Help! New owner!! How to heat tank

Hi all. I just picked up the first snake ive ever owned. Crazy because I had a fear of them and had mustered up the courage to hold a friend of mines and realized how cool and docile thry.were.

But here is my dilema. I have a baby bp and I was trying to figure out the most effective way to heat his 20 gal long tank. Wat watt lights if I should get uth if so wat color lights and all those cool things.
Thank you for your help.

Here are the temps and humidity that ball pythons require:

Cool side: 78-80 F (nothing under 75)
Warm side: 81-83 F
Hot spot: 90-92 F
Humidity: 50-60%, 70% during shed

The best way to heat it is combining a heat lamp w/ dimmer on top of the 20 gal, and then a UTH on one side under a hide, to create the hot spot. A good brand of UTH are zoo med and ultratherm. Your UTH will NEED a thermostat to control the temps, check out Vivarium Electronics or Herpstat, otherwise your snake will be susceptible to burns. The heat lamp should use either an infrared lamp (50 watt is sufficient) or a CHE (ceramic heat emitter), but they both drain humidity a lot, so only use it if your house is cold (room temperature of under 75).

I suggest cypress mulch bedding (Zoo Med Forest Floor Cypress Mulch) or coco-husk for bedding, as humidity tends to suck in glass tank enclosures. Other beddings that work are aspen, paper towels or newspaper. You will need two identical-looking hides on both sides of the glass tank so the snake can thermoregulate, aka choose if he wants to be hot or cold. I highly suggest you downgrade to a 10 gal or a tub setup for now, because a 20 gal is much too big for a baby bp.

Take a look at the care sheet in the Ball Python Husbandry section. It will answer a lot of your questions.

Please take the time to look this caresheet over.

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

It is recommended that you have all the proper caging and supplies before you purchase the snake. Your 20 gallon long is too large for your baby ball. They prefer smaller enclosures and tight fitting hides. I prefer not to use tanks, as they are harder to maintain the proper temps and humidity, but I know others who do it. Lights are also not the best thing, as the bulbs tend to suck the humidity right out of your cage. I would get a 15qt tub with a UTH on a t-stat.

I hope I have helped. And welcome to bp.net :)

Your tank will work if that is all you have and you have plenty of hides and keep the temperatures and humidity in spec.

Thank you.
The pet store actually set me up with their tank until mine comes in. its a ten gal with a 15 watt blue lightbulb. I bought him a hide however he doesny really go in it. He just ate so I havent handled him. But after reading about everyones set up I feel like mine might be inadequate.

The tank im waiting for is a twenty but I guess I will store it and get a ten to keep. My house is usually between 68 and 70 and I have dry air

Like they said above, you always want to have everything ready BEFORE you purchase an animal, especially a reptile that usually requires special care. Anyway, whatever tank you get, 10, 20...it should not be an issue as long as you give them some hides and a little security. Try blacking out the back and two sides of the tank to give the animal more security. I have put 100 gram bp's that came from 6 qt tubs into 32 qt tubs with no issue at all. If you happen to notice a lapse in feeding response you may want to add more decore to the tank or crumple up some newspaper and put it in there to make it seem smaller. These animals are fairly hearty and there is more than one way to "skin a cat"....only sugguestions

My best purchases (I'm a first time owner as well, but have had mine for a few months...) have been the UTH and my thermostat. I also have a glass tank, and I used black out paper to cover 3 sides of the tank as well as half of the top. I think it helps with the heat and humidity because I have left the lid open when I have had Jackson out and when I put him back they were both lower than usual...
It is funny how much you learn you need after you get your ball python, they don't tell you all this in the store! Welcome to the site!

Thank you very much. I have purchased a heat pad and a slightly warmer bulb. And now im waiting for my herpstat to be delivered. Im srry if I offended anyone by not being ready to bring him home. I was under the impression that I was set since the pet store basically set me up with it.

One of the most helpful tips I got was to keep your water bowl in the middle of the tank. I was having no problems with heat, but I couldn't keep my humidity above 40. Also, get a misting water bottle, and mist the tank every now and again. A 20 may be a little big, atm, but you'll want the space, later. Balls may like to be in small dark spaces, but as your friend gets bigger, they'll need bigger hides. I've got a 20 long, and am thinking of upgrading to a 40, bc my guy has gotten so big, his hides are almost too large for the tank.

As others before me have mentioned, a UTH is going to be a huge help with heat management. I've been told ceramic lamps tend to leach humidity, and should be avoided.

Pet stores are notorious for not doing things right. We think the employees must know what they're doing since they work at, go figure, a pet store! But sadly, many many employees really don't know what's right or wrong for our snakes.

Don't be sorry for not knowing you weren't ready - we all have to start somewhere! The important thing is that you're here now and willing to learn! :gj:

You've been given great advice so far so I won't repeat what's been said, but I do want to be clear on one thing - ANY heat source MUST be regulated! That includes lamps. I am glad you have a herpstat on the way - those are excellent. But unless you have one that will regulate dual zones (or more), you will need to use a dimmer at the very least with your lamps. If you're herpstat will do dual zones, then you're all set - simply plug in the UTH in one zone and the lamps in the other.

Also, you need 2 hides, not just one. Your baby isn't using the one he has right now because he's stressed. But BPs are shy animals, so he will use it eventually. BPs are so shy that they will sometimes choose security over temperature so use 2 identical hides - one on the cool side and one on the warm side.

You mentioned that he's just eaten. Word of warning, do NOT hold your baby for about 48 hours after he's eaten. They need the time to digest. Also, you should give your new baby at least a week to relax before you hold him. He needs the time to settle in.

Tanks are fine. They do not hold humidity as well as tubs, but there's nothing wrong with a tank. You'll have to take certain steps to help with the humidity though. There is a good sticky in the husbandry forum (might be the "advanced husbandry" forum) that explains how to cover the screen lid with foil. I use wax paper with a 1/2 inch gap along the back. You'll have to mist periodically, particularly when your BP goes in shed. I mist once a week and every day during shed.

Any other questions, ask away! We are here to help! ;)

what i do for my ball python is keep a towel over the cage it helps keep the heat in and some humidity but still lets it breathe just dont cover the whole thing I hope this helps

what i do for my ball python is keep a towel over the cage it helps keep the heat in and some humidity but still lets it breathe just dont cover the whole thing I hope this helps

I wouldn't worry about tank size as much as the three H's: Heat, humidity, hides. If you have a bigger tank, provide extra hiding places. I keep my cool and hot sides as similar as possible: each has an identical hide, a piece of driftwood, and a fake plant. My girl will spent most of her time in the two hides, but she can and does wedge herself under or behind the driftwood on occasion, and under plant leaves too. You just don't want big open spaces in your viv, if your snake feels totally exposed traveling from cool side to warm side, they may not move and be unable to regulate. My cold and hot side are "connected" if that makes sense, the snake has plenty to hide behind in-between them. I think that is more important than over all enclosure size. Your baby will grow into a 20 gallon sooner than you think, probably even OUTgrow after a year or so.

As long as the temps and humidity are right, and as long as your snake has a MINIMUM of two hiding places, you are on the right track. :)

Glad you joined the club! Snakes make wonderful pets once you get things figured out. There is no one on this forum who knows everything, we are all here to learn from each other and to talk about what has worked for us and what hasn't. We're all glad to help. :)