55 gallon tank

Hello I have a spare 55 gallon tank that I want to put my pastel in. What size uth would I need? Also, I just have your typical blue day bulb, is that enough? Want to make sure it good for her before I move her. Thanks!

A 55 is really big so it will need to cluttered up by lots of trees, hides, plants, and such. As for heating I wouldn't bother with a UTH. I would simply put a 50-60watt red bulb over the cool side and a 100watt red bulb over the hot side. Both lamps run 24 hrs. This with most of the mesh on top covered by towels or aluminum foil should keep your temps and humidity pretty good. Depending on the temps of your home those wattages may need to be increased or decreased some. Hope this helps.

I got a zoomed uth, the largest one they make on my 95 gallon for my Red Tail BOA is i believe 8x18 which is prolly too wide for your tank but i not sure..are you putting a ball python in there?

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Sorry i just seen pastel..your gone need a pretty good size bulb to heat that tank up..or get a ceramic, or radiant heat panel..

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You NEED BELLY HEAT

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Originally Posted by cowbully

You NEED BELLY HEAT

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Belly heat is not a need. As long as you provide a hot spot at 90 degrees it doesn't matter how it is achieved, wither it be a UTH or a heat lamp, either is fine.


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Originally Posted by cowbully

Sorry i just seen pastel..your gone need a pretty good size bulb to heat that tank up..or get a ceramic, or radiant heat panel..

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A RHP with a glass aquarium I imagine would be difficult to install with a glass set up. Also have to keep in mind a RHP does very minimal for ambient temps.


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Radiant heat panel!
Reptile basics!

Do it! ztz

With a glass set up though, I would recommend a UTH that is controlled with a thermostat as heat lamps seem to really play havoc with humidity. This is also useful due to glass cages not being the best for holding temps and humidity. I have found a combo of a CHE and a UTH seems to work best.

Here is my glass set up. My UTH is on the same side as my CHE. This gives me a perfect hot spot and ambient temps.

*Edit: Picture shows a IR bulb. I have since replaced the red bulb with a CHE.

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/...531/null-2.jpg


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My CHE is controlled with a dimmer, a thermostat would be preferred though as room temperatures will affect ambient temps inside the enclosure, controlling with a dimmer is more of a manual process and requires more caution.


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I would honestly sell that 55 or trade it before I used it for ball pythons. It's going to be hassle to keep it warm enough and humid enough. But if you insist, you will probably need two heat lamps and maybe even two UTH, one on the cool side and the hot side set at different temps.

Well I put a uth on the hot side rated for a 30-40 gallon and above that I have just a typical blue day bulb. The other half I keep a damp towel over t
the top to keep as much heat in as possible, and potentially help with the humidity.
And yes, it houses a lemon pastel bp and hopefully soon a bumblebee bp.

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Originally Posted by SunnyD

Well I put a uth on the hot side rated for a 30-40 gallon and above that I have just a typical blue day bulb. The other half I keep a damp towel over t
the top to keep as much heat in as possible, and potentially help with the humidity.
And yes, it houses a lemon pastel bp and hopefully soon a bumblebee bp.

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Most recommended keeping ball pythons in separate enclosures unless for breeding or for advanced herp keepers.

A T8 from animal plastics with a divider would be an ideal enclosure to hold two ball pythons. It's made out of PVC, so it does a much better job at holding in temps and humidity.

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From the things I've read and the local pet store breeders that I associate with say they would be fine in there together. I'm more so just making sure I'm on the track with heating such a big tank properly.

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Originally Posted by SunnyD

From the things I've read and the local pet store breeders that I associate with say they would be fine in there together. I'm more so just making sure I'm on the track with heating such a big tank properly.

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I would do some research on the topic on this forum before doing so, housing two ball pythons in one enclosure without a divider is not a generally accepted practice.


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I would not put any reptile in a tank with another, too much risk for injury and stress. I would separate them, especially if you really care about their health and safety. Two snakes means fighting over hiding spots as well, so one snake may be left not feeling secure, or not regulating it's temperature properly.

I would get rid of the 55g and get two smaller tanks. It would be much easier to maintain proper heat and humidity, and it's less risky.

I'd 86 those damp towels. Get some plexi-glass on that 55!

People give up on glass tanks too easily, imo. They just throw a wet towel over the top (fire hazard!) and glue construction paper or styrofoam to the outside...then give up. I'm glad they don't build houses for a living! :rofl:

Great pic of the set up. I too am struggling with temp and humidity issues and it looks like you might have the answers. What size tank is that? What watt bulb / che? By covering the top and providing heat on just one side do you get an appropriate gradient / cool side temp? I was concerned about scortching / fire hazards with covering that close to the heat source, but it doesn't seem to be a problem. How do you take care of humidity / air flow with that set up? Sorry to bombard you with so many questions just really want to get things right for her so she is comfortable and happy.

I'm very new to owning snakes, my son has a ball in a glass enclosure it's not as big probably a 30 gallon tank but we use a Uth on a hydro farm thermostat and a che on a dimmer above. We have two digital thermometers with probes. One probe is under substrate above the uth. It reads between 94-95 degrees. That creates around 88-90 on the surface for the hotspot. The other thermometers probe is about 4 inches above the bottom of the tank on a wall measuring ambient temps. It reads around 80-82. Humidity is difficult to keep up. In the winter our house averages 25% humidity. I mist often and have a humidifier in my sons rooms. He is in shed so we have to mist alot to achieve a 60-70% level right now. It can be done. We look forward to a animal plastics cage in the near future.
good luck

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Originally Posted by nighttrain_1991

Great pic of the set up. I too am struggling with temp and humidity issues and it looks like you might have the answers. What size tank is that? What watt bulb / che? By covering the top and providing heat on just one side do you get an appropriate gradient / cool side temp? I was concerned about scortching / fire hazards with covering that close to the heat source, but it doesn't seem to be a problem. How do you take care of humidity / air flow with that set up? Sorry to bombard you with so many questions just really want to get things right for her so she is comfortable and happy.

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50 gallon

I got the idea for putting all the heat sources, both UTH and heat lamp on one side of the tank from a boa website. In my particular situation, this does give me optimal gradient temperatures. My hot side is 90-93 degrees, my cool side is 78-80 degrees with RH of 55%.

I use Eco Earth as my substrate to assist with humidity. This setup is not the best for air flow. What you see on top is a towel covering a piece of a card board box wrapped in tin foil to help keep both the heat and humidity in. The towels are always kept dry, never damp. Once a day, I will take off the tin foil to completely expose the screen mesh to help with air flow.

Also here is an image from the boa website that helped illustrate the lamp/UTH setup.

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/...psf55661d3.png


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