Vote for BP.Net for the 2013 Forum of the Year! Click here for more info.

» Site Navigation

» Home
 > FAQ

» Online Users: 800

0 members and 800 guests
No Members online
Most users ever online was 47,180, 07-16-2025 at 05:30 PM.

» Today's Birthdays

None

» Stats

Members: 75,909
Threads: 249,113
Posts: 2,572,172
Top Poster: JLC (31,651)
Welcome to our newest member, KoreyBuchanan

55 gallon tank

Printable View

  • 02-23-2013, 11:18 PM
    SlitherinSisters
    I would honestly sell that 55 or trade it before I used it for ball pythons. It's going to be hassle to keep it warm enough and humid enough. But if you insist, you will probably need two heat lamps and maybe even two UTH, one on the cool side and the hot side set at different temps.
  • 02-24-2013, 12:14 AM
    SunnyD
    Re: 55 gallon tank
    Well I put a uth on the hot side rated for a 30-40 gallon and above that I have just a typical blue day bulb. The other half I keep a damp towel over t
    the top to keep as much heat in as possible, and potentially help with the humidity.
    And yes, it houses a lemon pastel bp and hopefully soon a bumblebee bp.
  • 02-24-2013, 12:18 AM
    martin82531
    55 gallon tank
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SunnyD View Post
    Well I put a uth on the hot side rated for a 30-40 gallon and above that I have just a typical blue day bulb. The other half I keep a damp towel over t
    the top to keep as much heat in as possible, and potentially help with the humidity.
    And yes, it houses a lemon pastel bp and hopefully soon a bumblebee bp.

    Most recommended keeping ball pythons in separate enclosures unless for breeding or for advanced herp keepers.

    A T8 from animal plastics with a divider would be an ideal enclosure to hold two ball pythons. It's made out of PVC, so it does a much better job at holding in temps and humidity.

    Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk
  • 02-24-2013, 12:24 AM
    SunnyD
    Re: 55 gallon tank
    From the things I've read and the local pet store breeders that I associate with say they would be fine in there together. I'm more so just making sure I'm on the track with heating such a big tank properly.
  • 02-24-2013, 12:26 AM
    martin82531
    55 gallon tank
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SunnyD View Post
    From the things I've read and the local pet store breeders that I associate with say they would be fine in there together. I'm more so just making sure I'm on the track with heating such a big tank properly.

    I would do some research on the topic on this forum before doing so, housing two ball pythons in one enclosure without a divider is not a generally accepted practice.


    Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk
  • 02-24-2013, 12:39 AM
    AngelOtter
    I would not put any reptile in a tank with another, too much risk for injury and stress. I would separate them, especially if you really care about their health and safety. Two snakes means fighting over hiding spots as well, so one snake may be left not feeling secure, or not regulating it's temperature properly.

    I would get rid of the 55g and get two smaller tanks. It would be much easier to maintain proper heat and humidity, and it's less risky.
  • 02-24-2013, 07:54 AM
    33rpm
    Re: 55 gallon tank
    I'd 86 those damp towels. Get some plexi-glass on that 55!

    People give up on glass tanks too easily, imo. They just throw a wet towel over the top (fire hazard!) and glue construction paper or styrofoam to the outside...then give up. I'm glad they don't build houses for a living! :rofl:
  • 02-24-2013, 06:27 PM
    nighttrain_1991
    Re: 55 gallon tank
    Great pic of the set up. I too am struggling with temp and humidity issues and it looks like you might have the answers. What size tank is that? What watt bulb / che? By covering the top and providing heat on just one side do you get an appropriate gradient / cool side temp? I was concerned about scortching / fire hazards with covering that close to the heat source, but it doesn't seem to be a problem. How do you take care of humidity / air flow with that set up? Sorry to bombard you with so many questions just really want to get things right for her so she is comfortable and happy.
  • 02-24-2013, 08:30 PM
    Seanjackmc
    Re: 55 gallon tank
    I'm very new to owning snakes, my son has a ball in a glass enclosure it's not as big probably a 30 gallon tank but we use a Uth on a hydro farm thermostat and a che on a dimmer above. We have two digital thermometers with probes. One probe is under substrate above the uth. It reads between 94-95 degrees. That creates around 88-90 on the surface for the hotspot. The other thermometers probe is about 4 inches above the bottom of the tank on a wall measuring ambient temps. It reads around 80-82. Humidity is difficult to keep up. In the winter our house averages 25% humidity. I mist often and have a humidifier in my sons rooms. He is in shed so we have to mist alot to achieve a 60-70% level right now. It can be done. We look forward to a animal plastics cage in the near future.
    good luck
  • 02-26-2013, 02:52 PM
    martin82531
    55 gallon tank
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by nighttrain_1991 View Post
    Great pic of the set up. I too am struggling with temp and humidity issues and it looks like you might have the answers. What size tank is that? What watt bulb / che? By covering the top and providing heat on just one side do you get an appropriate gradient / cool side temp? I was concerned about scortching / fire hazards with covering that close to the heat source, but it doesn't seem to be a problem. How do you take care of humidity / air flow with that set up? Sorry to bombard you with so many questions just really want to get things right for her so she is comfortable and happy.

    50 gallon

    I got the idea for putting all the heat sources, both UTH and heat lamp on one side of the tank from a boa website. In my particular situation, this does give me optimal gradient temperatures. My hot side is 90-93 degrees, my cool side is 78-80 degrees with RH of 55%.

    I use Eco Earth as my substrate to assist with humidity. This setup is not the best for air flow. What you see on top is a towel covering a piece of a card board box wrapped in tin foil to help keep both the heat and humidity in. The towels are always kept dry, never damp. Once a day, I will take off the tin foil to completely expose the screen mesh to help with air flow.

    Also here is an image from the boa website that helped illustrate the lamp/UTH setup.

    http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/...psf55661d3.png


    Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.1