Temp drop at night?

That enclosure is pretty big and open for a ball python. You should get him two identical tight-fitting hides so he dosen't have to choose between safety and thermoregulation. The cardboard hide is very large.

I'd also cover 3 of the sides with black construction paper or something he can't see through.

I dont see any thermometers or temp guns laying around. How are you measuring your temps and humidity?

What are you using two lamps for? Lamps really kill humidity.

Are the books on the lid keeping the lid down to prevent the snake from escaping? If they are, you need to ditch them ASAP because books or rocks will not hold a snake in and are very dangerous to use as weights.

I'm not understanding how your hot spot changes at night with the two hides.. could you explain this a little more?

I have a thermometer that I forgot to put back in there when I put him back.
Ok about the hides... what should I use? The rock den is VERY tight on him, like he doesn't even completely fit in it.
Yes that is what the books are doing. The lid has a fairly large whole in it, so I use a metal weight taped down and those weights on top of it. I really don't think there is anything wrong with that. I use lamps because I have heard UTH's cause burns. It changes because I move where the lamp is and since the box is so tall, it is warmer there.

And do I need to get anything to regulate the temp of where the UTH is?

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Originally Posted by thegoalie22

I have a thermometer that I forgot to put back in there when I put him back.
Ok about the hides... what should I use? The rock den is VERY tight on him, like he doesn't even completely fit in it.
Yes that is what the books are doing. The lid has a fairly large whole in it, so I use a metal weight taped down and those weights on top of it. I really don't think there is anything wrong with that. I use lamps because I have heard UTH's cause burns. It changes because I move where the lamp is and since the box is so tall, it is warmer there.

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Originally Posted by thegoalie22

And do I need to get anything to regulate the temp of where the UTH is?

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Hides- I made mine out of various things, i have some pre-made plastic hides that i like. They are from reptile basics (http://reptilebasics.com/Hide-Boxes-p-1-c-282.html). I made some of mine out of plastic, opaque plant saucers, some out of plastic bowls i bought from the party supply store (a soldering iron is your BEST friend for melting plastic). http://images.orgill.com/200x200/2594331.jpg

- The reason that books are dangerous is because 1. they can be knocked off by other animals (i have cats, i've watched them knock things off enclosures). And the second reason, the really dangerous one, is because animals have perished because they've been able to push the weights off to one side enough to let them get part of their head and neck through, the weight shifts and crushes or suffocates the animal.

- Lamps can cause burns if the snake can get near them. What if the snake escaped through the hole in the lid and got close to the lamp? Its a hypothetical, but its possible. They are also humidity killers. If you can make them work then more power to you, but its not the easiest thing in the world to do. You don't really need to move the lamp, the snake will thermoregulate itself if its secure.

- UTHs really do need to be regulated. There is a cheap thermostat you can get for 25, the reptitemp 500R (which is really a glorified rheostat but some people swear by them). There are also dimmer switches you can use but you really need to keep an eye on them. Then there are more reliable thermostats like johnson controls and ranco http://reptilebasics.com/Thermostats-p-1-c-250.html Rich at reptile basics pre-wires some of them so they are ready to go right out of the box if you're uncomfortable doing it yourself. Then high end is helix, herpstat/spyder robotics.

The tank is a 40b, what size UTH should I get? I can get anything I need tomorrow. I really don't want to spend 50 bucks on a UTH and a thermostat. Is there any way around this? I can modify the hides so that they are alot tighter on him. I can afford to buy any UTH I need, but I can't really drop another 30 for a thermostat, being 14 and all lol.

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Originally Posted by thegoalie22

The tank is a 40b, what size UTH should I get? I can get anything I need tomorrow. I really don't want to spend 50 bucks on a UTH and a thermostat. Is there any way around this? I can modify the hides so that they are alot tighter on him. I can afford to buy any UTH I need, but I can't really drop another 30 for a thermostat, being 14 and all lol.

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You need to understand that the animals needs come before yours, and age has nothing to do with it. Do you get an allowance? have a b-day coming up? do odd jobs? Etc. Even Dimmer switches are around 5-10 bucks (you can search how to hook them up on the forums. I dont use them personally so i can't advise you on them).

There are under tank heaters of different varieties. Some are more expensive then others, and you will ALWAYS pay more at a pet store. For a 40B, you'd need a 30-40gal UTH. They come in sizes i think.. Basically you want it to cover 1/3 of the floor of the enclosure. The petsmart ones, zoomed, zilla, cobra-something.. just search online for under tank heaters and you should come up with some more affordable results. There is a thing called flexwatt tape that you can use but flex NEEDS to be used with a thermostat, it can heat up to 140+ unregulated.

If you can, do shopping online or at shows, you really save money. I know when i was 14, if i needed something on the net (and i had no debit/credit hard back then) i talked to them to see if it was ok if they bought it and i gave them cash so we were even.

Alright I asked my mom and she said I can dip into my savings. Basically, tell me exactly what I need to get and how much it would cost at a pet store or other store. The next local reptile show is not for awhile.

How do you suggest I keep that hole secure then?

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Originally Posted by thegoalie22

Alright I asked my mom and she said I can dip into my savings. Basically, tell me exactly what I need to get and how much it would cost at a pet store or other store. The next local reptile show is not for awhile.

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Originally Posted by thegoalie22

How do you suggest I keep that hole secure then?

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new screen :) they make clips to hold the screens in place. I know you can get replacement screens at petsmart/co.

When i did use glass, i had a "reptile specific" one that had a sliding, pin-style locking lid. It was actually pretty sweet for what it was.

For heating: I'd reccomend 1 foot of 11 inch flexwatt, pre-wired from reptile basics http://reptilebasics.com/Flexwatt-He...p-1-c-297.html, get the heat-tape, the connection and the clips and rich will wire it for you. It will be like 9 dollars total. OR you can get an UTH http://reptilebasics.com/Ultratherm-...p-1-c-273.html (11x11 could be ok), thats 19.00 or so. And i'd recommend a pre-wired johnsons control or ranco thermostat (found under thermostats). This is what has worked for me, you're welcome to create something new that works for you as well.

I was using a johnsons control thermostat with flex for a few years, now i've got a helix and im still using heat tape. The helix therms are 129+ dollars.

The difference between the johnson/ranco and the helix/herpstat is that the johnsons/ranco are on/off thermostats an the helix/herps are on ALL the time, constantly controlling temps. They are both acceptable units.

Some people love the reptitemp 500r. I can't stand them personally, but thats because i had a lot of temp fluctuations in the room i lived in when i was using it. If you've got stable room temperatures it could be ok for you. You can usually find those for 30 or so dollars.

If you want, Rich's number is on the reptilebasics website. You can give him a call during business hours, and talk to him about what he thinks. The guy is the KING of customer service. The power strip on my johnson control thermostat was malfunctioning and he had me send it back, replace the strip and ship it back to me free of charge like 5 months after i bought it. He's very knowledable about every one of his products. Since I dont do a lot of work with aquariums anymore, he may be able to better understand the needs of your snake in its environment :)

Why can't I just get a UTH and a thermostat and that pet store. I defintetly can spend 129 dollars on one.