I need info for my ball python terrarium temperature

I looked at a care sheet and it doesnt tell how high the temperature in the hide on the hot side should be . I have a basking spot maintained at 93degree rear left side . And on the front left side its at 84 degree . ( my thermometers are about 6 inch from the floor ) but in the hide at the front left side the temperature is at 93 degree ( because of the heat mat ) . Im using a red heat lamp to keep the temperature high enough its plugged in a hygrotherm . So im wondering if the heat is too high in his hide .

Welcome to the site!

How are you measuring and regulating your heat mat?

The hot side of the cage should be between 88-92 degrees, the cool side should be between 78-82 degrees. You should have a hide on each side that have the same internal temperature as their side of the cage.

You would find it more beneficial to plug the UTH to a thermostat and get a dimmer for the heat lamp. If you leave that UTH unregulated you are very likely to come home to a badly burned snake should he burrow and rest right atop that pad.

And welcome :D

I have an hygrotherm that turns off the light when it reach 93 degree on the basking spot and it also controls my fogger . For my uth I have a dimmer and I check the temperature in the hide by putthing the probe of my thermometer in it . So I should play with my dimmer to reach 84degree ? So far it was around 93 . Its been 2 weeks and he is almost always in this hide but he sticks his head out for a while sometimes . Now I guess it because its too hot .

What exactly are you trying to do with your heating setup?

I would suggest the following:

Have the heat mat on the bottom of the cage set to one side or the other.

The heat mat plugged into a thermostat (your hydrotherm will work short term, but it would be best to upgrade to something better I will put links to good thermostats at the end of this post)

Set the heat mat so it produces a 90 degree hot spot at the surface of the substrate (which needs to be 1/2" thick or less)

Center the heat lamp on the cage, and plug it into your dimmer.

Adjust the dimmer so it heats the air in the cage to 80 degrees. I would suggest using a 75 or 100 watt infrared heat bulb for this.

Good thermostats (avoid the junk sold in pet stores)

Mid-Range: http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermos...stat-prewired/

High Quality: http://spyderrobotics.com/home/products.html (I would suggest the Herpstat intro +, Herpstat 1, or Herpstat 2)

Helpful tip. Your hygrometers and thermometers should be placed on the FLOOR of the cage where the snake will spend just about all of it's time. There's no reason for you to know the temp of the cage 6 inches off the ground.

I like my temps to be 88-92 on the warm side and 75-80 on the cool side. My temps do vary a bit, but as long as the warm side stays under 95 and my cool side stays above 75 I'm happy. I have noticed that my babies do not like to eat if my warm side is less than 88 degrees.

Now I have my hygrotherm probe on the floor ( under heat light ) And I bought another thermostat to control the uth . The probe of this one is in his hot side hide ( im now keeping it at 90 ) and I kept it plugged in the dimmer too so if the thermostat fail someday it cant go too high to burn him .

Now I wonder if there is a good way to secure a probe on the floor . Ive read that tape is not a good idea . Its currently secured by being right on the side of his hide sitting on the wire but I dont like it too much :/ ideas are more than welcomed :)

Im french so my english might be hard to understand thanks for trying hard to decrypt all this :)

Hot glue gun :)

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Originally Posted by MsMissy

Hot glue gun :)

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So simple . Cant believe I didnt think about it lolll Thanks a lot :)

Just FYI, Tstat probes are generally placed under the tank/tub, between the UTH. It's way it won't be exposed to urine, feces, water, etc that will interrupt the function of your Tstat.


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Originally Posted by MootWorm

Just FYI, Tstat probes are generally placed under the tank/tub, between the UTH. It's way it won't be exposed to urine, feces, water, etc that will interrupt the function of your Tstat.

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Good catch, I was assuming he was referring to a thermometer probe as apposed to the thermostat.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MootWorm

Just FYI, Tstat probes are generally placed under the tank/tub, between the UTH. It's way it won't be exposed to urine, feces, water, etc that will interrupt the function of your Tstat.


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I already used the sticker side of the uth to stick it underneath terrarium :/ . I feel that if I try to remove it its gonna break the uth . Anyone did this before ?

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Originally Posted by Seb855

I already used the sticker side of the uth to stick it underneath terrarium :/ . I feel that if I try to remove it its gonna break the uth . Anyone did this before ?

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I've done it a few times. It's always a possibility that you'll ruin it, but I've had great luck. You just need to work very slowly and carefully when peeling it back. If it looks damaged in any way, don't use it. I've yet to ruin one, but this is why I cover mine in aluminum foil and use tape to secure it :) Learned that lesson the hard way lol.


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I finally removed the uth ( only half way ) and placed the thermostat probe right in the middle :) The uth was coming off pretty easily and I believe its still gonna stick in place for good . I also noticed a small 2 inch crack in the bottom corner of the glass :( Makes me crazy ! Im scared its gonna grow and maybe break and harm my poor bp . Anyone else having a crack in their glass ? So far I can slide my finger on it witouth any harm ...

A long time ago I had an issue with a glass tank and it cracking. It's because I didn't use the rubber pegs the Under The Tank Heater came with. Make sure those are on the bottom corners of your tank so it raises the tank up from whatever surface it's resting on. But you shouldn't have to worry now. With a thermostat your temperatures will not get so hot anymore. But it's still a good idea to raise the tank a bit.