Im newb with BP's

Im going to the pet storem, i need a check list on what to get. i have a 20 gallon, im not gonna be able to get anything bigger for the time being but if i need a heat pad, i can get a bigger one than needed tank size wise.

there is one heat pad made by zoo med that is for a 10 to 20 gal.

I got a mr kritter suanna zone heat mat. 2 of em, should I have gotten the pad?
and I got a basking spot lamp 75 watts, is that enough?
also some clamps for the tank.

Hi,

:welcome: to the forums,

Just a quick question - how are you regulating those heatmats?

Some kinds can get waay to hot for your snake without being controlled by either a thermostat (the best method as it constantly adjusts itself) or a rheostat ( works ok in a stable temp room but needs checked manually).

And to make sure all these are working ok you need a good digital thermometer with a probe if possible - the acu-rite weather station thingy's from wallmart for about $12 are the ones most often recomended.

The probe makes it easy to check the temperatures inside his hides where he will spend most of his time eventually and the base unit also measures the humidity which will make sure he has no problems shedding.:gj:

If you need to use the baskig lamp it will be a good idea to get a red or moonlight bulb ( or even a ceramic heater) for it so it can be left on 24/7 to keep the temps stable.

Also insulating the back,bottom and sides of your tank with either polystyrene or cork sheeting will make it a lot easier to keep everything at the right conditions and you can get picture backgrounds to put on first to make it look better.


Hope this made sense.:)


dr del

well I have never heard of those but you should only need one, depending on how big the mat is and what size tank its for. Im surprised you don't know a lot of this stuff seeing how you had a boa and a few corn snakes ( all of which require proper environments) no offense. Anyway, ball pythons dont require any specific lighting because they are nocturnal so basically all you need is something that produces heat but wont interfere with their day/night cycle. I would suggest a Heat Glo Red light bulb. probably 50 watt... also your gonna need something to monitor temps with and something to make sure it doesn't get too hot i.e a digital thermometer with probes, and either a thermostat or rheostat.
good luck!

okay i exchanged it for a zoomed one. UTH
I have newspaper. how am i not gonna burn his belli.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by k1ingdomKaa

okay i exchanged it for a zoomed one. UTH
I have newspaper. how am i not gonna burn his belli.

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By putting that UTH on a thermostat - it MUST be on a thermostat, or it WILL burn him!

not to step on anyones toes here, but i use a uth and it gets the perfect 91-92.4 degrees. if you put the probe right on the glass it gets to like 103 but with the repti bark layer (even with just one small layer) it rarely climbs above 93. but i dont want to give you guys the thought that you can get away with it. i would say just check it.

Hi,

I Don't know what temperatures the one you have can reach - it really is a case of plugging them in and testing (nowhere near the animals tank for choice).

Well to make sure its ok you need to use either a thermostat or a rheostat.

Good recomended thermostats are;

On/off type (slightly cheaper slightly less stable but still good)

Ranco or johnson controls

Proportional type ( a little more expensive but a little better at holding temps and can control lamps too)

Helix or herpstat

You will probably be better off buying them online rahter than trying to find a local store that carries them unless you are quite lucky.

Have a searh on the forums for places people have bought them as I can only remember reptile basics just now and I know therte are alternatives as well.

It's personal choice but I owuld avoid buying the zoomed 500 thermostat (which it sounds as though your local shop might carry) as there have been reports of them being less stable with a temperature swing or up to 9 degrees and occasionally failing all together - its probably worth the extra money to get a better quality thyermostat as it is one of the most important pieces of equipment needed.

In the short term the lamp diummer from lowes has been used by some people with stable room temps just to make sure the mat doesn't get too hot as well and ( I think ) was only around $12 as well.

Bear in mind if you use a mat each side and a lamp then you will need some way to regulate each one but that a nice proportional might be able to do all of them if you connected dimmer switches inline between it and the lamp and cool end heat mat .

Have a look around for other peoples setups to give you an idea of different ways of doing it.

You might also want to consider a tub if you find getting the humidity and heat right in your tank too time consuming and tricky.

**edit**

Doh!! I'm typing waaay to slow this evening.

Pat it depends on the brand and model - I have some over here that are only capable of boosting temps by ten degrees but when I bought flexwatt I was stunned but how much it can pump out.

**end edit**

dr del

Okay, i updated the tank. due to low funds, Its my christmass present and my mom said that shes not giving me anymore.
Shes already mad i asked for the other stuff.

So i cant get a thermostat. Any other route?
I have a 100w basking light on him.
And the heat pad under.
Newspaper for substrate.
Could i just use thick news paper?

Were should i put the thermometer, and humidity reader?
There the stick on kind.
and were should the basking light go?