First BP need help with my setup

Howdy,

I recently bought a 4ft ball python and 40 gallon tank setup from a guy off craigslist, and am questioning if the setup is what it should be. This being my first snake im not experienced on the heating aspect of his environment and I want to make sure that my little guy is all setup.
The setup included the following things

Snake
40 gallon tank
1 hide
1 water dish
a fluker clamp lamp with a 50 watt basking bulb

A light rack which includes 1 12 watt red bulb, with a 12 watt white bulb on the opposite end as well as a 20 watt flourescent tube that goes the entire length of the light fixture.

My main concern is that the red light is way too low wattage for my snakes night cycle.

I did not get a thermometer or anything when I bought the snake off the guy, and this is the snakes first night at my place.

Any help or opinions on the lighting setup (specifically the wattage of the bulbs) would be great!

you might want to get an under tank heater but use it with a thermostat to regulate temp or the temp under will get to hot and burn the snake, also a digital thermometer that also reads humidity. keep your temps at 90 on warm side and 80 on cool side and humidity at around 50%-60%

when you buy and UTH do the come with a way to regulate the heat they put out or do you have to buy a seperate thing to regulate the heaters temp?

Also would i use the UTH and the overhead lights at the same time or trash the lights altogether?

I'm just going to straight up say it, that is a terrible set up for a BP.

First things first. You need to get a thermometer to see what your temperatures are. (since people's homes are different temperatures you can't just go by bulb wattage)

This is a good thermometer, it is sold at Walmart and costs $12.

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

Don't even bother with the pet store, the stuff they sell is overpriced and poorly made. Plus the store employees know nothing about reptiles and give out terrible information.

You should read this, it should help:

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

Glass tanks are designed for fish not reptiles. A tub or PVC cage would be a much better option. (tanks can be made to work but they are terribly difficult to maintain heat and humidity in)

Here is some info on tubs:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...Basics...*DUW*

Info on PVC cages: (my preferred choice)



UTH's do not come with anything to regulate them, you will have to buy that separately. Once again

the crap sold in pet stores isn't worth your money. Here are 2 good thermostats:

If you are on a tight budget, the hydrofarm thermostat will do. They cost $30 but are inaccurate and lack safety features. these should be replaced with a better thermostat when possible.



The Herpstat is the best you can get, extremely accurate and have many safety features that make it a much better choice. They do have a higher price tag though. Starting at $99

http://www.spyderrobotics.com/

UTH's are great, but they require a few things to work well. First off you need to understand that all they do is heat the floor of the cage. This means that the air in the cage will be the temperature of the room the cage is in. If the room gets below 75 degrees a second heat source will be needed. A infrared heat lamp would be best. (do not drop the temperatures at night!) you also need to keep the substrate layer thin. No more than 1/2" thick. Any more and the UTH won't be able to hear through it.

But most importantly UTH's MUST be regulated by a thermostat. Unregulated UTH's can and will get hit enough to kill your snake. (150+ degrees)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tweed

when you buy and UTH do the come with a way to regulate the heat they put out or do you have to buy a seperate thing to regulate the heaters temp?

Also would i use the UTH and the overhead lights at the same time or trash the lights altogether?

---

you buy it seperate hydrofarm on amazon for $30 is good if your on a budget and personaly i still use a light but you wouldnt need them the uth would do the job

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JaGv

you buy it seperate hydrofarm on amazon for $30 is good if your on a budget and personaly i still use a light but you wouldnt need them the uth would do the job

---

That isn't necessarily true. If the OP's room gets below 75 degrees an additional heat source will be required.

from what I understand thus far I will need,

UTH
Thermostat
thermometer/humidity reader


My question being after I have all that setup what to do with the lights?

Would I need to use any of the lights along with the uth? I.E. Basking light?

Sorry here is the link for the PVC cage thread:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...With-Pictures!

And the hydrofarm thermostat:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NZZG3S

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tweed

from what I understand thus far I will need,

UTH
Thermostat
thermometer/humidity reader


My question being after I have all that setup what to do with the lights?

Would I need to use any of the lights along with the uth? I.E. Basking light?

---

How cold does the room that the cage will be in get?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

That isn't necessarily true. If the OP's room gets below 75 degrees an additional heat source will be required.

---

true it slipped my mind my mistake

If I keep my fan on I would say pretty damn cold, probably 70 degrees or so, but since this is his first night here and I was unsure of the setup that the previous owner had given me, I've turned the ac up to 75 and have kept my fan off.

Ok, then along with a UTH you will need a heat lamp. This infrared bulb (in the 75 watt version) will work great and can (and should) be left on 24/7

http://m.petsmart.com/mt/www.petsmar...3&lmdn=Reptile

So upgrade the red light to 75 watts and what about the basking lamp? Will that still be neccisarry with a UTH

The red light takes the place of the basking lamp. Just keep the red lamp on all the time and you should be good.

Alright thanks for all the help will work on his new setup tomorrow

Looks like Aarons got you covered.:gj: Congrats on your bp, and welcome!

Just wanted to update you guys on my tanks progress, went shopping today got a 75w red light, UTH, Thermostat, Humidity gauge, 2 digital thermometers (1 for cold side 1 for hot side) and a 2nd hide for the cold side of his tank.

He has been super active thermoregulating himself and whatnot and he all around seems like a happier snake, so thank you guys so much for the help and the advice.