How do I get my BP to drink without bathing him?

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

in a 55 you are oing to have a ton of problems trying to hold heat and humidity, I started that way and it was a lot of work.
do yourself a favor and either get a 20 gallon tank or a 28qt tub.

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See the reason I didn't want to down-grade the tank size was because I had already moved him from a 29 gallon. When the neighbors moved out, they gave me a 55 gallon. My mom wanted me to move it into my room and to transfer Charlie into it so I did and I don't really know how well it will be to transfer him back. I was also planing on upgrading my corn snake to that tank when she's ready. Also the fact that I have no place to hang a light from where that tank is currently located because a mirror is behind it and I can't really afford to move all of my tanks around because I have them in a specific location. So if I were to move the 29 gallon to where the 55 is then I'd have no place to put the 55 and I can't really take it downstairs because it's so large. This is kinda why my mom wanted me to put the 55 gallon in my room as soon as it was brought over. Hopefully you get what I'm saying? I'm not trying to sound lazy or anything, it would just be a hassle and stressful on the snakes. I could look into transferring him to a 28qt. tub for the meantime, until he gets large enough, but the only storage container that I have is the one that I feed them/bathe them in so I'd have to buy one.

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Originally Posted by thecrazyandinsane

I could look into transferring him to a 28qt. tub for the meantime, until he gets large enough, but the only storage container that I have is the one that I feed them/bathe them in so I'd have to buy one.

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he will never be large enough for a 55g tank ;)

turns out I was wrong on the temperatures, I had gotten a temperature gun today so I checked the temperature in both Charlie's (BP) and Bailey (corn snake) and Charlie's hot spot was around 85 and the cold side was 79 degrees. The temperatures for Bailey's tank were inaccurate due to the fact that I had the light turned off for maybe 5-10 minutes while i was cleaning her cage/spraying/changing the water and I will check it again in a little while. I re-plugged in the heating pad for Charlie's tank and I've been monitoring the temperature. Last time I checked, the hot spot was 87 degrees. Thank you guys so much for the help, I appreciate it a lot, I just wish I had gotten an account on here sooner.

Don't worry;a lot of us are new here to the world of snakes too; don't ever be afraid to as questions because you think they sound stupid. I've been a snake owner for only a out 2 months myself, but have already learned a lot from the week I've spent here on the forum.

From what I can tell, heat lamps tend to raise the ambient air temperature but not really the substrate temp. This will especially be the case if you have a taller tank; is just physics.

Under tank heaters (UTHs) heat the substrate to create a hot spot, but don't necessarily do a lot for the ambient temperature. The problem with UTHs is that they aren't calibrated well; why should they be...most people aren't really that interested in taking that great care of their animals (since you are here, you obviously do not fall into this category). Other members of this forum have done tests that have found unregulated UTH temperatures in excess of 120 F!!

Therefore the best way to ensure you don't have roasted Regius is to use a thermostat. The aforementioned Hydrofarm thermostat has a good reputation; it's cheap and reliable. Mine just came from Amazon today ($32.00+shipping). The probe goes between the UTH and the bottom of the tank (more on that in a minute) and the heat pad then plugs into the thermostat, which plugs into the wall. I peeled the paper back to reveal the adhesive on my UTH, and then used foil tape (not duct tape but metal foil tape) sticky-side-to-sticky-side to cover it up. I then am using smaller pieces of foil tape to adhere it to the tank, that way it is more easily removed if needed. This will also make it easier to replace the thermostat if it malfunctions.

The other item you need is a digital thermometer/hygrometer combo. Mthe analog models sold at most pet shops are usually not properly calibrated, and even small temperature deviations can be important for a ball. I bought (at the forum's suggestion) the Acurite 00891 model. It is $12.99 at Walmart (check online to see if yours carrys it first) and has a 10' remote cable. The remote cable end is affixed to the bottom of the tank inside the tank above the center of the UTH. The main body is mounted on the opposite side where it will be easy to read. The display will show the cold end temp (as indoor temperature), the hot side temp (as outdoor temperature) and the relative humidity.

Based on the results you get off the digital thermometer, the proper adjustments can be more accurately diagnosed.

TL; DR—I apologize for the length, but felt it was necessary to sum up the previous few pages from the standpoint of a fellow person who was initially overwhelmed by the vast inflow of knowledge coming from the forum (I kinda felt like a dummy too after my first few posts). It wasn't until someone explained things slowly that I began to gain confidence. Hang in there; all will become fine