A new addition to the family :)

Alright, so after bothering all of you guys with countless question-asking threads for the last month and a half, I have just received my first Ball Python! I managed to snap a few pictures before putting him in his cage, and they'll be up soon! But, of course, I have a question as well. I put the little guy in his cage, and then after hanging out in the hot side for maybe 2 minutes, he started to explore and now he rests in the cool side. Which is strange from what I've heard.. Now here's what worries me. I had to set my thermostat to 102 in order to bring the hotspot temperatures up to 90-92 degrees. This large temperature gap worries me. I have pictures of the enclosure and probe placements if needed, can anyone help me out here?

If you are using a UTH on the tank you may have to tape it directly to the bottom of the tank if not theres a small gap between the bottom of the tank and the UTH which would cause something like that. I think if you keep a close eye on it for a day or two to make sure the temp inside the cage on the hot spot doesnt go any higher than you should be good. Some pics would definitely be helpful though. If you can get it to where there isnt a huge gap something closer to 5 degrees and not 10-12 and the hot spot doesnt fluctuate that would be better obviously so do what you can... And for the hanging out on the cool side its not entirely unusual. As long as he is hiding he is happy. He will go to the hot side when he needs to. But size of the tank and the snake would be helpful too. Pics! :gj:

Picture dump of the setup for assistance on my question and of the adorable little guy incoming!


Here he is! He seems very bright for a normal!
http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...3/SANY0023.jpg

And here's a few pictures of my heat mat and probe placements, as well as the general set up.

http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...3/SANY0042.jpg
http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...3/SANY0040.jpg
http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...3/SANY0036.jpg
http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...3/SANY0038.jpg

Move the thermometer probe closer to the center of the heat mat and leave it under the substrate. I find that the edges of the heat mat are not nearly as hot as the center. Try to put it in a spot where the heat mat is touching the plastic, not right where the thermostat probe is since it makes a little bit of a gap.

See if that helps your temps at all. Other then that, looks really good!! Look at that cute little face :) They are so tiny when they are young! I haven't had a hatchling in a looong time.

Alright, I managed to close the temperature gap between the thermostat and the thermometer. I have the thermostat set down to 96 now, so it's not so bad now, still seeing if I can't make it smaller though..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JOsborn

Alright, I managed to close the temperature gap between the thermostat and the thermometer. I have the thermostat set down to 96 now, so it's not so bad now, still seeing if I can't make it smaller though..

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That sounds about right! I usually have to set my thermostat a little higher than the target temp.

He's a cutie-pie, congrats!

I'm interested to hear if that heat lamp does a good job maintaining your ambient temp in a tub. My setup is similar to yours except that I use a room heater to keep the ambient temp where it needs to be. What's your tub temp/room temp?

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Well.. My setup is a bit more complicated than it looks in the pictures.. The enclosure is in my closet. And my closet doors are made of 2 sliding mirrors. I slide one mirror all the way shut, and one stays slightly open on the far side in order for the fan to circulate humidity/cold air out of the closet. The heat lamp DOES bring up the ambient, without it the ambients would be around 75. My cage temps go from around 80-83 on the cool side, 89-92 on the hot side, and 52-56% humidity. It took around a week and a half to figure it out because my house temperatures are so wacky.

A closet - wish I had one of those to spare! Thanks for the info. :)

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