Soon to be owner looking for heating advice.

Will be getting a new ball python soon and am wondering if putting a under the tank heating pad on one side is enough, or do I need to put some light/heat on the other side of the tank. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by DaCam13

Will be getting a new ball python soon and am wondering if putting a under the tank heating pad on one side is enough, or do I need to put some light/heat on the other side of the tank. Thanks.

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Depends on your tank type. Most will say RHP but if you don’t have PVC, that won’t work.

Much depends on how warm or cool the room (or your home) gets also. The colder it is (think "winter") the HARDER it will be to maintain the sort of warmth needed in the snake's home. The type(s) of heat you need will also vary according to the type of enclosure you're using- glass tanks don't hold heat well, but you CAN easily insulate the back, sides & some or all of the bottoms to help, & also, both to maintain humidity AND warmth, you'll want to cover (restrict air-flow) over most of the typical ventilated top.

When you compare a glass tank set-up to one of the plastic/PVC enclosures that some use, you'll see that plastic may hold warmth a bit better to start with (so they say?) but much of the difference has to do with greatly reduced air-flow.

What I HIGHLY recommend is that you do NOT bring home a new snake until after you've set up & TESTED (run with heat) your tank/enclosure for at least a week*, preferably when in a colder month also- because you may find it's not warm enough, & it can take some time to order & reconfigure the set-up- which is something you don't want to do while your snake is trying is in residence- as it could endanger his well-being & also cause stress- which as you know, can bring on refusals to eat.

A new snake always needs a quiet period of adjustment, or it can have health consequences. Stress lowers their immune system, so they're more likely to come down with things they were previously exposed to, & which you won't see until they actually get sick. *Keep in mind that depending on your set-up, it can take a while for UTH to heat up to the maximum- as it takes time for "everything" to warm up (furniture it sits on, for example- as well as everything, including substrate, in the tank). What's not too hot on day one, might well be too hot after a few days+.

BTW- I use both glass tanks & UTH- but I'm primarily a colubrid-keeper (not BPs currently) so my snakes need far less heat than your BP will, plus I keep my home on the warm side, so UTH with occasional overhead added warmth from dimmed lights or CHEs is just fine, but I'd have to guess it won't be enough in your situation. But since none of us know your full situation, it's up to you to test- we can't tell you for sure based on so little information & not "being there".

Also, bear in mind that all heat-producing devices MUST be controlled for the safety of your pet- with thermostat (preferably) or rheostats at the very least. It's very difficult to crank up the UTH for enough warmth in a cool room without endangering your snake, especially if the tank is on the large side. Some types of UTH don't even get very hot (many are low-wattage- that's what I use), but there's also lots of variation) but some easily get hot enough to burn your snake.

So like I said, you need to test your set-up BEFORE the snake moves in- to make sure (using accurate thermometer or temp gun) that the surface, when the substrate is pushed away (as most snakes will do) doesn't exceed 90*. IE. in a cold room, if you're thinking you can just run that UTH on full blast- well, that won't work, as it won't be safe. ;) See?