40 gallon breeder tank 4 ball python setup

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these are them

Yes, all sounds good. You'll only need the one UTH. They are designed only to provide a hot spot to aid in digestion, not for ambient temps. Your CHE will take care of the rest.

I might get those pics before bed, ifnot I will in the morning.

Do yourself a favor and get a comparable quality infrared bulb, more wattage then necessary and hook it up to a dimmer lowering it to the proper power temperature. It will last very long and not drain anywhere near humidity out of your enclosure that a CHE would. Trust me, Peace.

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Originally Posted by Sonny1318

Do yourself a favor and get a comparable quality infrared bulb, more wattage then necessary and hook it up to a dimmer lowering it to the proper power temperature. It will last very long and not drain anywhere near humidity out of your enclosure that a CHE would. Trust me, Peace.

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‘Would a 100 watt infrared bulb work or would I need a higher wattage bulb ?

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Originally Posted by Craiga 01453

For substrate, I use a blend of Eco Earth and ReptiBark. I've been using this combo for years and love it. It's easy to spot clean, maintains humidity well, has good odor control and looks naturalistic.
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I picked up a 25 qt bag of eco earth and a 10 qt bag of reptile bark, excellent suggestion! :gj:What’s ur mix ratio? 50-50? I was thinking 70 eco 30 bark

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Originally Posted by SubieRoadKill

This tank is just gonna be the starter tank, in the near future I am planning on going to a t10-or t11 inclosure from ap. But I need to start somewhere so this is going to be my starter tank and my pythons 1st home with us.

so I am now convinced to keep it vertical and finish the top with a hinged door for access, but I like the idea of insulting this with wood or cork or styrofoam for heat retention. Thank you Bogertophis!

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Why bother is my question? A simple tub in the warmest part of the house would be 100X easier for a first setup. It's a hassle to keep them in an aquarium, hence all this stuff that you are buying then going to retire quickly down the line and upgrade to what you actually need and want anyways so why not just save, buy quality equipment and caging straight off the bat? I've played the buy cheap and upgrade later game, with snakes, with fish, etc and it's not the smart way to go. Especially with your house so cold, it's going to be a battle between heat and humidity. Don't go cheap is my advice, it's only going to cost more in the end. Buy a herpstat, buy a quality cage, the upfront cost is more but the payoff is worth it long term in health and ease of care. You don't have the snake yet so no rush. Do it right. On/off thermostats aren't the best for heating either, I prefer a proportional one that keeps temps steady regulating output instead of 100% on or 100% off which fluctuates your temps.

Since your house is so cold I’d get two uths, one for cool side and one for hot. As already mentioned make sure to use thermostats. If you place them under a solid hide like an eco terra/zilla cave it will hold heat better. Make sure to carefully monitor temps until everything is set up correctly. For daylight it’s good to have a basking bulb as well. I find that my bp loves to bask. I have a large ceramic log to create a vertical heat gradient as he loves to climb. It’s only like 12” tall so if he falls he’s fine.


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Originally Posted by SubieRoadKill

I picked up a 25 qt bag of eco earth and a 10 qt bag of reptile bark, excellent suggestion! :gj:What’s ur mix ratio? 50-50? I was thinking 70 eco 30 bark

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I mix the ratio up a bit depending on the season and how much humidity retention I need. But I think 70/30 is a perfect starting point.

....and I told you that you'd run into glass bashers!!! Hahaha. But seriously, glass works just fine. I've been using it for almost 20 years, and millions of snake keepers do as well.

I'm just getting home, let me get those pics for you in a few...

Here's the pics. The quality isn't great and my glass shows water spots with my camera flash on. But you get the idea.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Also, my house temps are pretty similar to yours, so I really don't think there's a need for a second UTH.
But, this is a great learning opportunity. This is why setting everything up before bringing the animal home is so important.

Keep up the good work!!

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Originally Posted by MarkL1561

Since your house is so cold I’d get two uths, one for cool side and one for hot. As already mentioned make sure to use thermostats. If you place them under a solid hide like an eco terra/zilla cave it will hold heat better. Make sure to carefully monitor temps until everything is set up correctly. For daylight it’s good to have a basking bulb as well. I find that my bp loves to bask. I have a large ceramic log to create a vertical heat gradient as he loves to climb. It’s only like 12” tall so if he falls he’s fine.


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I'd have to agree...all situations are a little different, so meeting the needs of YOUR snake in YOUR house may require tweaking the generally-accepted "rules". ;)

Generally it's not recommended to heat more than a third of the cage floor, but I have in some cases, & IF you're careful & all is well-regulated, I'd say heating as much
as 2/3 of the floor is fine, but the snake needs temperature choices, part with no heat, part with mild warmth & part with more warmth, as in your case (in a cold house).