Lighting, Lamp and Bulb Question

I have a question about light fixtures and bulb types for a bp enclosure. Right now my bp is in a tub, and I have a normal clamp/gooseneck lamp attached to the table it is on with the lamp dome right over the hardware cloth hole in the lid. I have been having to raise the lamp a little to keep my humidity in range recently. It has a 45 watt (I think, maybe 60) Halogen floodlight in it.

I have heard some people say that you need a certain type of lamp in order for it to really be effective for some heating effect. I dont know if this is true, or if people are getting a normal bulb confused with a CHE.

Also, I wanted to know if there would be a better bulb choice for this lamp or for a new one. I was thinking of switching to either a red or moonlight bulb. I know the red light is undetectable by my bp, so would that mean I would need additional light to set up the day/night cycle? Can herps detect the blue moonlight bulbs?

All of this is just some ideas I am not really set on switching bulbs or lamps unless I really should. I have the light on a 12/12 cycle via a timer, and it is working out well. I like having no light at night and Pandora seems more comfortable. With that said, would there be a better choice for daytime use, lamp or bulb?

If you can maintain the proper temp gradient with just a UTH that is the best way to go and will have the least risk. Currently it has been accepted that Ball pythons do not require a significant light source. The little bit of light they may get through a window in the room or such is more than enough. That does not mean that this idea may not change in the future, but currently no evidence has been found suggesting they need any kind of light source.

Agreed.

You do not need a light source at all. Keep in mind, these snakes pretty much live underground or in termite mounds in the wild. Just provide heat with a UTH of come kind, and you are good to go.

3rded! I totally agree - if you can get the right temp gradient with UTH's only, thats the way to go. I do have lamps on all my snakes, but that is because my apartment is a basement apartment, and its about 65 - 68 degrees 24/7, so my little babbies would freeze their tails off without the lamps. That being said, I am also fortunate in that because of where my apartment is, I have great humidity, so I don't have to worry about drying out.

On another note - why didn't anyone tell me a bigger lamp with the same wattage bulb as a small lamp can throw out an extra ten degrees!!! lol I bought an 8.5 inch lamp/dome last night to try and help the temps stay in my bp tank a little better, and oh boy did they!! I went from 78-80 degrees on the cool side to 89 (so I put a dimmer on it) but now I have that extra heat available when it gets really cold in here.

The thing you have to remember about lights is that they provide a different type of heat than a CHE, UTH or RHP and because of this they dry what ever they heat. So with any light emitting heat source your going to get a drying effect. My suggestion would be the same as the other switch to a heat source that uses a transfered or radiant heating method.

I use medium lamps (8.5 domes) with 25 or 40 watt bulbs depending on where in the apartment the enclosure is (i.e. near an outside wall or not). I keep the lamps at least 8" above the top of the lid, be it a tub lid with soldered holes or a tank screen top with foil treatment, and most of my lamps have the built in dimmers.

I have found that blue bulbs work better than red for night, since they are less harsh and give off a bit less heat. Otherwise there is no real 'you must use THIS bulb' since BPs don't really need that added light. You just need to use something that won't suck out TOO much humidity and won't put out a ton of heat that messes up your temps. Personally I use ExoTerra SunGlo bulbs in all my lamps.

Of course, if you are one who can obtain the proper temps with just UTHs or RHPs, then that is the preferred way to go.