In need of some help..

Hmmm a divider isint a bad idea....although the uth is on one side and I dont think it would heat efficently enough if it was split in half long ways.The bad thing is i already stuck the uth to the tank..... theres no way a 40 gallon would work with plenty of hides /trees/ background and such? I dont want to stress the snake or kill it, just trying to get this to work. Would it help if you guys had a picture of the tank?

Ok , will do .. ill go through and do everything needed to make my ball as comfy as possible. Now onto the problem I came here for..... I cant seem to get the hot side temp above 75-79 degrees and the cool side is 69-75....... not good, not good at all.

Pet stores don't know what they are doing most of the time.. I'm sure they have a bunch of BPs together in that 50 gallon tank? Very bad to say the least.. you really should consider buying your snake from a breeder. Snakes can be safely shipped.. or you can look for a breeder or show nearby to you. Snakes from a reputable breeder are going to be much healthier than your average pet store ball python.. which very well may have parasites or not even be captive bred.

As for the temperatures.. if you go to mgreptiles site and get two pieces of flexwatt and two thermostats (the johnson thermostats are good) set one to 92 degrees, the other to 82 degrees, and you should be set. Keeping the substrate to a minimal layer will help. I use newspaper for all of my snakes..

Another issue with such a big tank is that keeping it heated is more difficult. A 10 gallon tank really is better. Why don't you get a smaller tank just for now and wait for your snake to grow before putting it in the big one?

Yes I have thought over buying from a breeder but the ones around here just dont care for theri animals. Same as pet stores. If I can find a resonably priced reputable breeder online then I will buy from them but that will come later. I cant really afford to but a new tank and full setup...... if I go with another uth and buy two thermostats that should work right? Then ill just have to do as suggested and give the snake plenty of tight hides and such... wont it be like have a small rat den in the forest... but this forest only being 40 gallons big , haha. If at all possible I would like to make the 40 gallon work, sorry if it sounds like im being seflsih and what not, to a point I know I am ... but ive struggeled just to afford what I bought so far, I should have done more research before buy the supplies ... my fault. Maybe a ball python just isint for me, I dont want to try to make the tank work and wind up with a un happy herp.If nothing else ill setup the tank for my geckos..... thanks for your time and patience everyone.Best regards with your snakes and everything.... off to my new found lizard cage : D

Ryan

A 10 gallon tank is less than $10 at most pet stores.. you don't need to buy everything again.. most of what you have is fine for a 10 gallon. With a 10 you need two hides, substrate (which you have) water dish and heat. The thermostats are around $70 each and the flexwatt is $4 a foot.

But.. if you're really not that interested in the BP, maybe it is better if you not get one. They are a commitment just like any other animal.

No its not that ..... ive wanted one for years but I dont want to provide an innappropriate tank for the animal.... at 75$ each for the thermo-stats,heat tape, misc other stuff thats nearing another 200$ Is there any cheaper solutions?

if i did break down and buy two themrostats, four foot or so of flexwatt..... and replaced the uth I already have, in the process destroying a 30$ unit would the tank be suitable for the snake? Along with the bckground / tight enclosures and stuff?

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Originally Posted by Trigger

No its not that ..... ive wanted one for years but I dont want to provide an innappropriate tank for the animal.... at 75$ each for the thermo-stats,heat tape, misc other stuff thats nearing another 200$ Is there any cheaper solutions?

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If the place where you are keeping your animals stays at a constant temp through out the year, I would recomend getting a dimmer switch from Lowes or Home Dipot. I prefer the sliding ones as opposed to the ones that have fixed settings. Get one dimmer for each UTH. I think they run you around 10 to 15 dollars. Also, cover the top of the tank with contact paper. This preserves heat and humidity.

Just to let you know.... I have *carefully* ripped (do those 2 words go together? lol) UTH's off of the bottom of glass dozens of times (a few of my UTH's have been on 3 or 4 different glass vivs) without breaking them. They still heat, but after a while they just loose there stickyness. Nothing a little foil tape cant fix!
p.s.-flexwatt rocks

I love foil tape! I use it for everything!