55 gal tank *almost* ready - what am I missing?

My setup:
55gal tank, covered half w/ a towel, half with the domes.
(1) under tank heater (big)
(1) 150 wt ceramic heater in lg reflector dome
(1) 100wt heat light bulb
substrate is newspaper with green carpet stuff (you buy in pet store) over top n(previous dead snake would regularly accidentally eat the cypress)
1 water bowl & 1 wet towel in a bowl
1 hide (in the warm spot), 1 driftwood climbing branch.

Issue:
Day heat in hot area is 89-90. Night heat is 80-82.
Humidity wildly moves from 30 - 55.
We've had a BP in the past who got pnemonia & got dehydrated & had to be put down by the vet. It was young & may have been sick when we got it. At that time, the heat was only about 86. I don't want to kill this next snake.
***Tonight I am putting aluminum foil under the towelled half of the tank to see if that raises the temp.

Question
Do I need to get the tank a few degrees higher and if so, how (other than the foil)
Do I need more newspaper under the green carpet?
Should I use fake leaves & branches from the pet store to decorate?

Thanks

Do you have anything contoling the UTH? if not you need something

UTH is on 24/7. I do have a timer electrical socket but it doesn't look like I can afford to have it off for any length of time.

you still need something to regulate how hot it gets. UTH's can get to over 110 ( probably hotter ) and if you bp gets into contact with that temp, it will burn him/her

Are you buying a adult?

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Originally Posted by Zedd

you still need something to regulate how hot it gets. UTH's can get to over 110 ( probably hotter ) and if you bp gets into contact with that temp, it will burn him/her

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Actually 130 plus and yes a thermostat is a must. Cheap, reptitemp 500R and then a little higher is the ranco and if u want a proportional tstat then a helix or herstat is what ur looking for

Also u need 2 hides if not more, depending on size of bp.
Why do u have 2 heat bulbs? No need. Also there should be no night drop at all.
With a heat bulb going to be an issue.

Get a dimmer switch from home depo to regulate the temp of the UTH. I also got a temp gauge from there and put the sensor on the UTH so you know the exact temp of the UTH. You dont want to burn your BP... The temp gage I got shows humidity too.

Personally I dont use lamps because it drys out the air in the tank, and dry air will make it tough for your BP to shed. I use 2 under tank heaters and have two separate temp gauges to monitor the heat. When the temp inside my house goes up I will see him move from one side of the tank to the other because he gets too hot. I never let the hot side exceed 95 and the cold side below 70. I am usually at 80 cold side and 90 hot side. I have a hide on each side of the tank so he can be comfortable and hidden no matter what temp he prefers.

check out the link below. It is to the caresheet... a must read!

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

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Originally Posted by bman123

Are you buying a adult?

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I am going to a well known pet store that works with fish and reptiles. They get most of their reptiles from breeders in the area.

I will be getting a young one.

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Originally Posted by MitsuMike

Why do u have 2 heat bulbs? No need. Also there should be no night drop at all.
With a heat bulb going to be an issue.

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One is a heater and the other provides light & heat. When I don't have the light\heat bulb the temp only gets to about 84.

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Originally Posted by MitsuMike

Also there should be no night drop at all.
With a heat bulb going to be an issue.

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The night drop temp is because the light\heat bulb is turned off.
Also, we sometimes keep it a little cooler at night in our place.

when you say young one? How young are we talking about? If we are talking about a hatchling, a 55 gal is WAY too big!!!

just for info. I have my 800 gram female in a 32 qt tub which = 8 gallons. hatchlings should probably go in a 6 or 12 qt if I'm not mistaken

yes i agree a 55gal fish tank is WAY too big . if you must use a fish tank get a 10gal or even 5gal .a bp this young with that much space will make him/her feel very insecure.or better yet go get a shoe box size rubbermaid tub .drill some holes ,a few at a time to adjust humitity till you get the proper hum.get a thermostat for a heat pad ,a couple shedspread tubs with a entrace .one one the warm side one on the cool side water dish .and your set till you need a bigger tub

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Originally Posted by uwanaknome

Get a dimmer switch from home depo to regulate the temp of the UTH. I also got a temp gauge from there and put the sensor on the UTH so you know the exact temp of the UTH. You dont want to burn your BP... The temp gage I got shows humidity too.

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I tend to use EITHER a lamp, OR a UTH. I'm moving towards all UTHs because of the humidity issues, (and because I'm tired of buying new bulbs.)

For checking the UTH temps, I strongly recommend investing in an IR point-and-click handheld thermometer. stuff it down under the substrate and get the temperature right up against the glass--since odds are your bp with burrow down there to get as close to the heat as possible anyway.

The Home Depot table-top dimming switches are really great, and cheap. Looking in the lighting section, not the electrical section for them. You'll have to experiment to get the right setting.

And it's actually okay if your night time and daytime warm-side temps fluctuate a little. They would in nature, too--just make sure they're always within the safe range. (ie. never below 80F and never above 100F. 90-95 is preferred, of course.)

Be aware: really young ball pythons sometimes get freaked by large open spaces. As they get larger and older and calmer, they'll appreciate the 55 gallons, but between the extra space and the GLASS, you may see some signs of stress. If this happens, add extra hides (I like cardboard tubes--no snake can resist a cardboard tube!), and extra clutter (plastic plants, climbing sticks). If it's still a problem crumple up some paper and just fill the bottom 6" with it.

And then just feed the snake until it goes to sleep. After 6 months of food coma, it'll feel like having some exercise.

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Originally Posted by jonesy72

yes i agree a 55gal fish tank is WAY too big . if you must use a fish tank get a 10gal or even 5gal .a bp this young with that much space will make him/her feel very insecure.or better yet go get a shoe box size rubbermaid tub .drill some holes ,a few at a time to adjust humitity till you get the proper hum.get a thermostat for a heat pad ,a couple shedspread tubs with a entrace .one one the warm side one on the cool side water dish .and your set till you need a bigger tub

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I put my 2nd and 3rd bps in a 55 gallon as soon as I got them. They love that tank now, but it was hard on them for the first few months.

Now I start everyone in 10 gallon tanks with lots of cover, and I don't transition to the larger tanks until they hit 500 grams. That seems to work pretty flawlessly.

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Originally Posted by loonunit

I put my 2nd and 3rd bps in a 55 gallon as soon as I got them. They love that tank now, but it was hard on them for the first few months.

Now I start everyone in 10 gallon tanks with lots of cover, and I don't transition to the larger tanks until they hit 500 grams. That seems to work pretty flawlessly.

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yeah yeah right on !.. what i should have said in my post ..and what i was meaning.. is this is what works for me. what might work for me might not work for someone else.but i have def been liking the the rack and tubs ...it saves space and even though i dont have but 2 snakes in my rack. its working wondefully..if a 55 works for the op .cool !but he should seriously use a thermostat.OH and btw i just got my male normal .to take his first small rat.grats to him .good job buddy:gj:

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Originally Posted by metzler01

The night drop temp is because the light\heat bulb is turned off.
Also, we sometimes keep it a little cooler at night in our place.

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First off they don't need a light bulb the ceramic heater is fine by itself. Natural light in a bedroom is fine for them. Also all heating needs to kept on at ALL times.
Temps should not drop below 75........

Thanks all! I will add extra hides, cover another of the sm glass sides and monitor the UTH temp. This should do it. Appreciate all the input from everyone.