Help with temperature

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Originally Posted by pbyeerts

I unplugged the UTH and will keep it off until the thermostat arrives. I have the evening (red) heat bulb on. I've also placed a space heater that I've used for my bird next to the tank on low heat - it should help to keep the hot side warmer, but not too warm.

I probably won't get any sleep tonight because I'm so worried about Oliver. He was very active, climbing and exploring all over the place when he arrived. Now, he won't come out of his hide. I'll be destroyed if the temp problems injure or kill him.

An an interesting note is that is site is the only place that I've read which suggests a thermostat, including books. I would have had one if I knew that I needed it.....

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Staying in the hide isn't likely a bad thing. One of the things you're going to see repeated over and over on here is that a happy python is a hiding python. I think with the night lamp on and a little heat from a space heater, you're going to be ok.

I'm sure someone is going to pipe in with the fact that you should have had everything you needed and had the tank set up BEFORE you got the little guy home... Don't let that get to you. It looks like you made quite an effort to do just that. You just didn't have the right books. Besides, you seem to have figured out that we try really hard to help each other around here. In any case, good luck, and welcome to the family.

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Thank you so much for your help and comfort. I read so many articles and books, watched YouTube videos, etc and tried to educate myself as much as I could for Oliver's sake. His life is in my hands, and I take that very, very seriously.

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Originally Posted by pbyeerts

His life is in my hands, and I take that very, very seriously.

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That's what I love to hear,should be more people like you and me for that case as well as everyone on this site that loves there pets wether it's a dog,cat ,ferret or snake. I take care of my cats and snakes the same way I do family. They mean everything to me,I'm a huge animal person... Your guy will be fine,don't worry bout it..leave the UTH unplugged for the night and the red bulb will keep your tank plenty comfortable for him.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

This is absolutely ridiculous. 24 hours of bright light while not ideal isn't going to harm the snake, whereas an unregulated UTH could easily hurt the snake plus the fact that it is a fire risk.

Thickening the substrate layer is never recommended when using a UTH. BP's are known to dig into the substrate and sit directly on the bottom of the cage. By thickening the substrate you also risk increasing the temperature of the glass.

Lamps even white lamps are the way to go in this situation. If it was going to be more than a few days I would recommend getting an infrared heat lamp but even then a good BP cage should have a nice dark hide anyway.

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Notice I didn't say thickening the substrate layer is IDEAL, and I also suggested using the travel carrier pictured in her other post to prevent digging down to an unsafe heater. Incidentally, thicker substrate isn't necessarily going to result in hotter glass. Depending on the substrate, it may even dissipate some of the heat. That's the reason there are different UTH's for sand vs "bedding" substrates. Considering that she appears to be using coconut husk, there's a lot of dissipation going on. Coco husk is one of the least conductive substrates.

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I have repti-bark as my substrate......

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Originally Posted by pbyeerts

I have repti-bark as my substrate......

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I just started using eco earth and repti bark mix last week,holds humidity well..switching my other tank over this weekend

Yes, I read that it holds humidity well, and I chose it for that reason since I decided to use a glass tank.

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Originally Posted by pbyeerts

Yes, I read that it holds humidity well, and I chose it for that reason since I decided to use a glass tank.

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It holds humidity pretty well. Conductivity wise, it's really close to coco. It looks a lot like it too! The only thing I don't like about it is that it's made of Fir Tree bark. I'm most likely being VERY overprotective, but I avoid anything pine or fir related, even bark. I prefer a cypress/coco blend.

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Originally Posted by pbyeerts

Yes, I read that it holds humidity well, and I chose it for that reason since I decided to use a glass tank.

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Honestly it does,so does a coco husk and moss mix which I used last as well..but I'll be honest if u take the time when u have it to mess with your lamp set up,covering the screen etc,you can hold humidity just as well with aspen,my bigger guy just shed perfect and made a few adjustments to the lamp heat set up as well as the way I covered the tank and wett towels etc and he has aspen now..during his 5 days shed cycle,humidity never dropped below 65 and stayed mainly around 75-80.

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Originally Posted by NYHC4LIFE8899

Honestly it does,so does a coco husk and moss mix which I used last as well..but I'll be honest if u take the time when u have it to mess with your lamp set up,covering the screen etc,you can hold humidity just as well with aspen,my bigger guy just shed perfect and made a few adjustments to the lamp heat set up as well as the way I covered the tank and wett towels etc and he has aspen now..during his 5 days shed cycle,humidity never dropped below 65 and stayed mainly around 75-80.

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Yeah, but wet towels and lamps hanging all over... Yuck! It just looks thrown together to me.

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