Some advice Please

You have 2 options for the heat bulbs. You can get the 75 watt bulb and just use it, or you can get the 100 and the hydrofarm thermostat ($30) and regulate the bulb (this would be safer and keep the temperature better just make sure that the light dome you use can accept 100watt bulbs should have a ceramic socket not plastic)

There are a few threads on here about keeping humidity up in glass tanks. I will see if I can pull up a few. The basics are to cover up as much of the screen top as possible with a wet towel or aluminum foil and to most the cage.

Here is one of the humidity threads I'll post more if I can find them.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...tment-Tutorial

I think I will start with the 75 watt and see how that does and maybe go up to the 100watt? I dont need a thermostat with the 75 watt correct? Thanks so much for all your help your my hero and Morticias also :)

No problem, the 75 watt should be fine without the thermostat. Just make sure you have a good thermometer like the one pictured in my first post to keep an eye on it.

If I were you I would get the 75 watt bulb and thermometer now, and when you can get a thermostat (either the hydrofarm or Herpstat any thermostat sold at pet stores are crap and overpriced for what they are. Same goes got thermometers sold there) when you can. You can then use the 75 watt bulb with the thermostat and if needed move up to the 100 watt bulb at that time.

There is a difference between regular red bulbs and the bulb I recomended to you so make sure you get that particular one.

I agree with everyone else an UTH on a dimmer or the Hydroform T-stat would be a great place to start. I do not use bulbs because I dont like the light in the bedroom/snakeroom at night I use CHE (Ceramic Heat Emitter) on a dimmer. As for help with humidity in a tank I use a peice of Plexiglass I purchased at HomeDepot for about $15 and cut it with a jigsaw to fit. Just be sure the Plexi is well supported and go slow or it will crack. Here is some great advice for making your tank hold temps as well as making your snake feel a lot more secure it works great for all my tanks :)

First I covered 3 sides of the tank with aquarium background (the only good item I have found from Petsmart) just to make it look nicer for me to look at.

Second I took some cardboard and cut it to fit the 3 covered sides. Then I taped one side of the cardboard with foil tape to reflect heat back into the tank and taped the cardboard to the 3 coverd sides of the tank as seen below.

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...83841836_n.jpg

As for the screen top I purchased a peice of plexi from HomeDepot and cut it to fit just inside the slider top for my tank. Drilled a few holes in it for ventilation and one large hole for the CHE. Taped a portion of it with foil tape and left the back untaped for the tank light. I do like to see my snake when she is out

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...64496118_n.jpg

Heat is supplied from a 60W CHE and Flexwatt 11 taped to the bottom. The CHE is set at about 50% on a lamp dimmer from HomeDepot (plan to get a dual T-stat for it in the future) The Flexwatt is set on a Vivarium VE 300 T-stat set to 96F. This keep my hot spot at 91F and ambient at 78-81F as room temps fluctuate a little. My Snake seems to love it she just got a great checkup from the vet and is eating like a pig. Hasn't refused a meal yet. As you can see in the photo below room temp was about 68f and tank temps were exactly what I wanted them to be. Hope this helps out and feel free to ask me any questions you might have.

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...84084614_n.jpg

As for your fear of fire I agree with what others have said so far the buld or CHE on top of the tank would pose more of a hazard than an UTH on a T-stat but even then the chance of fire is very slim. I hope this helps and if you have any other questions please feel free to ask :D

So I will get the 75 watt Zoo Med Nocturnal infrared heat bulb from petsmart and the thermostat from walmart that you showed. Do you feel that thermostat is crap also and should only be used temporarily? or can i use it forever? Also would that light bulb confuse her day and night pattern? and the probe from the temp gage where should i put it under the aspen or on top? Also when the moist bedding was used(cypress) and her scales were looking funny do you think that was scale rot? It has improved 100% since changing back to aspen.

where did ya go Aaron??

The thing from Walmart is just a thermometer and is the best you can get without spending $1000. It can be used as long as it functions. If you are referring to the hydrofarm then it can be used for as long as you like. If you want me to explain the difference between the hydrofarm and Herpstat I can.

It might have been scale rot but without seeing a picture of it I can't say for sure.

The probe should go just under the surface of the substrate this will help keep your snake from moving it around too much.

This is what the inside of my cages looks like without the substrate

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...t/682c9a04.jpg

I'm using flexwatt (which is a type of UTH) but the thermometer set us is the same. The box goes on the cool side and the probe goes on the hot side.

The reason you get the red bulb is because they cannot see the light that it produces. So no natural light in the room the cage and the natural darkness of night will create the day/night cycle for your snake.

So I am going to get that thermometer from walmart and it also measure humidity correct? How do I know if it functions correctly? I do not need hydrofarm or herpstat unless i use a UTH correct? I will get the 75 watt bulb also, you think this is safe to use. So snakes do not see light at all? I am confused about that part. Sorry if I am making this more complicated then it is, I tend to do that :(

Yes the thermometer also measures humidity. You can trust it but just use common sense if it seems way hotter or colder than the temperature it is reading you might want to replace it. I have yet to have any issues with them so far.

You will need a hydrofarm or Herpstat with a UTH or a bulb with a higher wattage than 75 watts.

*warning physics content lol* red and infra-red light has a wavelength that the human and snakes eyes can't really see. Basically our eyes aren't designed to see this type of light. I can look straight into one of these bulbs without thinking that it is too bright.