Question about setting up BP cage set up

I have a 40 gallon fishtank (I know, I know, not the ideal enclosure, but its what I have for now) and a 21'', 127gram ball. I am apline substrate with an under-cage heater (for a 40-50) gal tank, and it covers about 1/3 of the bottom. I have one temperature gage on the hot side (I will be getting a second one for the other side) and it is reading at about 75 (room temperature). I know this is low, so i put a heating lamp to warm it up, and now it registers around 79-81 depending on the day. For now I put a towel on top of the lid to keep heat in.

My question is this; What can i do to raise and keep the temperature around 80-90* (this is what i have read is the best temp range for ball pythons) without having to use the lamp (bc I BP dont need "basking heat") Also, is having the lamp on for now going to be okay? Is there a certain time i should turn it off (to simulate "night"). Is there a more efficient way to keep the heat from escaping the top besides a towel?
I am new to this whole deal, and while I have been researching for the last couple months before I bought the little guy, I still feel like I am helpless! Any additional advice is most welcome.

Thanks!

go buy a lamp dimmer and plug your under tank heater into it. works great.. and it's only $10 at home depot or lowes. unless you wanna buy a thermostat, which is like $100 for a good one. if you don't have a thermometer with a probe, ur gonna need that.. u can get it at walmart for $12

You can get ceramic heat emitters and leave them on all the time. They are more expensive that bulbs but last longer as well. BPs are nocturnal so don't need a lot of light. The light is more for viewing purposes. The ambient light you get from a window or the house lights will work. As you've already acknowledged this is just a hard set up to deal with. I know because I have a 40 gal tank with screen top as well. I will be odering my t-8 from animal plastics soon, and am hopeful that will cure a lot of my headaches as far as husbandry goes. Not sure how you are doing with humidity. I cover most of my screen with damp towels for that purpose as much or more than for holding in heat. Good luck with everything. It takes some tinkinering but I'm sure you'll find the combo that works. It's just a headache and high maintenance.

I have a probe thermostat, it works really well!

Thank you to both that responded. I'm looking into both ceramic tank emitters and the light dimmers.

Thermostat...
And don't use a fish tank!

That would solve all of your problems!


Animalplastics.com: t-8 or t-10 with a divider. Keep on one side until he/she has grown, or for a second snake.

Herpstats 2: controlling two different temperature admitting settings.

Radiant heat panel.

In the end you'll spend... About $500 on the set up. Extra items will drive the cost up. Bare bones would cost you... $300.


Crazy to spend that much? No, I have it to where the only maintenance I have to do, is clean, feed and water.

Oh and it looks sharp and professional!

You can make the tank work just fine. Mine does and looks good too.

As for keeping heat in a few things can help. You can get foil tape from a hardware store and cover most of the screen top leaving portions uncovered for heat lamps and ventilation. The other big help will be putting something like thin foam, neoprene, or even thick Arty paper on the sides and back. This will insulate and add a feeling of security.

Now if your current bulb is giving you ambient temps of 80 you are good. That is a prefect air temp. You do not need the air to be 90 degrees, you only need to provide a hotspot with the uth at 90 degrees. If your entire tank is around 80 degrees it is good and does not require another bulb or che.

A good thing to have is a IR temp gun. This will make providing the proper hotspot much easier. You need to make sure that the bulb setup does not create a hotspot under the bulb higher than 90. Just because the eminent temp is 80 does not mean the bulb is not creating a hotspot over 100. This is where the temp gun can really help out.

A good trick for a glass tanks is creating humid hides. This can be as easy add placing damp moss in the hides or making a tupperware style container into a hide containing moss. If you go that route placing the hole in the top of the container usually works best.

Alot of your setup is going to depend on your room temp. I have a avg room temp of 68 and on my 40 gallon tank have to use a 100 watt che, UTH, and a sixty watt bulb to keep the cool side correct. It can be done but will take alittle time to get it dialed in.

Also for a smaller snake it is good to add items in the cage to provide cover to help the snake feel more secure. You can get as elaborate as you want but make sure you are ready for maintain the environment you create.


http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...psa5797386.jpg

Your response was super helpful! Thank you for your help!

I came in today, and the ambient temp (i guess, just the hot side, since that is where I have the temp prove right now) was 85. I positioned the lamp over the probe to get a reading and it went up to 90* and has maintained. I live in San Diego, so the temperature outside is pretty warm...my biggest concern it at night. Its been getting down to the 60s outside, and the tank has dropped to low 70s (which i know isnt good) so i am looking into ceramic heaters. For now i have a wet towel over the lid of the cage to help keep in heat/help with humidity and Ill start insulating the sides and back (maybe this will help the cage stay warmer through-out the night). Getting more hides is something i am also investing in; poor guy probably has far too much space.