glass im getting 101 degrees, scary! i turned the UTH down to drop the temp. i do have about an 1 1/2" -2" bedding should i take some out on the hot side so hes closer to the heat.

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Most substrates insulate against a UTH, it works better only having about 1 inch loose substrate (aspen) or 1/2 inch dense substrate (bark).
You really only need enough to soak up any mess they leave.

You could remove some bedding if you want, that way you won't have to run your heater as high either and you won't have such a big difference between the glass and the bedding temp. You really don't need a whole heck of a lot, just enough to cover the bottom of the tank a bit. Other than that, you've got it perfect! :)