New bp owner.

I have been out of snakes for a long time, and recently fell in love with a Ball at my local pet store. So after a huge fight with my wife LOL I brought "it" home :D I have never owned a BP, I took temporary care of a Tic and a Burmese almost 2 years, was great and got me hooked. Now they were large snakes but great (with me) they didn't care for there owners.

We have named our new ball, Diablo :D Sofar "it" is adjusting very well to the new home. Fed F/T fuzzy on Saturday like a champ !!

Now here is where I am struggling.

I can't seem to get an accurate Humidity reading... On the hot side digital reading says 40% on the cool side its 55% I have adjusted the tank and moved the pool over closer to the light and soaked the driftwood (Misting) Should I axe the 150 watt light and get a UTH ?? The tank is way larger then what a baby needs its 36x18x16

I am awaiting an Albino and am really interested in a Morph Just have to convince the wife haha


Any feed back is appreciated

Thanks

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg17/...jpg&res=medium

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg221...jpg&res=medium

150 watt light is definitely killing your humidity,Along with the open top tank. UTH is a great idea hook it up to a thermostat, and you will be good to go

Thanks Rob, I'll look into getting one this afternoon.

what size should I get ? Enough to cover just the Hot side ?? Or a 12x12 ?

Welcome to BP.net!

For selecting a UTH to go under a glass tank, pick one that covers about 1/3 of the total area of your tank's footprint. A UTH is a good way to give a warm side hide some belly heat, but it really won't effect your ambient tank temp much. Always put a UTH on a thermostat since they can get hot enough to cause burns through the glass.

Good luck! I think you'll find ball pythons fairly easy to keep once you get the hubandry down.

^^^ yup, a good idea to keep your ambient temp up for his "cool" side is a little space heater.

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Originally Posted by Rob

^^^ yup, a good idea to keep your ambient temp up for his "cool" side is a little space heater.

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Space Heater ?

The Tank is located above a Baseboard heater, Unfortunately Diablo live's in the basement. The one who does my laundry will not allow him to be upstairs haha

Could I not go to a smaller infrared bulb ? with the UTH

I'm no expert but after getting a UTH, thermostat, probe themometer, and hydrostat, I was still having trouble getting the humidity/temp right. Then it was suggested that I insulate three sides and the top of my glass tank and that worked like a charm. There are wonderful demos on this site, some even include pictures, that give a step by step guide. Materials vary but I used jungle cling for asthetics then insulated with black foam board and used high heat duct tape. I've had no problems since. Here's a picture of the finished product.

http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/...BaloosHome.jpg

With a UTH providing the hot spot, all a infrared bulb will need to do is maintain the air temperature at 80 degrees. A lower wattage bulb should work.

You could get an accurite for measuring humidity and temps. Uth with a thermostat is a must. Herpstats work great. Eco earth substrate can help with raising humidity. Hopefully your wife will grow to love him. It took my family awhile to convince me. Now I love them to pieces! Also probably the worst "just one more" offender...lol. :D

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Originally Posted by ExotixTowing

Space Heater ?

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Yup where I keep my snakes and frog, isn't warm enough so along with the uth for the belly heat area, I use a little space heater to bring up the ambient temp in the tubs

Well good news, the Wife decided lastnight that showing fear was a bad thing :D She thought it best to get over it while he's a baby haha..

Question I looked at UTH lastnight and the only Thermostat I found will not work with my tank. Where it the best place to pick up the right set up ?

A couple things to consider when dealing with humidity. Depending on the heating in your house this can really dry things up. If your tank is by the heat source. Also substrate. If your having humidity issues it would be a good idea to use cypress. It is great for producing humidity. It has to be pure cypress. Not a cypress blend. Aquariums are the hardest enclosures to get right. But its not impossible.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ExotixTowing

Well good news, the Wife decided lastnight that showing fear was a bad thing :D She thought it best to get over it while he's a baby haha..

Question I looked at UTH lastnight and the only Thermostat I found will not work with my tank. Where it the best place to pick up the right set up ?

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Which thermostat were you looking at?

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

Which thermostat were you looking at?

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I'm on the road atm, i will call the store in the am

I would order a Vivarium from Reptiel Basics Rich is awsome and has the best customer service I have seen in a long time. I order everything from him. As for your humidity issue I would buy a peice of Plexiglass from Homedepot and cut it to fit your tank as so
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...64496118_n.jpg I would also cover 3 sides of your tanks with something to insulate it I use Cardboard covered with foil tape taped to the outside of my tank like so http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...83841836_n.jpg this really helps to stabilize my temps I use a 60W CHE to keep my ambients up around 80F and use a dimmer to control the CHE hope this helps let me know if you have any other questions :)

So this afternoon i picked up a red night bulb ( temporary fix ) went to 100 Watt. misted the tank pluged in light and covered the cool side with a towel again totally temporary. humidity came up almost instantly. hot side 1 hour later is 85 cool side ranges in the 70's

robie thanks for the advise will get on that in the am.

i turned out the basement lights returned 90 mins later and Diablo was chilling on his hide :D