Newbie Question

Ok, here it goes. I have a 20L critter cage, Aspen bedding, a water bowl, and a half log for my 18-20" Ball python. I havent had a snake before, so I didnt know what to buy to set my new snake up. The ppl at the pet store had me get a 75 watt bulb for my dome heat lamp. I bought 2 thermometers for the hot and cold side of my tank, and a digital thermometer/hydrometer. ok, the temp on the digital thermometer is reading 122 and the humidity is at 20%. I dont know anything about this stuff. I dont want to kill my snake with the heat as high as it is, I dont know if it will hurt it or not. I also dont know about how to raise the humidity so the snake will be comfortable, I dont want to sound dumb about this, but I am a total newbie about snakes. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Try to return those lamps. They're just going to dry out the air and your snake will most likely have problems shedding. Ideally, you should get an under tank heater (UTH) and connect it to a thermostat to dial in the correct temps. If you can't get a decent thermostat, get a lamp dimmer (rheostat). You can manually adjust the temps using that, but you just have to monitor it more if the temps in your room fluctuate very much. You'll probably want to get another hide. The half logs don't work too well for Balls because of the two openings. You can make hides out of clay pots, plastic bowls, or even a cardboard box.

Good luck!

Here is our site caresheet: http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=52

I suggest reading it over. Good luck and welcome to the site.

I appreciate it. I will try to find an under tank heater. Do they usually have thermostats with the UTHs? or is that something I would get at some place like wal-mart. I am going to be making another hide box to put in the middle of the tank. I asked the ppl at the pet store about the under tank heaters and they told me that ball pythons sometimes layed down on the hot side of the tank and burned thereselves from using the UTHs. Im confused . I have read a lot about ppl using the UTHs and no one said anything like the ppl at the pet store did.

UTH's or flexwatt are the way to go, but yes, you need to put something between the glass and the substrate (shaved aspen is great). We bought "repti mat", made by ESU upon which we have shaved aspen.

You'll need a theromstat to regulate the temperatures...in fact, you can get everything you need from Matt at MG Reptiles. He's a really nice guy who can help you select everything need and he's a regular here on these forums: http://www.mgreptiles.com/

I've never heard of a snake getting burned by an UTH, although I'm sure the potential is there without a source of regulation (thermostat, rheostat). More commonly, snakes will get burned by a heat rock.

It's nice to see that you're taking so much of an interest to get your husbandry correct for your snake. Read up as much as you can, and talk to the people that have experience. Generally speaking, I've found that pet stores are usually not the best place to get advice about reptiles. Quite often they're trying to make the largest sale with minimal regards to the animals they sell.

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Originally Posted by xdeus

I've never heard of a snake getting burned by an UTH, although I'm sure the potential is there without a source of regulation (thermostat, rheostat). More commonly, snakes will get burned by a heat rock.

It's nice to see that you're taking so much of an interest to get your husbandry correct for your snake. Read up as much as you can, and talk to the people that have experience. Generally speaking, I've found that pet stores are usually not the best place to get advice about reptiles. Quite often they're trying to make the largest sale with minimal regards to the animals they sell.

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I have a name brand UTH mat, and with it on max , with no thermostat hooked up it never gets above 100 on the surface of the glass

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Originally Posted by SnakeySnakeSnake

I have a name brand UTH mat, and with it on max , with no thermostat hooked up it never gets above 100 on the surface of the glass

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I have a zoo-med UTH...and with it plugged in with no controls on it, the glass heats up to 118. Too hot for my hand to linger on...so I wouldn't want a snake to sit on it either. I'm not saying you're wrong, just that with these things you just can't go by anecdotal evidence and should always err on the side of caution. (Making SURE there is some kind of control on the heat source and closely monitoring the temps that the snake could come in contact with.)

Ok, I got some flexwatt and a thermostat. Where do I put the probe for the thermostat? And I also got some reflectix for the lid. How much of the lid do I need to cover to get more humidity and also so the snake will have air.

I put the thermostat probe directly on the flexwatt.

Here is a great thread:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=27796