Tricks to keep a tank warm.

I'm looking for any tricks to keep the air in my snake tank warm, preferably without heating the entire room.

It is a glass tank (i know plastic is better for this, but that is not really an option at this point since i already have spent the money on a glass tank.

I have an UTH that is on all the time, and a heat lamp that i use when the temps get too low, but it butchers the humidity.

I'm thinking of getting some kind of insulation to put on the back and sides. Does anyone have any other tricks or will i have to heat the entire room?

Thanks in advance.

What i would do is leave the lamp on ALL the time, and cover the top with a towel, tin foil, or plastic wrap to save the humidty :)

Putting a towel over most of the top and sides keeps things pretty warm. I did that for my BP when the power went out (she's in a glass tank as well) and it kept it pretty cozy without any heat source, so I'm sure with a UTH it'll keep pretty warm.

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Originally Posted by Ezekiel285

What i would do is leave the lamp on ALL the time, and cover the top with a towel, tin foil, or plastic wrap to save the humidty :)

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i'll try adding tinfoil, but even just leaving it on for an hour with the screen covered by towels can bring the humidity from the 60's to the 30's.

Hmm, what sized aquarium is it? when i had my aquarium i would mist it daily to help.

And just one thing i forgot to mention is that i am canadian and with winter coming it is hovering around 0ºC(or 32ºf for you americans) and inside it is 22ºc (72ºf).

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Originally Posted by Ezekiel285

Hmm, what sized aquarium is it? when i had my aquarium i would mist it daily to help.

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I'm pretty sure it's 3' x 18" x 16" or at least around there.

Hmm, i had my first ball python in a similar situation for a while. I live in the south so its hot here, but college dorms stay cold (we don't have to pay for electricity, haha) so it easily stayed about 70 degrees F inside. I was using a 10 gallon tank because he was a hatchling and with a lamp on all the time and tin foil staying on the top of the aquarium i think it stayed around 55% humidty with daily misting

I have some 1 inch styrofoam I glued to the back of my 55 gallon tank. It's been so long, I don't know where I got it---probably an art supply store? Foil should also help, because it should works like a space-blanket.

But just putting a blanket over a screen-top tank also does an amazing job to keep the temps up in the middle of winter.

i have my lid covered in foil, with two lamps as my only heat sources, humidity is a little difficult to maintain, but its not too bad. i noticed that once i slid the last 6'' of the tank off the desk, my temps raised and became alot more stable, im guessing its because air can flow under the tank now. and like loonunit said, foil or foam on the back/sides can also help alot

For my one snake that i don't have on a rack, i have the heat lamp on all the time and have the screen covered with tin foil. My room is like 72 and my tank stays consistent with temp and humidity. I also use an UTH for the side that doesn't have the lamp.

Insulation is a great start. I also have used fluorescent lights to add ambient temps that is quite efficient.

Side turned tanks also will hold heat better as they do not open on the top.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...arium-Solution

I have a side turned and regular tanks the both run fine in my place until I hit the low / mid 60s then the hot side heaters are under powered and the temp drops. I don't really have too many humidity problems with either tank set up deep coco coir on the upright (cool side only) once moisten it releases humidity slowly and will hold for 7-10 days even in NS with the heating on. (average 32% interior humidity in winter) and nothing restricting air flow on it (screen lid nothing more)

The UTH will help and foil cardboard combo will keep alot of heat and humidity in, on my screen top i cut a piece of cardboard 2/3 s the length of the screen wrapped it with foil tucked it into place and taped it down , I left about 2 inchs of space on the cool side to provide proper air flow ,I mist once a day and my hmidity stays between 50-60% and ambient temp 80%

I soak a small towel, lay it on top of the screen and then lay another towel on top of it. That way it keeps heat in AND adds to humidity. I'm using a CHE and my humidity stays at 60 now.

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Originally Posted by SteveFrench

I'm thinking of getting some kind of insulation to put on the back and sides. Does anyone have any other tricks or will i have to heat the entire room?

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There are a few things that you can use for insulation. Styrofoam or Polystyrene insulation, which is available in sheets at most home improvement stores. A cheaper alternative would be cardboard. Another alternative is foam core board. It is available at places like Wal-mart and Target. Usually, it is in the school supplies section with the poster board. It's about the same thickness as cardboard but is usually available in different colors.

If the humidity drops like that, I would recommend adding a humidity hide to the tank, or get a reptile mister for the tank. The one I bought has different hourly settings and you can change how long it mists at the time you choose. I have it set for every 3 hours and it mists for 15 seconds. which keeps the enclosure at about 50% humidity. Now I'm just working on insulation for heat as well.

Our two ball pythons are in glass tanks (one is a 40g and one is a 60g). To help with heat we have taped black foam poster board (from the art section) to the back and sides behind the backgrounds and have bought clear plastic vinyl that covers the mesh top (with a piece of black tint across that to give them more of a cave-like feel and humidity retention) with cutouts for the dimmable CHEs (help maintain the ambient air temp). Both tanks have a UTH on each side, both with a thermostat - one for cool side (stays around 76-80) and one for the hot side (around 88-91).

For the humidity, as mentioned in previous posts, a humid hide would suffice. We went a step further (we have foggers hooked up with a humidity gauge, that is adjustable) but I don't think it is necessary; they rarely come on and are placed so the "fog" falls on their log hides so they can easily stay out of it.

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Originally Posted by SteveFrench

I'm looking for any tricks to keep the air in my snake tank warm, preferably without heating the entire room.

It is a glass tank (i know plastic is better for this, but that is not really an option at this point since i already have spent the money on a glass tank.

I have an UTH that is on all the time, and a heat lamp that i use when the temps get too low, but it butchers the humidity.

I'm thinking of getting some kind of insulation to put on the back and sides. Does anyone have any other tricks or will i have to heat the entire room?

Thanks in advance.

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I used to live with my dad who wouldn't turn the heat on in the winter. My snake's tank did fine, though! I put foil on the screen lid but cut a hole where your heat lamp or any attachment is. This also allows airflow cause you don't want to COMPLETELY cover the lid.

I also purchased foil insulation and wrapped it around the back and sides. His tank never had a temperature problem after that, even on the coldest days. The foil insulation I'm talking about can be bought on amazon for about 20 bucks. It's a bubble wrap/foil insulation and worked great for me!

Since I've moved in with my boyfriend we have a nice warm house and luckily for me, my boy doesn't need the insulation. It does work though! And I left it on during summer too so long as you have a thermostat. Saves a lot of power because it holds the heat in a lot longer so the heater isn't on as much and the thermostat makes sure it doesn't get too hot!

Hope this helped! :)

Hey folks, this thread is 11 years old, so hopefully the OP has worked it all out by now. ;) Just saying...

This still a helpful discussion to have but most members seeking advice will look for more current threads.

Whoops! I seen it was at the top of Threads and didn't think to check the date. xD Oh well, maybe it'll help someone else!

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Originally Posted by Stofey

Whoops! I seen it was at the top of Threads and didn't think to check the date. xD Oh well, maybe it'll help someone else!

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Don't feel too bad, 2 others posted (without noticing) before you did! :D