Need some advice.........

Hello,

I am new to owning a snake, though I have found it quite a lot of fun thus far. I have 1 Ball Python in a 55 gallon tank. It is glass with a screen on top. I have a ceramic heat emitter and an UTH. I have the UTH mounted on the side. Can my snake burn himself on this? Also, the Ceramic Heat Emitter is destroying the humidity. It used to fluctuate between 50-60%, and now it goes from 45-50%. How can I keep the humidity up without spending a bunch of money?
Thanks for your advice!

Is your UTH connected to a thermostat? if not, then your snake may get burned since under tank heaters can get pretty hot (110°F+). I'd also suggest putting the UTH underneath the tank since ball pythons tend to do better with belly heat as it helps with digestion.

As for the humidity issue, It's going to be tough keeping the humidity up in such a large tank, especially with a CHE thrown in the mix. I recommend getting a spray bottle and misting the tank with water as needed. Try not to go overboard and soak the substrate, since too much wetness can cause scale rot and other health problems. Another idea you can try is covering 3/4 of the screen top with 2 layers of aluminum foil (shiny part down). Cover the foil with a layer or two of duct tape to secure it, and make sure you have enough room for your CHE of course. This will help keep humidity and heat from escaping the tank. I took two quick snapshots of my screen top to show you an example of what it should look like.

Top:
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/499/topvd4.jpg

Bottom:
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/8131/bottomac0.jpg

Hope this helps. Welcome to the forums :)