do albinos not like heat lamps?

hi! i've had my juvenile male ball python named monty, who is an albino, for about a month and a half now. he is my first snake ever.

i have noticed that he goes into the hide he has on the cool (80°F) side of the cage a lot instead of his hide on the warm side (95°F). for the daytime, i use a 100w heat lamp. for nighttime, i use a 100w ceramic heat emitter (it's worth noting that bc of the lack of light, i can't see him). i also use a UTH for secondary heating. i don't think it's because the temp on the warm side is too high, because it's almost always at the recommended 95°F. however, correct me if i'm wrong!

i initially thought that perhaps monty just personally prefers cooler temperatures. then i thought, well, human albinos can't stay out in the sun very long without sunburns, so is it the same for snakes? what if his heat lamp bothers him during the daytime?

i couldn't find any information relating to this specifc inquiry online, so i made this thread. i love monty so much and i want him to be as comfortable as possible, so if his heat lamp is potentially causing him problems i will replace it immediately.

if anyone could help me on this, i would very much appreciate it. thank you.

Ball pythons are nocturnal so they are going to stay hidden when any light is on (unless it's infrared cause from what I've been told they can't really pick up on that) your hot side temp is a bit too high though. My hot side is kept at about 88° though from all of my experience, other friends that keep BPs, and readings I've done, the hot side should stay between 88 and 92. There's no proof that albino BPs don't like light, and I doubt that they don't. It's probably a matter of too hot temperatures or possibly that he can't fit in his hot hide? I don't provide day night cycles for my snake but if you are using a bright white light for the day time, that could also be why he's staying on the cool side, he's nocturnal, that bright light means it's day time and it's time for him to sleep, and hide.


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Originally Posted by foster

hi! i've had my juvenile male ball python named monty, who is an albino, for about a month and a half now. he is my first snake ever.

i have noticed that he goes into the hide he has on the cool (80°F) side of the cage a lot instead of his hide on the warm side (95°F). for the daytime, i use a 100w heat lamp. for nighttime, i use a 100w ceramic heat emitter (it's worth noting that bc of the lack of light, i can't see him). i also use a UTH for secondary heating. i don't think it's because the temp on the warm side is too high, because it's almost always at the recommended 95°F. however, correct me if i'm wrong!

i initially thought that perhaps monty just personally prefers cooler temperatures. then i thought, well, human albinos can't stay out in the sun very long without sunburns, so is it the same for snakes? what if his heat lamp bothers him during the daytime?

i couldn't find any information relating to this specifc inquiry online, so i made this thread. i love monty so much and i want him to be as comfortable as possible, so if his heat lamp is potentially causing him problems i will replace it immediately.

if anyone could help me on this, i would very much appreciate it. thank you.

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What type of enclosure are you using? Aquarium? Tub? What size? Are you using a thermostat/dimmer for the heat lamp? Where do you have your lamp positioned over the enclosure? What are you using to gauge the temps?

When I first created my balls enclosure, she was in a 20 long and I used a 60 watt heat lamp to heat her enclosure in the colder months. I was using analog gauges and those darn things read wrong consistently. I quickly bought a temp gun and used that. Turns out the spot directly under the lamp would spike to well over 100 degrees even with a 60 watt bulb.

If your ambient temps are reading 95, my guess is that the lamp is causing a much higher ground temperature making the warm side unbearable. Also is your UTH on a thermostat as well? Those will peak the ground temps to much higher levels than desired if not.


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Originally Posted by OneEyedFox

Ball pythons are nocturnal so they are going to stay hidden when any light is on (unless it's infrared cause from what I've been told they can't really pick up on that) your hot side temp is a bit too high though. My hot side is kept at about 88° though from all of my experience, other friends that keep BPs, and readings I've done, the hot side should stay between 88 and 92. There's no proof that albino BPs don't like light, and I doubt that they don't. It's probably a matter of too hot temperatures or possibly that he can't fit in his hot hide? I don't provide day night cycles for my snake but if you are using a bright white light for the day time, that could also be why he's staying on the cool side, he's nocturnal, that bright light means it's day time and it's time for him to sleep, and hide.

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Originally Posted by Codil7

What type of enclosure are you using? Aquarium? Tub? What size? Are you using a thermostat/dimmer for the heat lamp? Where do you have your lamp positioned over the enclosure? What are you using to gauge the temps?

When I first created my balls enclosure, she was in a 20 long and I used a 60 watt heat lamp to heat her enclosure in the colder months. I was using analog gauges and those darn things read wrong consistently. I quickly bought a temp gun and used that. Turns out the spot directly under the lamp would spike to well over 100 degrees even with a 60 watt bulb.

If your ambient temps are reading 95, my guess is that the lamp is causing a much higher ground temperature making the warm side unbearable. Also is your UTH on a thermostat as well? Those will peak the ground temps to much higher levels than desired if not.

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then i actually think the temp might be too high for him to be comfortable. i don't think it's unbearable for him, though, because i DO see him go in the warm side from time to time, it's just that it's not often. it's clear that he prefers the hide on the cool side.

he is in a 30" x 12" x 12" glass terrarium with a sliding screen top. the lamp is positioned over the right side of the enclosure, where the warm side is, while the cool side is on the left. the UTH is on the left side. i bought one of those zoomed 20 gallon snake starter kits (rest assured i have more furniture in his terrarium than the half-log it came with) that included an analog thermometer so that one is on the hot side... i had bought a digital thermometer + digital hygrometer but while i was at petsmart there was only one digital thermometer in stock, so i figured the analog would have had to do for now. i am ordering another digital thermometer right at this moment.

i do not have a thermostat. i was looking at this one, though. it's really expensive for me (which is why i was waiting to buy it), because i'm just a teenager, but i'll pay whatever price i need to for monty.

thank you both for your help. i was wondering if it was because of his albinism that he was avoiding the hot side but now i definitely think it's because it's too warm for him.

I'm thinking it's just far too warm in there to be honest , maybe dangerously so as well .

As you know a thermostat is essential to regulate the heat sources plus a digital thermometer with a wired probe for taking the SURFACE temps under the warm hide ... in my experience none of my Royals / Balls wanted it to be as high as 95F .... worse still it sounds like you're using one of those crappy stick on thermometers which are sadly inaccurate and they only give AMBIENT ( surrounding air ) temps .

I'm guessing the temperature under the warm hide is well over a 100F !!

Also did you mention that you also have an unregulated heat mat under the cool side as well ??

That heat mat maybe unnecessary and even dangerously hot if there's no thermostat regulating the temperature.




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Originally Posted by OneEyedFox

There's no proof that albino BPs don't like light, and I doubt that they don't.

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With respect, you are mistaken here. It is very well documented that animals suffering from albinism have an aversion to light because the lack of melanin in their eyes makes the extremely photosensitive. Back in the early days of keeping (before heat tape was a thing), this behaviour in ball pythons was actually the root of a rumor that the morph had fertility issues because the females would avoid the areas of their enclosures with heat lamps while they were gravid/incubating and so their clutches would not develop properly.


That said... As has been observed by everyone, the bigger issue here is likely that your hotspot is too hot. I would do without the heat lamp and just use the heat mat hooked in to a thermostat and set it so that you have a temp of ~86-88F

The Jump Start thermostats are more affordable, I'd also get a dimmer so you can regulate the heat lamp.

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Originally Posted by asplundii

With respect, you are mistaken here. It is very well documented that animals suffering from albinism have an aversion to light because the lack of melanin in their eyes makes the extremely photosensitive.

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The only big issue with albino anything in a cage environment is excessive ultra violet light. The problem is their lack of melanin means they are not protected from UV radiation and as such it can cause skin complications. Bright sunlight and the moderate to minor lighting found in reptile cages are two different things. A heat lamp is not going ot produce enough light to cause photosensitivity. So yes, jarring excessively bright light is harmful to albino snakes but then again it is to normal snakes as well. Neither can close their eyes and harsh lighting is not healthy for their eyes. That does not mean that an albino snake should live in darkness, just like any other snake, a phto period or day /night cycle is perfectly beneficial to them. Just avoid UV lighting, especially UVB.

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

I'm thinking it's just far too warm in there to be honest , maybe dangerously so as well .

As you know a thermostat is essential to regulate the heat sources plus a digital thermometer with a wired probe for taking the SURFACE temps under the warm hide ... in my experience none of my Royals / Balls wanted it to be as high as 95F .... worse still it sounds like you're using one of those crappy stick on thermometers which are sadly inaccurate and they only give AMBIENT ( surrounding air ) temps .

I'm guessing the temperature under the warm hide is well over a 100F !!

Also did you mention that you also have an unregulated heat mat under the cool side as well ??

That heat mat maybe unnecessary and even dangerously hot if there's no thermostat regulating the temperature.

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Since we made the mistake of having a UTH without a thermostat when we set up our Exo Terra habitat, I'll chime in.

When measuring the heat generated by your UTH, you must measure the temp on top of the UTH, not on top of the substrate above the UTH. Our Ultratherm UTH measured 110 degrees without a thermostat. I have read the the Zoomed UTHs are equally hot. From what I have read here an elsewhere, a 110 degree UTH can seriously harm your BP. Personally, I am appalled that Zoomed sells their setup without a thermostat.

oh my goodness thank you all so so much... i am so glad i started this thread so that these issues could come to my attention. i had no idea that the hot spot would be too warm for him. i am ordering the dimmer and looking at thermostats right now. in the meantime i've turned the lamp off.

if anyone has any other advice i would appreciate it so much.