Heating questions! Hot side vs cool side!

Hello everyone!

My boyfriend and I got a ball python last night, and what a sweetie. This is my 2nd snake (I had a red-tail boa when I was a child) and my boyfriend's first snake. I just had a few questions which I wasn't sure of.

Right now, for heating, I have a heat lamp (black light) on one side (for the cooler side which stays around 77-80°) and a basking light on the other. The basking light is proving to be too hot (nearly 100° so I immediately turned it off). This is my first ball python, and my first snake which I am caring for on my own. For the warmer side of the terrarium I am aware it needs to be around 90°. Does anyone have any recommendations as how to keep it around 90°? Would getting a small UTH for the warmer side work better (since I know they require belly heat)?

Any help would be much appreciated! :)

Yes a uth and a thermostat would be much easier than messing around with a light. Ambients are hard to keep in a tank especially bigger ones so it may be useful to you to get a smaller wattage light. Be aware lamps do suck your humidity.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

Yes UTH and a T-Stat are a must I also use a Ceramic Heat Emitter CHE on a dimmer to keep my ambient temps up

Ball pythons need the cool side to be 78-82 degrees and the hot side needs to be 88-92 degrees.

I would replace both lamps (the bulbs that is) to these:http://m.petsmart.com/mt/www.petsmar...3&lmdn=Reptile

The cool side should be a 50 watt and the hot side a 75 watt. Both lamps should be on lamp dimmers so you can adjust the amount of heat they put out.

UTH's are great but require a thermostat and they do not effect the ambient temperature.

What are you using to measure your temperatures and humidity?

The key is regardless of the heating device you MUST use a thermostat to regulate the temperature and avoid overheating. :gj:

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Originally Posted by Homegrownscales

Yes a uth and a thermostat would be much easier than messing around with a light. Ambients are hard to keep in a tank especially bigger ones so it may be useful to you to get a smaller wattage light. Be aware lamps do suck your humidity.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

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Okay so a smaller UTH (& thermostat) for the warmer side. Would you recommend another smaller UTH for the cooler side as well? The light seems to be working really well and keeping it at the right temp (around 80°). I'm looking to spend as little money as possible at this point as I've already spent nearly $300 on everything thus far :P I'm not too concerned with humidity as our room stays pretty humid and the the hygrometer hasn't dropped below 50-55%, so if I could stick with the light that'd be great. However if it's really recommended that I do something differently I want to make sure my BP has a good home! I've just read 1000000 different things but not one has given it to me straight about how to keep his terrarium the right temp.

They don't "require" belly heat. They never had it in the wild and survived just fine. That being said, most people prefer UTHs.

Either way, you need some form of temperature control for the lamp or the UTH; that's why the bulb got too hot.

I have a CHE on a dimmer + a space heater for ambient temps. CHE's give off only heat, no light, which will cut out your need for a basking light. You just need one side of the tank to be warmer than the other; hot side between 88-92 degrees and the cool side about 10 degrees lower.

If you go with a UTH, make sure you have that controlled as well on some sort of dimmer, whether a cheapo rheostat or a top of the line Herpstat. This will prevent the UTH from getting too hot and burning the belly of your snake.

What are you using to read temps/humidity?

No UTH on the cool side. It defeats the purpose of having a "cool side" if the UTH is there warming it up.

What are the ambient temps in your room?

I keep the cool side temps where they need to be just by using a space heater (also temp controlled) to heat up the room warmer than it normally would be.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

Ball pythons need the cool side to be 78-82 degrees and the hot side needs to be 88-92 degrees.

I would replace both lamps (the bulbs that is) to these:http://m.petsmart.com/mt/www.petsmar...3&lmdn=Reptile

The cool side should be a 50 watt and the hot side a 75 watt. Both lamps should be on lamp dimmers so you can adjust the amount of heat they put out.

UTH's are great but require a thermostat and they do not effect the ambient temperature.

What are you using to measure your temperatures and humidity?

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I have 2 Thermometers and a hygrometer. One Hygrometer and thermometer are on the cooler side, and the other thermometer is on the warm side.

For the bulbs, how do I get the dimmers? Would it be cheaper than at UTH and thermostat?

Are they dial thermometers/hygrometers, or digital? Digital will be a lot more accurate than the dials you get in a pet store will ever be.

In the hardware section at Walmart, they sell an Accurite digital thermometer and combination hygrometer. It measures two temperatures (one with a probe) so you can stick the thermometer on one side to measure those temps and the probe on the other side to keep track of that side. It also measures the humidity. It's only about 13 bucks.

Okay so quick facts for everyone: I live in Southern California so our room (the ambient heat) is generally above 73° during the day, and gets a bit cooler at night (which is why I've got the night heating lamp). When we put in the thermometer without any heating last night, when we got our little guy, it was about 77°. He lives in a 12" tall x 36" long 20gallon terrarium and he's an adolescent, probably about 13" long.

This being said what should I do for heating. You've all said great things but now, knowing the facts, what do you recommend?

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Originally Posted by k8nkane

Are they dial thermometers/hygrometers, or digital? Digital will be a lot more accurate than the dials you get in a pet store will ever be.

In the hardware section at Walmart, they sell an Accurite digital thermometer and combination hygrometer. It measures two temperatures (one with a probe) so you can stick the thermometer on one side to measure those temps and the probe on the other side to keep track of that side. It also measures the humidity. It's only about 13 bucks.

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They are Dials but they two thermometers, which are different brands, have been reading the same (at night without the warmer side), so I think they're about right.

I would still recommend you get the Accurite.

I had dials before getting the Accurite and they were several degrees off according to the digital.

The problem you're going to run into, that you've already run into, is that everyone is going to recommend something different on how to heat your tank. Everyone has different set ups because everyone has different preferences, living conditions, snakes, etc. As long as the temps/humidity are correct, it doesn't really matter HOW you do it (with the exception of making sure the UTHs/CHEs/bulbs are temp controlled) so much as that you DO it.

Is your ambient light good? If your ambient light is good, like mine, I would recommend that you at least switch your bulbs to CHEs and let the ambient light suffice for day/night cycles. I leave my CHE on all the time (with a dimmer) and have had no problems (knock on wood) with my bp. He hasn't missed a meal and is going into shed.

So I guess my question is, since with my heating lamp I have the overall ambient temp right, should I get a small UTH for the warm side so it doesn't increase overal heating, but does create a warmer side?

Does this seem right?

Thanks to all your responses everyone! You guys rock, this seems like a really awesome community! :)

Sure. That's one way to do it. Leave your heating lamp on all the time (with a dimmer) to maintain ambient temps (just make sure it's infrared light) and then have your UTH on the hot side, also with a temp control so it doesn't get higher than 92. If you go with the UTH, you'll need to pick up the Accurite (at least) for sure though.

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Originally Posted by k8nkane

I would still recommend you get the Accurite.

I had dials before getting the Accurite and they were several degrees off according to the digital.

The problem you're going to run into, that you've already run into, is that everyone is going to recommend something different on how to heat your tank. Everyone has different set ups because everyone has different preferences, living conditions, snakes, etc. As long as the temps/humidity are correct, it doesn't really matter HOW you do it (with the exception of making sure the UTHs/CHEs/bulbs are temp controlled) so much as that you DO it.

Is your ambient light good? If your ambient light is good, like mine, I would recommend that you at least switch your bulbs to CHEs and let the ambient light suffice for day/night cycles. I leave my CHE on all the time (with a dimmer) and have had no problems (knock on wood) with my bp. He hasn't missed a meal and is going into shed.

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See that's exactly what has been getting me confused (all the different responses, that is)! I will definitely go for the Digital thermometer when I get my next paycheck.

My ambient light is good, it's keeping the terrarium at around 77-80° (depending on whether or not we have our room fan going). When we brought our little guy home last night he seemed really happy to be out of the little terrarium he was in at the pet store and was out exploring. It was his feeding night and we were worried he'd be shy about eating, but he downed his meal with no hesitation.

I think that I'm going to go ahead and buy a small UTH & thermostat today for the warmer side, because it seems like the most controlled way, which doesn't affect the overall ambient heat. Sound right?

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Originally Posted by k8nkane

Sure. That's one way to do it. Leave your heating lamp on all the time (with a dimmer) to maintain ambient temps (just make sure it's infrared light) and then have your UTH on the hot side, also with a temp control so it doesn't get higher than 92. If you go with the UTH, you'll need to pick up the Accurite (at least) for sure though.

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Excellent! Thanks so much, you've been a great help!

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Originally Posted by greengirl238

I have 2 Thermometers and a hygrometer. One Hygrometer and thermometer are on the cooler side, and the other thermometer is on the warm side.

For the bulbs, how do I get the dimmers? Would it be cheaper than at UTH and thermostat?

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It likely would be. You can get a dimmer at home depot.

http://homedepot.digby.com/homedepot...egoryId=&path=

Also if your thermometers/hydrometers are the dial type from a pet store, I wouldn't trust them. You can get this one from Wall*Mart for $12. These work much better.

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...nt/photo-3.jpg