lighting question

i have been reading and getting mixed answers about lighting. right now i have a heating pad, a red light for night and a blue tint light for daytime. i cant keep the heat up enough just with the pad. should i ditch the blue bulb and just use the red 24/7? i cant afford a CHE at the moment so im sticking with bulbs. right now my temps are 90-95 hot side and 78-83 cold with 51-63% humidity. can i get some opinions here?

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Originally Posted by bigblue09

i have been reading and getting mixed answers about lighting. right now i have a heating pad, a red light for night and a blue tint light for daytime. i cant keep the heat up enough just with the pad. should i ditch the blue bulb and just use the red 24/7? i cant afford a CHE at the moment so im sticking with bulbs. right now my temps are 90-95 hot side and 78-83 cold with 51-63% humidity. can i get some opinions here?

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Yeah they don't necessarily need additional lighting, I just leave my blinds open for a little sunlight. I do use the nighttime bulbs pretty consistently too to help stabilize temps on the cool side. I think you'd be fine going with your plan. I used to like to have a daytime lamp going too, but I realized they aren't all that necessary.

the day bulb doesnt seem to affect her because she still comes out of her hide pretty often with it on. my house gets into the high 50s at night so i have to keep a heat light on.

There is no need for the Blue Bulb. I use Red Bulbs 24/7.

I was using a blck/purple light for night but i just got a 75w red bulb and she seems to like it and its heating better than the other was.

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Originally Posted by bigblue09

I was using a blck/purple light for night but i just got a 75w red bulb and she seems to like it and its heating better than the other was.

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Oh, there is no need for any other bulb then the Red Bulb. Just ditch the other one and use the Red one 24/7.

i will see what the temps are in the morning with it and i might leave the red on all day tomorrow and open the blinds some in my room.

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Originally Posted by bigblue09

i will see what the temps are in the morning with it and i might leave the red on all day tomorrow and open the blinds some in my room.

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What size tank is it? And what kind of bedding are you using?

its a 30L with bark blend

OP your temps don't sound out off to me. I actually don't like to see hot side temps up past 91 as the accuracy of most thermometers is quite poor (2º plus or minus) The cold side 80 day and 78 night time is fine if the snake gets cold it will move to the hot side. What are the ambient air temps? If what you are doing is working there is not a need to alter it.

i have the accurite thermometer with the probe and i have the probe stuck to the glass where the heating pad is. i moved her hide off of the pad for a few hours and got a solid reading of about 93 on top of the glass. i moved her hide back over the pad and with the substrate, her and the den on top of the pad its reading 100 at the glass. is that too hot?

Yes. The best is that the temp at the glass on top of the pad not exceed 94º with the hide in place. Snakes will often shove the substrate aside and temps of 100º can cause burns over time no hotter than 94. The typical Chaney digital thermometer (Acu-rite brand manufacturer) is specs say +/- 2ºF Your might be accurate or it might not but typically resistive sensors are not very good. I would recommend that you plan for the worst case and say it is at least a degree high and set the hottest place no higher than 92º

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Originally Posted by bigblue09

its a 30L with bark blend

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Oh, you shouldn't have a problem keeping heat with that bulb then.

i just took her to the vet today and he said if the temp on the glass is 100 then she will be fine.

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Originally Posted by bigblue09

i just took her to the vet today and he said if the temp on the glass is 100 then she will be fine.

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In my opinion thats a little to hot because she can move the bedding around and come in contact with the glass and suffer minor to major burns. If I were you I would get it down to 97 or 96.

she has a RI right now and not to feed her for another week or so. he said her not eating is not abnormal.

i have a rehostat on the pad right now and its not really cutting it. im thinking about ditching the bulb, getting a CHE and a decent thermostat for it and the pad. what are some good ones? i dont want to spend a whole lot of money. i just want a decent thermostat for the pad and a CHE.

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Originally Posted by bigblue09

i have a rehostat on the pad right now and its not really cutting it. im thinking about ditching the bulb, getting a CHE and a decent thermostat for it and the pad. what are some good ones? i dont want to spend a whole lot of money. i just want a decent thermostat for the pad and a CHE.

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At http://lllreptile.com/ you can get a CHE and a 1000 Watt Thermostat for $56.89 including shipping. Check out some local pet-stores and check out there prices first though.

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Originally Posted by bigblue09

i just took her to the vet today and he said if the temp on the glass is 100 then she will be fine.

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That flys in the face of the best herpetologists in the field.

http://www.vpi.com/publications/the_...hon_care_sheet
Drs Barker and Barker ~ hotter than 100ºF can cause serious, even fatal, deep flesh burns. pub. Ball Pythons VPI, 2006 pp.173

http://www.anapsid.org/ball.html
M. Kaplan ~ basking area kept at 90F

http://www.theurbanpython.com/caring-ball-python
High end Breeder ~ temperature should remain at 90ºF

http://www.ballpython.ca/care.html
Markus Jayne Hot spot of 90-92ºF

http://www.ballpython.com/index.php?page=bpbasics
Colette Sutherland ~ not exceed 90ºF

Can you actually find a care sheet anywhere that says 100ºF is ok? I have never found one.

Your snake, believe your vet or 99% of every other expert in the field. It sounds like it is time for a new vet! :O 100ºF is WAY TO HOT.

i thought so too. i found a t stat my dad had and set it for 92 at the glass now so she will be happy :D

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Originally Posted by bigblue09

i thought so too. i found a t stat my dad had and set it for 92 at the glass now so she will be happy :D

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Thats perfect. What did you use to check the temperature of the UTH?

Much better. Sorry if I was a bit sharp I have been having a bad day. My apologies.
Alex

no your fine. i should have done more research. im using an accurite for the UTH