Help! New BP Strikes Frequently

I really hate when this happens:

New Person: Hey everybody. I need some help. Have any suggestions?

Forum Person: Sure! If you correct this and fix that, things should improve.

New Person: I am not going to do that. And this is why...

Hi Amy,


I think we see this because a lot of the advice we give is designed to prevent future problems we have seen before.

Since in many cases the person asking for the input hasn't encountered the problem so we come across as maniaclly trying to fix either completely unrelated areas or tinkering with areas they have already got working perfectly from their point of view.

Well that and we do tend to get a bit fixated at times.:D


dr del

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi Amy,


I think we see this because a lot of the advice we give is designed to prevent future problems we have seen before.

Since in many cases the person asking for the input hasn't encountered the problem so we come across as maniaclly trying to fix either completely unrelated areas or tinkering with areas they have already got working perfectly from their point of view.

Well that and we do tend to get a bit fixated at times.:D


dr del

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Yeah I get ya... I just don't and never will understand the logic in asking for help and then justifying your reasons for not accepting the advice offered.

Yup, anything with a mouth can and will bite at some point in time.

I agree with switching to a smaller enclosure, be it a tub or a 20 gal tank. I myself prefer tubs because the humidity is MUCH easier to contain.

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Originally Posted by TheMadNucleus

Thanks Again - hope you folks are right, I'm going to apply your advice.

On other question: I have a 55 gallon (4' by 1' floor space) and I have 2 22watt zoo-med heat pads under it.

I have 2 50 watt haolgens on top and 2 50 watt incad. red lights - the halogens are on during the day the red lights are on in the evening.

The heat pads are always on. The temp in the tank runs a bit over 82 deg during the day and 75 degs at night.

Sound ok?

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i have the same size tank for my bp.. had a night mare getting the temps and humidity right.. here is what i did i baught the biggest uth i could believe it is a 22 or 25 watt.. then i cover the top with 3 layers tinfoilshine side down and 3 layers of ducktape.. opened about 20% of the top .. i slowly moved my water dish closer to hot side till humidity was right ..you need a thermostat or reostat for sure i use restat right now.. temps are stable at 90 - 93 hot side low 80's cool side humidity is 60 62 %

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Originally Posted by hoo-t

We can never convince everyone. All we can do is try. Those of us that have been around here very long have seen multiple threads about snakes that have been burned. Again, while every situation is different, and there may be something about your heat pads that keep them from getting too warm, here at bp.net, we try to provide a "best practices" type of advice. If you're convinced, you're convinced. And all I can say is do what you think is best. If your snake gets burned, come back here. We can help you with that too. By the way, in my opinion, about the only thing worse than an unregulated human heat pad for heating your snake's enclosure would be a heat rock.

Again, best of luck!
Steve

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well being new to snakes i might be wrong but i am sure that they can as i had mine just pluged into wall no reostat and the temp on the glass was 115 deg..

sorry wrong place

Ok, not that I'm an expert, but I do have a very good friend who I direct all my questions to that has raised these lovely creatures for many years. Everything that the "resident old timers" here are saying is very much the truth. Snakes body temp is normally much lower than ours, and in my opinion that would make them susceptible to burns at lower temps. I know that my UTH gets uncomfortably hot to my touch at the glass. After I put about 8-12 layers of newspaper over it, it isn't so bad. And that is a zoo-meds UTH made to work "without a thermostat". I watch my snakes very close for any signs of burn. I am convinced that they would sit right on the heat, even if there was no protecting layers on paper.

As a new comer here I find it very rude to ask a question for help, and then tell the same person why they are wrong, if you know how to do it, than do it. The great thing I've noticed about most of these people is that they will hold there tongue and not say "I told you so".

I really hope I didn't overstep my bounds, or sound too rude, i just work in technical support and get people like this that call me every day. "Hi, my internet isn't working" "ok, go ahead and unplug the modem for me" "that isn't going to work" "can we just try it real quick, please" "ok, but it isn't going to work" "ok, try your internet" "hmm, its working that strange, you were right"

I'm done now :)

Wow - what a variety of answers and opinions - enough to confuse even the experienced. And I want to thank everyone for all there information and the window into their experience.

I am a little upset about the posts "hear it all the time, a newbee comes on line asks for help and then refuses it." First off I'm not a newbee - I have had snakes as pets for many years. Secondly I accepted most, and thanked many for all their input and help.

All in all the only issue that I disagreed with in these posts (and apparently some here agreed and some experienced snake keepers out side of this forum also agreed) is that the UTH's by Zoo-med can be used and can be used with great success if used properly.

I measured the temperature of my unit after it was on for some time and measured it with a digital probe and an infrared spot gun. The results were the same - 82 deg above the subtrate, 86 on the glass, and about 100 on the raw pad itself. These have been incredibly consistent.

Some folks posted that a BP will not stay on something that is too hot to get burned on and I agree, additionally I am quite convinced that the temps of these pads will not burn flesh. Even under malfuntion the heating elements behave like long fuses - if the unit begins to overheat via the consumption of greater wattage - the unit will basic stop working as a result of one of the nichrome elements (which are arranged in series) blowing out.

As for a 55 - I noticed that another poster is using one with success and I do agree that it took me some time to get temps adjusted but now they are fully in the range that is recommended by the care sheets on this site.

As for Oscar's striking - I hope all of you are correct and that I will be able to get this under control - I have, as many suggested, left him alone for the last few days and will continue this for the full week. He is still snapping at the glass, all of his other functions are normal - active, eats well, has eliminated wastes, drinks water, etc. I have heard recently that some of them will never stop this striking behavior and if that is the case it will not be much fun keeping a pet like this for years to come - additionally, I think it will be prudent to notify those considering a BP as a pet, that even when secured from a reputable breeder, they can still have nasty dispositions which are not alterable.

Strikers I just picked up a baby female mojave male yellowbelly and another 100% het albino male. They all came from the same breeder. But the little het albino is a nippy little s@#t. Some are some arent. Some grow out of it the more you handle them some dont. As for the temp thing i dont know what temp it takes to burn a snake. If something is getting to hot to burn a snake it will move. Well how do you explain all the reports of snakes being burnt. Id have some kind of control on the the heat pad. Just cause the company that made it says its safe. Doesnt always mean it is. Theres alot of people on these forums that know and have had snakes longer than you and me both put together. If you asked around 9 out of 10 would say use some thing to control the heat just in case. Whats more important? The safety of your snake and not loosing it. (When something breaks and fries your snake.) Or saving a few bucks and not setting up the cage so its safe enough for the animal. Ok everything might be ok but then it might not. I think thats what everyone is kind of trying to say. If your willing to take that chance. Then why did you get the snake? Just to say you have a snake. Oh another thing If the heat pad gets to hot does short out. It could start a fire. A few years ago i built a rack. Had it wired with 3 in heat tape. Came home could smell smoke really bad. Went to the snake room. It was filled with smoke. One of the pieces of heat tape shorted out. Melted the plastic that covers it. Started to burn the wood. Started melting the tub. I got there just in time another 5 min and my place would have been gone. Or at least the snake room and all the animals. So when it comes to heating things from now on im very careful. Not only for me but for my animals too. Ok now a 55gal tank should be fine if you can get it setup right. If the snake is a baby thats way to big. I wouldnt try putting a ball in a cage that big till its at least over a year old. Still after a year that might be still to big. Not sure i dont use tanks to hard to keep everything just right.

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Originally Posted by TheMadNucleus

Some folks posted that a BP will not stay on something that is too hot to get burned on and I agree

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Pythons of the World Vol II: Ball Pythons by Barker & Barker, pp. 25-26:

As long as it is possible for the snake to move to a cooler area, we have never observed a ball python to allow itself to be burned on its dorsal surface from a radiant heat source that is too hot; however, over the years we have seen a number of ball pythons with severly burned ventral surfaces, caused by the snakes' voluntarily sitting too long on electrically warmed surfaces such as substrate heaters, under-cage-heating pads, or heated fake rocks. From this we deduce that ball pythons have less ability to detect and determine critical temperatures on their undersides than on their upper sides.

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