Heating question

Hello all. I'm new to this forum. Not really new to snakes though
I'm just trying to make the best cage possible. I've turned my 72gallon bow front into a snake home. (For my ball python)
I placed an under tank heater on the left w a rock enclosure over top so the snake may get inside (which it does)
I have a waterfall going in the middle. & some branches for it to climb on
Only issue is.. I've been reading too much & seeing a lot of ppl saying not to use hear lamps.
But..my tank is only about 75 degrees..not warm enough
I'm not sure how else to get to the temp I need w/o a lamp.
& do I need an infrared lamp for night time?
& if I do use a lamp..do I place it on same side as heat pad, so it has a hot & cold side
Any suggestions would be helpful
Here's a pic to get an idea of my enclosurehttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/03/muzevu3y.jpg
Thanks..


Athens Staff

What are you using to check temps? Personally I would put the lamp in the middle, others will probably chime in and correct me if I'm wrong. I would say middle because it will give more of a gradient. Hot spot, then a middle temp to coolest side. Only problem I really see with lamps is it wrecks the humidity (from personal experience) Also I don't see a hide on the cool side?

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I'm using a simple thermometer to check temps.. I have a hide spot on the cool side now..just wasn't there when I took the pic. I thought about putting the lamp in the middle, but I read not to put heat over your water??


Athens Staff

Oh yeah..
& if everyone thinks I should use a head lamp,
What size lamp?
If everyone is against a lamp
How else do I heat it up?
& with ventilation being important, it's hard to keep humidity & temp stable..
Help me out..lol


Athens Staff

I use a simple dome lamp with a red bulb. I'm not sure about the wattage you would need for a tank so large, though. Maybe a more experienced member could guide you there...

Also, try draping a large towel around three sides of the tank and part of the top as well. The entire top of the tank doesn't need to be exposed or open if you are using a screen cover, just enough to allow some airflow so that the air inside doesn't get stagnant.

To keep my humidity levels up, I have a damp towel over part of the top, and I mist it a few times a day. It's about 55-60% humidity inside.

I hope this helps a bit.

It helps...just need to fig out wattage I need. & how often do I need to keep it on?
24hrs
12hrs
?


Athens Staff

I would say at the minimum 75 watt. I use the red infrared bulb. It depends on how well the tank hold the heat... if it drops as soon as the light goes off you may need to run it 24/7.
Agree with the towel it does help. My bulb is right over my water dish

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hgray

It helps...just need to fig out wattage I need. & how often do I need to keep it on?
24hrs
12hrs
?


Athens Staff

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Someone will pipe in with wattage soon.


Also, the red bulb is not for lighting, just heat. Ball pythons have no lighting requirements, but their heat needs to be stable at all times. Mine is on at all times.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hgray

It helps...just need to fig out wattage I need. & how often do I need to keep it on?
24hrs
12hrs
?


Athens Staff

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I am extremely new to snake keeping, but I can at least let you know what has been working for me. I have a 40 gallon tank in a house that stays pretty cool. I have an infrared heat lamp, 100 watt. It stays on 24/7, as the temps drop too low without it.

For humidity, as a previous poster suggested too, I use a damp towel to cover half the screen. My temps stay perfect and my humidity stays between 50-60% with the towel and the occasional misting if needed. :)

Me personally, I would use a ceramic heat emitter of around 100w and a thermostat to control temps. You could play with the placement a bit to see if it helps humidity keeping it over the water feature and so on. As for keeping the humidity, cover every square inch of screen or get rid of the screen completely. It's a snake, not a hamster, and doesn't need large amounts of ventilation to be healthy. You can uncover screen or add holes as need to maintain proper humidity.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Darkbird

Me personally, I would use a ceramic heat emitter of around 100w and a thermostat to control temps. You could play with the placement a bit to see if it helps humidity keeping it over the water feature and so on. As for keeping the humidity, cover every square inch of screen or get rid of the screen completely. It's a snake, not a hamster, and doesn't need large amounts of ventilation to be healthy. You can uncover screen or add holes as need to maintain proper humidity.

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All animals need ventilation and fresh air to be healthy! Do NOT completely cover the screen, it will cause more problems than not - mold, resperatory issues, the works. I may be new to ball pythons, but I most definitely am not new to animals.

I definitely wouldn't cover completely, first you would need a hole to fit the lamp, second a few holes in the opposite end.

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Ok
I put a infrared heat lamp on the tank & the temp is only showing 80 degrees
Any suggestions on getting it hotter?


Athens Staff

As long as you have a hot spot of 90 80 ambient temp is good

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hgray

Ok
I put a infrared heat lamp on the tank & the temp is only showing 80 degrees
Any suggestions on getting it hotter?


Athens Staff

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80 is fine, it can dip down to 75 at night without problems as long as you are maintaining a warm side at around 90F. I don't put a towel on mine, but I cover the whole top with aluminum foil to hold in heat and moisture. My tank has front and side ventilation though, so with the screen top it was way too much. Putting the heat over the water is fine, and in fact will help with humidity, but it will also increase bacterial growth, so be sure to change frequently. What size snake are you putting in there btw?

It's just a small snake now, prolly 6months or so



Athens Staff

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hgray

It's just a small snake now, prolly 6months or so



Athens Staff

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That's a really big tank for such a small snake, is the hide huge? They like to feel all snug and secure. If the snake is happy and feeding and shedding well, then no need to change it I guess, but a way to improve it would be to clutter it up a bit more and offer a couple of smaller hides on each side. Darkening the sides would help it feel more secure too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shera

That's a really big tank for such a small snake, is the hide huge? They like to feel all snug and secure. If the snake is happy and feeding and shedding well, then no need to change it I guess, but a way to improve it would be to clutter it up a bit more and offer a couple of smaller hides on each side. Darkening the sides would help it feel more secure too.

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I have small hides on both sides
It has a really big waterfall in the middle,
Pretty cluttered up
So..it seems to be working out well


Athens Staff

You might have to use a heat emitter. I think a lot of people with large tanks have to use at least one heat emitter.

Anyone have input on a brooder heat lamp?
Good or bad?


Athens Staff

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NH93

All animals need ventilation and fresh air to be healthy! Do NOT completely cover the screen, it will cause more problems than not - mold, resperatory issues, the works. I may be new to ball pythons, but I most definitely am not new to animals.

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Funny, I have some dwarf monitors in a tank as a growout enclosure with about 4-6sq inches of ventilation and have had none of the problems you describe. And they have a much higher metabolism than a ball python. most of the tubs I keep my pythons in only have a couple square inches of vent holes by the time you add them all up and I haven't had any issues yet. You are overlooking the fact that screen tops do not fit tightly, and I have yet to see a commonly available incandecent fixture that does not have vent holes in it. By the time this is in place the air moving through the fixture and coming in through the gaps around and under the top will be enough to keep a ball python healthy and happy. Oh, and my background has been the keeping of reptiles and most other manner of small animals for almost 20 years now. So I've managed in that time to make a lot of mistakes and learn from them. I only relate what I have found to work best for me, based on my experience.

To the Op: If by a brooder you mean the fixtures commonly sold for poultry, it will work fine if you have the room for it. They tend to be larger than other fixtures. I have one of those myself for use with a ceramic heat emitter in case I need extra heat
somewhere. As for helping the tank to hold heat better, you could get some insulation foam from a local home inprovement center and insulate the back and both ends. 1/4"-1/2" should be fine. And if you don't want to stare at bright pink or blue foam you could easily paint it witha foam safe paint before putting it on the tank. Acrylic latex works well.

Now if I were setting this up myself, I would cut a piece of plywood to fit the top, make an area for ventilation about 2"x12" with a way to cover part of it if needed. I would paint and seal the wood, then install a fixture with a CHE on the inside. make a wire cage to cover it, setup a thermostat. It could easily incorporate the light you are using as well. Once this is in place, you just set the T-stat for your desired ambient temp and adjuet the vent to kaintain proper humidity.

please forgive the spelling errors in my last post. My tablet doesn't always work right with this site and it won't let me fix them. The last line should have read " and adjust the vent to maintain proper humidity."

Thanks
I appreciate all the help


Athens Staff