New BP! Questions, pictures.

Hello everyone!

I've had a leopard gecko for a little over a year now, and also have a 120g fish tank that I keep Jaguar Cichlid's in. I've been reading a lot about snakes, and I decided yesterday to go out and get a BP (after much convincing from my girlfriend who doesn't like snakes ;) ).

He/she is currently in a 20g long fish tank with a slide-on screen lid. I'm using Aspen mulch for substrate. I covered half of the lid to help hold humidity in the tank. Currently I'm using a large heat lamp with a 60w red bulb in it to maintain correct temperature, also a 10-20g UTH for belly heat (both on the right side of the tank). I used my probe thermometer this morning and the hot side of the tank was about 95, while the cold side was about 82. I turned down the lamp to about 70% power instead of 100%. Hopefully this will drop the temp a little bit for him. I'm shooting for 92 on the hot side and 78ish on the cold. I have two different hygrometers in the tank to check humidity, one is a temp/hygro mixed meter and it is positioned in the center of the tank. It says the humidity is about 45. The other hygrometer I got was from petco, it is more toward the left (cold) side of the tank and it says the humidity is at 60.

1. He was fed last Friday. I have not bothered him since he went into his new home yesterday. Should I try to feed him this Friday or let him rest until next week?

2. Are my temp's okay?

3. Humidity?



http://s16.postimage.org/xstj6kxl1/0711121102.jpg


http://s15.postimage.org/j7yo6h10r/0711121102a.jpg

http://s10.postimage.org/d87z2y9jd/Untitled.jpg

http://s16.postimage.org/sxv8uk9vp/0710121818.jpg



Thanks for taking your time to read this. If you have any answers, criticisms or suggestions they will be appreciated.

Is that electrical tape covering the hides? If so - please remove it immediately!!! Also, is your UTH on a thermostat (yet)? If not, it will get hot enough to burn your new friend. At the very least, consider a lamp dimmer/rheostat. You might want to try to increase your cool side temp by a few degrees. I'd be surprised if your bp eats on Friday, but there's no harm in offering.

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new ball python!

Here is the caresheet, which will answer your temp/humidity question: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

You need to get a thermostat for the UTH before you cause a burn. Heat sources need to be regulated, especially those death traps. Even a small one can cause a severe burn. Again, welcome! :)

Edit: As the other person said, I didn't notice, but if that is tape it does need to be removed like now. Tape should never be used inside an enclosure...

I'm going hunting for some tree bark and other hides today. I cut some plastic and covered it with the tape so it would stay dark underneath for him. I was just reading the caresheet about no tape (whoops). I'm removing them right now after I type this :).

I'll get a thermostat for the UTH. I have a cloth between the UTH and the glass so it doesn't get too hot. I'll just go get a thermostat and apply it directly to the glass.

Right now I'm in the process of figuring out what thermometer to go get.

- - - Updated - - -

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by swansonbb

You might want to try to increase your cool side temp by a few degrees.

---

It was at about 82 when I checked it with the lamp on 100% (has a dimmer). The hot side was about 95 though. Should I keep the lamp on 100% even though it's getting that hot? I can move the lamp a bit closer to the center of the enclosure to get the left side a bit hotter too.

Also, the red heat bulbs are okay to run 24/7 for snakes, correct? His night/day cycle will just be the room lights when it's lit up and we're active in it. As far as I know, the red light is just like darkness to them.

Get a IR temp gun

20 bucks on Amazon.

- - - Updated - - -

Get a IR temp gun so you know the surface temps. If your lamp is making a air temp of 95 the hotspot under the lamp will be over 100, way to hot. Try dimming the light and moving it alittle toward the cool side to send More heat that way.

The red bulb is fine.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KMG

Get a IR temp gun

20 bucks on Amazon.

---

Easy enough. I've had this tru temp with a probe for a while for my Leo.

Sounds like everyone is pointing you in the right direction, and you got the tape out. So, Congrats on your bp, and welcome. It couldn't hurt to offer food Friday. Feed him in his enclosure. Keep handling to hard minimum until he has eaten a few times in a row for you, then start out gradually and work up to longer sessions. We use a herpastat thermostat, and they are great.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DrDooLittle

Sounds like everyone is pointing you in the right direction, and you got the tape out. So, Congrats on your bp, and welcome. It couldn't hurt to offer food Friday. Feed him in his enclosure. Keep handling to hard minimum until he has eaten a few times in a row for you, then start out gradually and work up to longer sessions.

---

Thanks!

About the feeding.. I was told that I should take him out and put him in a different enclosure to feed him so he doesn't confuse me holding him and me feeding him. Is this false?


Edit: Oh and yes, the tape is GONE! I'm headed out right now to get 2 different hides from petco.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by steez

Thanks!

About the feeding.. I was told that I should take him out and put him in a different enclosure to feed him so he doesn't confuse me holding him and me feeding him. Is this false?

---

Yes that's false. Feeding inside the enclosure will reduce stress and increase your chances of him taking his first meal for you :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by steez

Thanks!

About the feeding.. I was told that I should take him out and put him in a different enclosure to feed him so he doesn't confuse me holding him and me feeding him. Is this false?

---

It couldn't be further from the truth. Think about it this way:

If you feed in the home enclosure, the snake smells the rat, you dangle the rat with tongs, and then it takes the food.

If you feed outside the home enclosure, the snake smells the rat, you pick up the hungry snake and put it in an unfamiliar place, you dangle the rat and (presumably) it eats. Then you have to wait until the snake finishes eating and carefully pick up the animal who might still be hungry, and put it in the home enclosure.

Seems like option two would give your snake many more opportunities to mistake you for food than option one. If you are feeding your snake the correct amount of food per week it should never mistake you for food. You don't look or smell like a rat, so it probably won't mistake you for one on a day when the room doesn't smell like rats.

Does this make sense? Sorry, I really hate the flawed logic behind the "mistaking my hand for food" argument. It really just makes no sense. Especially for ball pythons. They are so docile!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by steez

I'm going hunting for some tree bark and other hides today. I cut some plastic and covered it with the tape so it would stay dark underneath for him. I was just reading the caresheet about no tape (whoops). I'm removing them right now after I type this :).

I'll get a thermostat for the UTH. I have a cloth between the UTH and the glass so it doesn't get too hot. I'll just go get a thermostat and apply it directly to the glass.

Right now I'm in the process of figuring out what thermometer to go get.

- - - Updated - - -




It was at about 82 when I checked it with the lamp on 100% (has a dimmer). The hot side was about 95 though. Should I keep the lamp on 100% even though it's getting that hot? I can move the lamp a bit closer to the center of the enclosure to get the left side a bit hotter too.

Also, the red heat bulbs are okay to run 24/7 for snakes, correct? His night/day cycle will just be the room lights when it's lit up and we're active in it. As far as I know, the red light is just like darkness to them.

---

I would highly recommend an Accu-rite from Walmart. There is a $12 one with a probe you can use to measure the UTH heat. This also measures temp/humidity at the unit itself. Walmart also has a smaller $8 one that only shows temp/humidity at the unit. This thread has a pic of my set up with the probe one on the hot side and other one on the cool side. What type of bulb are you using? I would recommend an infared one if that isn't what you have already, they don't disturb the snake with bright light and you can keep the temp up all night with it :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by grizzjr1

I would highly recommend an Accu-rite from Walmart. There is a $12 one with a probe you can use to measure the UTH heat. This also measures temp/humidity at the unit itself. Walmart also has a smaller $8 one that only shows temp/humidity at the unit. This thread has a pic of my set up with the probe one on the hot side and other one on the cool side. What type of bulb are you using? I would recommend an infared one if that isn't what you have already, they don't disturb the snake with bright light and you can keep the temp up all night with it :)

---

I'll definitely go invest in a couple of those and mount one on each side! I use a 60w RED heat light. I'm just going to leave it on all the time. I'm not using any bright lights or UV, he is in my computer room which is light during the day and dark at night.

- - - Updated - - -

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LGray23

Yes that's false. Feeding inside the enclosure will reduce stress and increase your chances of him taking his first meal for you :)

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kaorte

It couldn't be further from the truth. Think about it this way:

If you feed in the home enclosure, the snake smells the rat, you dangle the rat with tongs, and then it takes the food.

If you feed outside the home enclosure, the snake smells the rat, you pick up the hungry snake and put it in an unfamiliar place, you dangle the rat and (presumably) it eats. Then you have to wait until the snake finishes eating and carefully pick up the animal who might still be hungry, and put it in the home enclosure.

Seems like option two would give your snake many more opportunities to mistake you for food than option one. If you are feeding your snake the correct amount of food per week it should never mistake you for food. You don't look or smell like a rat, so it probably won't mistake you for one on a day when the room doesn't smell like rats.

Does this make sense? Sorry, I really hate the flawed logic behind the "mistaking my hand for food" argument. It really just makes no sense. Especially for ball pythons. They are so docile!

---

Thank you very much. :)

- - - Updated - - -

Won't let me edit those first pictures out.


Here's the update:

http://s12.postimage.org/v9znmp7zx/update.jpg




I got an IR temp remote from Petco, and the thermostat they sold. It isn't what was recommended, but I just got it to make sure I don't burn him in the meantime. Petco let's you return it for 30 days, so I held onto the receipt and I'll take it back when I get a better one. (Unless this 1000w Zilla will be ok)

I know the boxes don't look good yet, but it's better than the tape I had in there. I'm going to go out into the woods and find some good stuff for the tank in the next couple days.

I'd be careful about using stuff from the woods... you never know what lives in it currently (think parasites). Why don't you check out http://www.reptilebasics.com for your temp gun/thermostat/hides. A lot of us use it. Rich, the guy that owns RBI, is very helpful. The hides are fantastic.

Would this work to control my UTH? http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermos...omed-rheostat/

It will allow you to control the amount of current running to the UTH, and anything else you plug in (like your light). You still need to make sure the temp of the UTH doesn't get too high, using a temp gun or something similar (I have this temp gun, and absolutely love it.. http://www.reptilebasics.com/412l-thermometer ).

You can also use a cheap plug in light dimmer - it's the same thing. Most of my bps are in a rack, but I have one in a tank and use a $10 lamp dimmer I bought at Home Depot to control that UTH - I think it's this one... http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...&storeId=10051

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by swansonbb

It will allow you to control the amount of current running to the UTH, and anything else you plug in (like your light). You still need to make sure the temp of the UTH doesn't get too high, using a temp gun or something similar (I have this temp gun, and absolutely love it.. http://www.reptilebasics.com/412l-thermometer ).

You can also use a cheap plug in light dimmer - it's the same thing. Most of my bps are in a rack, but I have one in a tank and use a $10 lamp dimmer I bought at Home Depot to control that UTH - I think it's this one... http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...&storeId=10051

---

I'll probably order that thermometer next week. I got the zoomed one from Petco today to get me by. It's showing 91 above my UTH, ranging over to 79 to the cold side. I moved my heat lamp to the center of the screen, and I'll take temps again here soon and see what it tells me.

I paid $53 for this Zilla Thermostat from Petco today. I plugged my UTH into it and it has YET to actually turn on the heat source. I have it set to 92 and I guess the probe is still telling it to stay off. I'm really considering taking this thing back and just buying a dimmer for my UTH. I could start it at half power, wait an hour and check surface temp and adjust as needed. What do you think?

EDIT: I forgot to add that I put a piece of reptile carpet on the glass in the tank right above where the UTH is. Then I have the Aspen on top of that. I just didn't want my BP going down into the substrate and touching the hot glass.

I think I'd use a temp gun and dimmer with your set up. Yes, start at half power & check every 20-30 minutes or so. Remember, you need to monitor the temp of the UTH, not of the substrate on top of it. A thick layer of substrate can trap heat from the UTH - the UTH could end up having to "work" a lot harder to bring up the temp on top of the substrate. If the snake moves or burrows in the substrate - he could end up with a serious burn. A thinner layer of substrate is better to make sure the belly heat is appropriate.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by swansonbb

I think I'd use a temp gun and dimmer with your set up. Yes, start at half power & check every 20-30 minutes or so. Remember, you need to monitor the temp of the UTH, not of the substrate on top of it. A thick layer of substrate can trap heat from the UTH - the UTH could end up having to "work" a lot harder to bring up the temp on top of the substrate. If the snake moves or burrows in the substrate - he could end up with a serious burn. A thinner layer of substrate is better to make sure the belly heat is appropriate.

---

I'll make sure there's only about half an inch of Aspen or so above the glass. Should I leave the piece of reptile carpet I put there on the glass? I cut an exact sized piece to the size of the UTH and put it under the Aspen.

I'm not sure - I've never used it. I don't think I would. It's just trapping the heat. If you keep your UTH at or below 95 or so I don't think it's necessary. Someone else with more experience might want to chime in though...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by swansonbb

I'm not sure - I've never used it. I don't think I would. It's just trapping the heat. If you keep your UTH at or below 95 or so I don't think it's necessary. Someone else with more experience might want to chime in though...

---

So should I move the substrate and check the glass temp itself, or just use a very small amount of substrate on the warm side and check the substrate temp? This might be a stupid question because he's going to be on the substrate, but I don't want him burning himself if he DOES burrow.

If you're going to use a temp gun, I'd monitor the substrate, the glass & the UTH itself (lift up the tank). That will make sure he doesn't get burned.

If you have a probe then stick it right on the glass under the substrate where the UTH is. This will let you know the hottest point your snake can reach.

http://s7.postimage.org/glj5prue3/0711121958a.jpg



Went and got two of those Accurites. The right one has a probe stuck right on top of the glass where the UTH is. The glass is really hot, as you can see. I also added a dimmer on the UTH and have it OFF right now so the temp down there goes down. Once it gets to the 95ish range I'll turn on the UTH to like 1/4 strength and see where the temp goes. Inside temperature and humidity a bit low too because the light was off for a while while i was installing this stuff. Humidity is back up to 50 now and temps getting a bit higher. I also added black paper all around the back/sides of the tank so he's more comfortable.

So I'm using the dimmer with the UTH. I have the probe down attached to the glass under the Aspen and I removed the reptile carpet from under the Aspen (fits over where the UTH is). I have the dimmer at like 20% and when I turned the UTH on the probe is already at 105 again, which is too hot. The surface temp of the Aspen is 92 though.

**UPDATE**

I don't think the dimmer is really reducing the UTH heat enough, I turned it down as far as I can on the dimmer without actually shutting it off and I'll see how it is. If it doesn't go down I'm just going to have to use the reptile carpet on top of the glass where the UTH is. It prevents them from touching the actual glass part that is very hot to the touch and wouldn't burn them. As long as the surface temperature is okay and the glass that is too hot is covered by the carpet, it should be okay?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by steez

I paid $53 for this Zilla Thermostat from Petco today. I plugged my UTH into it and it has YET to actually turn on the heat source. I have it set to 92 and I guess the probe is still telling it to stay off. I'm really considering taking this thing back and just buying a dimmer for my UTH. I could start it at half power, wait an hour and check surface temp and adjust as needed. What do you think?

---

I have a lamp dimmer with Zoomed UTH. The size of the UTH is for the 10-20 gallon. I started at the very lowest slide setting and went upwards. When I reached halfway, it read about 100 degrees. It took gentle hands to hit that spot between 100 and 86 degrees on the dimmer.

Question: what type of dimmer are you using? You might not have one with the correct watt range.

Can't go wrong with one of THESE.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Poseidon

I have a lamp dimmer with Zoomed UTH. The size of the UTH is for the 10-20 gallon. I started at the very lowest slide setting and went upwards. When I reached halfway, it read about 100 degrees. It took gentle hands to hit that spot between 100 and 86 degrees on the dimmer.

Question: what type of dimmer are you using? You might not have one with the correct watt range.

---

I got one at home depot that was 300w. Same as the recommendation earlier in my thread.

I may have spoken too soon though, today I've hit that 'sweet spot' with it and my probe on the glass is telling me 96 and has been steady all morning! My IR thermometer is saying the surface is 91. Right now the air temp inside ranges from 86 on hot side and 81 on cold side. My humidity is steady at 50. The substrate goes from 92 above the UTH to about 80 in the coldest spot (under the hide on the cold side). So I'm thinking I got it just about perfect for him!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RetiredJedi

Can't go wrong with one of THESE.

---

Very cool, thanks for the recommendation!