BP baby is overly active?

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Originally Posted by Mangiapane85

So you don't really have an idea of how hot it is on top of the heat pad right now? That's a dangerous game to be playing, because I know they can get quite warm.

That's a 60w bulb you're using you said.. I'm assuming it's a UVB/basking type bulb? I figure that would be PLENTY to provide a good hotspot especially since it's SO close to the tub itself.. what do you do at nighttime though?

I know you said you're waiting on a temp gun, but you can just go buy one at lowes or Home Depot. I would get one TODAY if I were you because I have a feeling that your temps aren't what you think they are.

And you don't HAVE to spend that much for a thermostat (referring to the herpstat) for the setup you have. One of the jumpstart stats on amazon would be fine. They are very inexpensive, but do a good job.

And also, I understand "clutter" can help with a snakes security, but I'd suggest maybe taking out one or two of those egg cartons or what not. That just seems, too much.

Nevertheless, keep us posted on the snakes behavior/health.

EDIT: Oh, and yes. It's just a normal, wild type BP.

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That's a good point about the 'actual' temperatures !!

I had a Royal turn very unnaturally active a while back and when I checked with the temp gun the warm side was over a hundred and the heat gradient was also too high as a result .... an issue with the stat/ probe .

Anyways it was clearly trying to find a cooler place and that's what I always wonder when I see threads like this one .

Luckily mine are all in clear view ( kept in vivs ) and checked many times daily ( I'm kinda obsessive ) and that's how I noticed ..


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In my experience the day bulbs always burn out faster than the red night bulbs. Don't feel like you have to swap the bulbs out for day and night. Your snake does not care about anything that comes from that bulb except the heat. The only time I spent money on day bulbs was when using them for naturalistic cages that were all done up and even planted.

When buying the day and night bulb pack I always ended up with extra red night bulbs. I had the same issue with the blue night bulbs. They look awesome and have a black light effect to them but they burn out faster than the reds. They also didn't give me the same heat output as the red bulbs.

In the end if you are not lighting a done up enclosure Id say save your money and just use the red bulbs.

Good to know about the bulbs, thanks! The pack we bought just came with both but I'll stick to red bulbs from now on.

He seems to have calmed down a LOT overnight. All night he stayed wedged in the same place he was when I took the photo. Since this morning he's been active again but fingers crossed we're headed in the right path. I'm sick as hell today but I'll go track down a store that sells a heat gun.

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Originally Posted by sufficio

Good to know about the bulbs, thanks! The pack we bought just came with both but I'll stick to red bulbs from now on.

He seems to have calmed down a LOT overnight. All night he stayed wedged in the same place he was when I took the photo. Since this morning he's been active again but fingers crossed we're headed in the right path. I'm sick as hell today but I'll go track down a store that sells a heat gun.

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Try eBay ... Theyre about 15 dollars including postage ....dont pay too much for one , those cheap ones work great in my experience .

Small update. Still waiting on my items to come in the mail, but the aspen bedding did come and it seems to help hold the heat in the tank better(don't worry- I'm keeping a close eye on his humidity). I also laid a towel over the top of his cage to keep the heat in, and seem to have struck success! He is finally hiding. I know the tank is still a few degrees too cold, but the fix is coming in the mail. But I'm so happy he's finally hiding instead of constantly exploring. Thanks everyone for the tips! =)

I think the bulb should be sufficient enough? I got a 100w white python ceramic running and heats my 4ft viv perfectly and that set up is alot smaller, as for roaming around normally it's because they are seeking something which from the set up I'd assume might be a better hide? Get a cheap plastic one off ebay or reptile basics go for the small size so it's a 'snug' fit. and maybe use some aspen bedding on the floor.

Apologies didn't realise the responses on other pages :)

I use ambient heat black night bulbs 24/7. On dimmers. They provide the bump of heat that my tanks need to reach that last bit of proper temp (I have the uth a tad lower because I'm paranoid of burns.) and are dim enough not to bother the snakes. Dimmer than the full moon on an African night, and that's where they are from.

It sounds like your snake is pretty new - a certain amount of activity is not unusual for an animal that's just a bit freaked out from being in a new place, regardless of how good or bad your husbandry is.

That said, it's still important to get your temps under control. One option is a ceramic heat emitter, which is a bulb that emits heat but no light. Ball pythons do benefit from having a day/night cycle, but it's not entirely clear that those red lights are actually invisible to them. Ceramic heat emitters last a long time and the normal light level in the room will do the job of telling your snake what time of day it is.

Another suggestion is a radiant heat panel. They're expensive, but they last. The benefit of a RHP is that it spreads the heat over a much wider area, so no part of it ever gets hot enough to damage the plastic of a tub. And because it spreads heat over a wider area, it's good at maintaining an even ambient temperature. It's also a more efficient way to heat the tub because the entire thing is inside the enclosure, and you (and/or your thermostat!!) control the temperature by reducing power to it. If you heat a tub with a lamp that you move closer or farther away, the lamp is on full blast all the time and most of the heat it produces is heating the air outside, not the inside of your tub.

If you have an 80-watt radiant heat panel inside the tub and it only needs to run at 50% power to heat your tub, it's only using 40 watts; or maybe you can heat your whole tub with a 40-watt panel in the first place. That's less than half the energy usage of a 100-watt bulb. Considering that this stuff basically needs to run 24/7, the difference in energy costs really does add up, even if you don't see it all at once. A back-of-the-envelope calculation is that a 100-watt bulb running 24/7 costs somewhere around $130/year. If a RHP cuts the wattage required to heat the tub in half (because less heat is wasted), it pays for itself easily considering that you might be using the same panel for a decade or two.

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Originally Posted by Coluber42

It sounds like your snake is pretty new - a certain amount of activity is not unusual for an animal that's just a bit freaked out from being in a new place, regardless of how good or bad your husbandry is.

That said, it's still important to get your temps under control. One option is a ceramic heat emitter, which is a bulb that emits heat but no light. Ball pythons do benefit from having a day/night cycle, but it's not entirely clear that those red lights are actually invisible to them. Ceramic heat emitters last a long time and the normal light level in the room will do the job of telling your snake what time of day it is.

Another suggestion is a radiant heat panel. They're expensive, but they last. The benefit of a RHP is that it spreads the heat over a much wider area, so no part of it ever gets hot enough to damage the plastic of a tub. And because it spreads heat over a wider area, it's good at maintaining an even ambient temperature. It's also a more efficient way to heat the tub because the entire thing is inside the enclosure, and you (and/or your thermostat!!) control the temperature by reducing power to it. If you heat a tub with a lamp that you move closer or farther away, the lamp is on full blast all the time and most of the heat it produces is heating the air outside, not the inside of your tub.

If you have an 80-watt radiant heat panel inside the tub and it only needs to run at 50% power to heat your tub, it's only using 40 watts; or maybe you can heat your whole tub with a 40-watt panel in the first place. That's less than half the energy usage of a 100-watt bulb. Considering that this stuff basically needs to run 24/7, the difference in energy costs really does add up, even if you don't see it all at once. A back-of-the-envelope calculation is that a 100-watt bulb running 24/7 costs somewhere around $130/year. If a RHP cuts the wattage required to heat the tub in half (because less heat is wasted), it pays for itself easily considering that you might be using the same panel for a decade or two.

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Have you used a RHP in a tub?