perfect heat

hey everyone im getting a ball pretty soon but i have a question if my house is at around 68 degrees (im getting a bp) can i use a heat wave tropical heat pad large to heat up a 30 gallon to around 92 degrees warm and 82 on the cool side or will i need a rheostat to make it goe up tempurature to heat and can i just heat the ground or do i have to heat the air?

I'm sorry to say there isn't any such standards. You'll have to see what works for your unique setup. I know that with low house temps you'll probably have some diffiuclty with your cool end temps. I know I had to use a space heater to bring the general room temps up. You're best bet is to have your setup running at least a couple days before you get your snake.

I'm sorry I can't get you a more definitive answer.

yah i just didnt want to waste money for the perfect thing i just needed to no so i dont have to waste money but could someone at least tell me if i only need the ground tempurature up not the air so i dont need a lamp and waste more money

Why not just set everything up without the lamp? Test run, so to speak. If you can achieve the appropriate temps without the lamp, then cool. You can always go back and buy the lamp if needed, or return it.

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Originally Posted by snakevet121

yah i just didnt want to waste money for the perfect thing i just needed to no so i dont have to waste money but could someone at least tell me if i only need the ground tempurature up not the air so i dont need a lamp and waste more money

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Personally, I would not let the ambient temps drop below 80F. If ur room temps are lower than that, then chances are a UTH will not be sufficient to heat the ambient temps inside the tank. If your ur room temps tend to be on the cold side, then I would defenitely go with two under tank heaters and a CHE to get the temps right. I would try and get my setup correct before getting the snake.

I'll second what iceman25 said, with the addition that I would suggest against getting a lamp -- from what I've read, they'll just make it more difficult for you to keep the humidity at the right level.

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Originally Posted by engywook

I'll second what iceman25 said, with the addition that I would suggest against getting a lamp -- from what I've read, they'll just make it more difficult for you to keep the humidity at the right level.

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I think that it could be done with a CHE and a large water bowl underneath. Some of our members have had success with such a setup(Cass comes to mind). Maybe she will chime in. :)

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Originally Posted by snakevet121

hey everyone im getting a ball pretty soon but i have a question if my house is at around 68 degrees (im getting a bp) can i use a heat wave tropical heat pad large to heat up a 30 gallon to around 92 degrees warm and 82 on the cool side or will i need a rheostat to make it goe up tempurature to heat and can i just heat the ground or do i have to heat the air?

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A rheostat will not make your temps rise but will give you control over the heat the pad or bulb is putting out. You will need a pad that has sufficent wattage to heat the ot side of the floor and then use the dimmer or thermostat to make sure it does not go over the temps you need. If you room is under 75 then you can use reflectix to kind of seal in some of the heat and bounce it back into the cage where it needs to be rather than letting it escape into the room.

Personally, with room temps that low, I would not go with using a tank. They are generally fine if your room temp hovers around 80 degrees, but it could be risky w/ temps that low. And there is little insulation between the warm tank air and the cooler outside air, especially at the screen lid.
However, I have never experimented with heatlamps; if you can rig something that would heat the air above/around the tank, maybe that'd work; I would definately do a "dry run" and get temps right before beinging your snake into the picture! You may have to also rig something to retain humidity (plastic wrap?) so the lamp doesn't dry the tank out too much.

Geniveve is right, I get similar temps in my basement. To keep the heat in my vision cages, I use an 11" strip of flexwatt in the back, and 3" strip in the front, and during cooler months surround the cage in reflectix (except for the front). I would consider keeping the room warmer, or going to an enclosed type cage.


Neil