Newbie snake owner with questions..

I'll try to explain this the best I can, sorry if it is hard to understand..

Ok, so, I have had my ball python for about 5 months now, and have only had a UTH for her [set at 94F] on her hot side, but I read somewhere on the forums that UTHs only give belly heat, and that if the ambient air is too cold, they could get a RI.

My room is usually 79-81F, I don't know if that is too cold for her, I recently heard her making a weird wheezing noise after I fed her, and thought she had a RI, but she hasn't done it since, I am still worried though, so I sold some stuff and ordered her a ZooMed heat lamp, and a 50Watt bulb [Didn't know what wattage to get, so I just went with 50..], because it was all I could afford, the thing is, I was reading the reviews on the bulbs, and some people were saying that they exploded soon after they bought them? I am concerned because I don't know if this happens that often, I don't have a job, so I wouldn't be able to buy her another bulb if it exploded, how do I go about making it last as long as possible?

I also had another concern, when I was feeding her the other day, after she was finished constricting the mouse, and started to unwrap herself from it, she did this really weird corkscrew thing, almost like a spider.. I had read that snakes with IBD do that, and kinda freaked out, but she hasn't done it since, I don't know if she just was trying to figure out how to unwrap herself, or what. I would like to add though that I had just bought it prekilled, so it was still squishy, so I don't know if that changes anything, or maybe contributed to it? I may just be overreacting, but you can never be too sure I guess..

I want a healthy and happy snake, so any advice for this newbie would be much appreciated!

What's the humidity at?

If your room is 79-81 that is fine, but other than that as Jhill pointed out is the humidity. you want your humidity levels between 50-60% a little higher when your snake is in shed doesn't hurt. If the humidity is too low or too high it can cause respiratory issues

Your UTH could use being set at like 92, 94 is a little high. Ambient temp seems fine. Humidity is something to monitor closely to prevent RIs. As far as the corkscrewing, my little girl did some weird stuff tonight when I fed her. Sometimes they do weird stuff just to make us worry I think :P

It is usually at 40-50%, 60 when shedding

Anybody who uses heat lamps that can help me regarding the light bulb question? <3

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Originally Posted by ShayInator

Anybody who uses heat lamps that can help me regarding the light bulb question? <3

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Like said earlier do not use the lamp. 79-81 is fine you don't want it warmer.

Ahh jeez, which I would've known that before I bought the heat lamp.. Is it still alright if I use it? I'd hate for it to go to waste, just on the hot side anyways.

I bought a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer for $20. The small outdoor sensor/transmitter is very water resistant so I put that closest to the water bowl which is on the hot side. This measures the ambient temp well.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y81...pstnppnb9y.jpg

You can see both the main body and the outdoor sensor in this photo, both are inside the tank and run on AA batteries.

I did a boo boo though and didn't shop around enough to find one that measures humidity. I will buy one that can and use this one I bought as a regular room thermometer and outside thermometer.

I suggest saving for a similar thermometer. It sounds like you have a thermostat for the UTH which is great.

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Originally Posted by ShayInator

....I want a healthy and happy snake, so any advice for this newbie would be much appreciated!

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I suggest you check these links out

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


http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...Husbandry-FAQs

Right now I am using an Acurite thermometer/hygrometer thingy, a hydrofarm thermostat, and a ZooMed UTH for her.

I am still wondering if I should use the heat lamp though, will it hurt if I do? My room is a little hot for my liking, so I would like to do that.. o.o

If you are keeping your room at that temperature so the snake tank ambient temp is okay then YES, use the lamp! It will be more comfortable for you and cheaper to heat just the tank and not the whole room. Don't use the lamp until you have waited for a day of a cooler room temp to see if you need it. The UTH will raise the tank ambient temp some so it may not be necessary. A good thing to have for when winter comes though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ShayInator

Right now I am using an Acurite thermometer/hygrometer thingy, a hydrofarm thermostat, and a ZooMed UTH for her.

I am still wondering if I should use the heat lamp though, will it hurt if I do? My room is a little hot for my liking, so I would like to do that.. o.o

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When I got my first snake I bought a heat lamp. A couple weeks later i realized it wasn't necessary so I now use it to warm up my rats after they have thawed out. Just an idea if you don't use the lamp.

I'll probably do that then, because I hate having to keep my room so warm.. I still don't know about the bulbs though. .-.

Put the acurite thermometer in the cool side of the tank to check the ambient temp on the cool side. Check the temp on the cool side by resetting the minimum and maximum saved temperatures and check it for a day while keeping your room at the 79-81 temp it is now. Then, make it cooler in the room for your comfort and check what the temps are by resetting/deleting the saved temps again.

If the cool side goes down to 75, it won't hurt the snake for this 24-36 hour temp testing. As for if the bulb will explode, I don't know. I do know that bulbs have less chance of doing this if you don't touch the glass with your fingers. If you do, use at least 70% rubbing alcohol to clean it with a moistened paper towel. Keep any objects at least 3 inches from the bulb.

Hanging the lamp from the ceiling with a couple different heights on the chain helps to adjust the ambient temp in the tank until you get it right. Again, it is better to raise the ambient temp slowly since you have a thermostat controlled UTH. You have time to get it right.

I don't think I can reset the temperature with mine.. I think it does it automatically, I don't know.. I'll try to do that anyways though! Thank you very much!

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Originally Posted by ShayInator

I'll probably do that then, because I hate having to keep my room so warm.. I still don't know about the bulbs though. .-.

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For me I just kept all wattages of bulbs on hand in my snake room with back ups. This can get expensive also. Then I realized all that I needed was a 100 or 150 watt bulb and then plug it in to an external dimmer switch that I came across in the house- DOH!!
Then not too long ago someone posted that Lowes has these for about $12 I believe.
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06...e0c94d11fa.jpg

The slide switch works perfectly and no more switching bulbs with changing weather.

Where can I find the dimmers, and what are they usually called?

Thank you so much for the help guys!

Home depot manards Wal-Mart . they are call tabletop lamp dimmers or just diner switches

Thank you! You are a life saver! <3

I would like to note, you should also have 2 hides... One on the hot, one on the cold. That temp is k, but I also use a heat lamp with my uth because I too like my apartment cooler than that. It's not ideal, just make sure you will have regular temps, because if it heats up in there the heat lamp can easily make it too hot. As for the health of your snake, I am going to assume, and correct me if I am wrong, that you have a mesh top? Covering that 90% in foil with a cutout for your light will immensely help your humidity remain constant. 60% ish is ideal, 70% for shed. It being too low is bad too, and can cause eventual RI problems.

I currently have 2 hides, and a water bowl in there as well, big enough for her to soak in. I do have a mesh top, and it is covered halfway with a towel, should I change it to foil, or does it not really matter?

I tried using a towel on the top of the mesh but it didn't work well. A simple piece of tin foil over the top or wrapping a piece of cardboard with tin foil works better for me. I can adjust the ambient temp and the humidity with a 2 inch slide of the cardboard wrapped tin foil on top of the tank. Use cardboard that is about 75%-90% of the top of the tank. You can easily slide it around to adjust for temp if the lamp hangs from the ceiling or with a lamp stand.

Don't worry about buying a lamp stand if you can. Like I said before, I hang my high output infrared heat lamp from the ceiling and I can adjust the temp by changing how high the lamp sits from the tank.

I found the cardboard covered with tin foil helps to hold in the humidity better than a towel. I tried for a long time to wet the towel but it made the towel smell moldy fast. The tin foil works better.

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Originally Posted by Monty's_Mom

I tried using a towel on the top of the mesh but it didn't work well. A simple piece of tin foil over the top or wrapping a piece of cardboard with tin foil works better for me. I can adjust the ambient temp and the humidity with a 2 inch slide of the cardboard wrapped tin foil on top of the tank. Use cardboard that is about 75%-90% of the top of the tank. You can easily slide it around to adjust for temp if the lamp hangs from the ceiling or with a lamp stand.

Don't worry about buying a lamp stand if you can. Like I said before, I hang my high output infrared heat lamp from the ceiling and I can adjust the temp by changing how high the lamp sits from the tank.

I found the cardboard covered with tin foil helps to hold in the humidity better than a towel. I tried for a long time to wet the towel but it made the towel smell moldy fast. The tin foil works better.

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I'll try that, I hate having the towel smell all weird.. I'll try it tomorrow!

Yeah I never tried towels, but I figure at best you could have mildew or mold issues :rolleye2: Not tasty

A towel is just going to absorb humidity and become a bacteria trap.

Something like foil, plexiglass, Formica will work much better.

One of my tanks has screen top with no dividers in the screen. So for this one I used two separate pieces of cardboard wrapped in foil. This way I can slide them across and adjust as needed for humidity requirements, ventilation, and lamp clearance.

Believe it or not, it works so well, humidity gets too high at times and I have to slide them way open or remove one.

Placing the water bowl below the heat lamp will help immensely as well!
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06...b6bb5d7406.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06...cc33beb86a.jpg

For my tank top that has a divider, I made cardboard foil inserts for each section. Again, I just remove one or more to adjust the humidity, or even slide one out partially.
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06...8458279e69.jpg

The wheezing seems to have stopped now that I have raised the humidity, which is such a relief! Thank you all so much for the help!!