Ball python humidity

I just got a ball python and i love him they are amazing pets and i want to have him in good health conditions. I spray every morning and night and the humidity goes up to 75 then creeps down and is back to 50 in a hour and a half. Ive been researching and people say humidity is a key part of health for the the ball python should i invest in a automatic mister or is this okay?

Hi,

If you give us some details of your setup we might be able to give you a few tips that should help. :)


dr del

i have a 20 gallon long tank with a undertank heat pad and a heat lamp so one end is about 90 and the other is 80 and i have aspen shaving for substrate

Hi,

Is it a screen topped tank?

Theres a sticky somewhere that shows how to cover that with tinfoil to help with humidity but I can't quite put my hands to it since the update to the forum.

I'll try and find it for you.

**edit**

Found it. :)

**end edit**


dr del

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Amp625

i have a 20 gallon long tank with a undertank heat pad

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Is the heat pad plugged into a thermostat?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Amp625

and a heat lamp so one end is about 90 and the other is 80

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With what are you measuring the temperatures?

The heat pad is not plugged into a thermostat i am upgrading to a digital thermometer but for now i only have the regular cheap ones

What you should get is a good point-and-click IR thermometer. The reason people are asking about the UTH and thermostats is because the UTHs often run too high--like 120F, instead of 90F. A good way of controlling that on the cheap is to buy a table-top lamp dimmer (for sale at home depot in the lighting section) and play with it until you can get a nice regular 95F out of your hot spot.

And if you can get that under control, the heat lamp is probably redundant. (unless you live in a cold, drafty house in the winter.) UTHs (when not too hot) are better than heat lamps for controlling humidity--a heat lamp will bake it right out of the tank.

But actually your humidity sounds excellent, what with your spraying.(I live in Phoenix, and can only envy a low of 50% humidity.) A mister is generally overkill for a ball--if you get a rainbow boa or any kind of tropical tree snake, THEN you'll want one.

thanks so much so i have the hide right over the UTH i dont know how hot it is in there but it just feels warmish after all the research know you need a warm side and a cold side are you saying that the warm side of the tank can only consist of the hot spot which would be in the hide or do i still need a basking light for outside of the hide? right now is it dangerous for my ball python with the basking light and the UTH the cheap thermometer says it 90 in that side of the tank but i dont know how much it is under the hide im getting a digital thermometer soon and i can put the probe under the hide also how would you hook up the dimmer?:snake:

The tabletop lamp dimmers are great, you just plug your UTH into it and then plug the dimmer into the wall. The one I have has a slide switch that you can adjust to control the electrical output which also controls the temperature. This prevents the bottom of the tank from getting too hot which could lead to a burn. This is why a quality thermometer is so very important because the cheap dial type are not accurate. The heat lamp is not necessarily dangerous, just unnecessary (unless the room your tank is in gets cold as previously stated) and it will deplete your humidity quicker than a UTH. Getting an accurate thermometer and a dimmer to control your temperature should be top priorities to prevent injury to your ball. Hope this helps and good luck!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Amp625

after all the research know you need a warm side and a cold side are you saying that the warm side of the tank can only consist of the hot spot which would be in the hide or do i still need a basking light for outside of the hide? right now is it dangerous for my ball python with the basking light and the UTH the cheap thermometer says it 90 in that side of the tank

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Yeah, so the temperature you're interested in is the temp under the hide, right where the ball python's belly is. It's nice if the air temp (what the cheap thermometer actually measures) is at least 75F or better yet 80F in there (even on the "cold" side). But it's the warm spot that really counts.

Ball pythons like to be warm, but they don't really use "basking" spots the way lizards or tortoises do. What they like is a choice of hides--one on the warm side AND one on the cool side. That way if they need to cool down, there's another nice secure hole they can tuck into and still feel safe.

The temp. of the tank is regularly 80, so does that mean i should stop using the basking light all together because he has a nice warm hide or is it okay to keep the basking light wouldn't it be nice if he did want a little more heat? also i do have hides on both side so if he wants to cool down he can go to the other side , so my main question is that is it really necessary to take out the basking light because my humidity is okay still and it might give him more heat, please reply thanks for all your help so far.

The temp. of the tank is regularly 80, so does that mean i should stop using the basking light all together because he has a nice warm hide or is it okay to keep the basking light wouldn't it be nice if he did want a little more heat? also i do have hides on both side so if he wants to cool down he can go to the other side , so my main question is that is it really necessary to take out the basking light because my humidity is okay still and it might give him more heat, please reply thanks for all your help so far.

I've posted this somewhere else, so you may find it if you do a forum search, but I have a similar set up and this is how I do it...

1) 20 gal tank w/sliding/locking wire top w/aspen sm chipped substrate and repticarpet under to prevent thermal burns from burrowing
2) day blue lamp left side and night bulb right side for ambient temps --> blue plugged into rheostat (1.5 hrs on and 1 off cycling day and night)
3) 6 removable foil covered cardboard pieces to help keep in humidity over wire top
4) 1 fluker's mini dripper into a ramiken of sphagnum moss (changed weekly) to help hold humidity constant
5) 1 misting ea morn on moss bundles spread throughout cage as well as on 2 fake plants stuck to the tank (moss changed weekly)
6) UTH on left side w/thermostat probe between it and glass
7) digital hygrometer/thermometer with probe in hide on hot side and placed at snake level on cool side

My temps are usually cool side 78-83 (substrate will be around 80) and warm side 91-94. My humidity 55-62 unless shedding when it gets bumped up between 70 and 75. I rarely have to adjust anything to get my temps to hold constant, but I monitor frequently, as my timers go wonky every now and then.

Hope this helps some!

It does a lot thank you but just answer this one question should i keep on the basking light for ambient temps. or should i just use that in the winter if i dont use it the tank will be around 80 ambient then ill still have the hot spot in the hide which is over the UTH. Before you said 80 was good for it what should I do.

Ambient temps should be in upper 70s to mid eighties. If you have 80 without the light, then ditch it until the winter. My ambient temp is a little too low if I don't use it and it helps to warm up the hot spot a little more in the hide.

Thanks so much so should i get a nice 90 for the hot spot or 92 or 93

also the digital thermometer is coming later in the week, im just using a basking light until i get the that so i can correctly set the UTH to the right temp. will just the light be okay for a couple days its like 90 ambient on the warm side i cant measure the bottom with the cheapo thermometer but thats the plan then on friday ill set up the UTH with the T-stat and just use that.

The hot spot should range from 90-94 or so. I wouldn't try and keep it spot at 90, especially since it will change depending on how the snake burrows once the UTH is set up. As for just the basking light...you do what you have to do until it comes in, but I would be careful as the stick on thermometers can be way off. At least if you are using a basking light only., the bottom is not what you have to be worried about as there is no heat there right now :-)

So, the basking light is providing a couple degrees for a couple days so that can be fine until i get the stuff in the mail also the ambient temp are getting a little low can i just mount the lamp to the wall so i can adjust it higher and lower so i can boost the ambient temps and if i do that which side should i put the basking light on cold or warm but this is when i get the digital thermometer or i might not have to do that because the UTH will boost it a little, right? Also he will be shedding soon i have the humidity right but the temp will be right soon he has the blueish grey eyes and pink belly. Also when i get the digital thermometer where to i put the probe for the T-stat. Also do you mean when he burrows i have to lower the thermostat

The light will have to be on your warm side, as it is the only thing that you have keeping that side warm. You will also need a night light to keep the temps up at night if you do not have one already. When you get the UTH and set it up with the thermostat, you may or may not need the light. It depends on your ambient temps. You can mount the light wherever you deem reasonable to adjust the temps. I have mine hooked up to a rheostat dimmer and raise and lower when needed. The temps should be kept the same when shedding, just make sure that your humidity is up. If you do not have a reliable digital hygrometer, I would at the very least place a damp paper towel in one of the hides that your snake can go into if he wants. Mine likes to shed inside his hide and my humidity was kept at 70-75% from end of pink belly to shed (about a week). My snake hid the whole time so I missed the bluing stage.

cant he just go on the UTH at night and will the UTH bring the ambient temp a little