New ball python UTH

I am going to get a BP soon and have some questions. I am going to use reptile carpet or newspaper for a bit because i already have it and am looking at under tank heaters. If the ball python crawls under the substrate will he get burned from touching the glass. Does he NEED a UTH? Will a heat lamp be good enough for him? I already have a 75 watt heat lamp for him. Thanks

I have only had my ball for a little while so take my advice with a grain of salt but I have two heat lamps and a UTH, but no I dont think its necessary. UTH is kind of a misnomer because it actually reccomends you put it on the side of your tank for I'm pretty sure the exact reason you talked about. I dont think It can burn your snake or anything (bps or at least mine, doesn't really burrow of he has a good assortment of tight hides) but its not like a heat rock where the temps can fluctuate a ton or directly touch their skin. I have a heat lamp on one side of my tank and a heat emitter on the other. I alternate switching them on and off to simualte days/nights (but you dont have to do this). I would recommend heat emitters over heat lamps because they dont zap as much humidity and only produce heat. (Bps dont necessarily need a lot of light)

In short, no, a UTH is not necessary. What a ball python needs is an enclosure that has a temperature gradient with 80° on one side and 90° on the other while maintaining an ideal humidity in the range of 50-60%. There are numerous ways to accomplish this ideal environment. You will find that accomplishing this with just a heat lamp is difficult. I suggest you get your enclosure set up (newspaper is preferred over the carpet) and see what you can do to dial in the temp and humidity. You will need thermometers and a hygrometer with proper placement to ensure your future snake has the appropriate environment. If you use a heat lamp you may need a dimmer to control how much heat it gives off. If you use UTH, you will need a thermostat to regulate it.


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As already mentioned you don't have to have belly heat but you NEVER want to run it unregulated.