2 Heat lamps and a UTH, is it okay?

Hi, I recently purchased my first Ball Python, and I have been having troubles with keeping my tempature inside my habitat stable and healthy. I currently am using a glass tank (20gal) with a small uth in the corner (away from the heat lamps) and 2 heat lamps on the basking side. My ambient temp in my house is 65 deg F. My thermometer is on the side with the hide. Its been going around 70-82 degrees F on the side with the hide. I wanted to make sure the double heat lamp set up with a UTH is okay, I dont want to cook the little guy ya know? :P (Hes about 3 months old and about 1 foot in length.) thanks!

EDIT: for got to state the wattage of the bulbs, one 100w and 60w & I dont have a thermometer on the basking side I forgot about that :o

-Soup

What type of thermometer are you using? 100w + a 60w seem a little over kill... I have a feeling your thermometer is wrong... I use a 75w in my boas enclosure which sits at 82F ambient...

Second, there should be two hides. One on the cool side and one on the hot side (directly over the heat pad). The heat pad should cover a quarter 1/4 of one side of the enclosure. As long as you have the proper heat pad regulated by a thermostat, you shouldn't even need a heat lamp. Without a thermostat, your heat pad can reach 110F and burn your snake. You should also use a digital thermometer with a probe to monitor your heat pad, or purchase a temp gun, checking the temp over the heat pad two - three times a day.

160 watts in a 20g tank is way overkill. You need to get a thermometer asap so you know the temps. You might very well be cooking your snake. I use 100 watt CHEs for my guys' temp 40g breeders and with the Herpstat going on them, I can easily keep em 82F+. Also if your room is really cold like you said, you can also buy sheet foam insulation from Home Depot and cut to fit and put it around the outside the cage to keep heat in.

I had a 100w che and a 60w bulb with a uth on my 40gallon tank in a room that stayed around 68F. I also had both the che and bulb on lamp stands which I used to dial the two in and create the exact temps I wanted for both the air and surface.

In a 20gal you have to be over doing it.

That is way overkill, I'd think you'd only need a 80w bulb to keep Temps up

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Im using a ZOO MED thermometer that also reads humidity. I took the 100w bulb off and put replaced the 60w with a 65w. Im getting a constant 80 degrees with the 65w. I just hope the little guy is comfortable, when he isnt sleeping, hes trying to look for a way out.

link to thermometer: http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Econom.../dp/B004PBB1JE

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Originally Posted by Soups

Im using a ZOO MED thermometer that also reads humidity. I took the 100w bulb off and put replaced the 60w with a 65w. Im getting a constant 80 degrees with the 65w. I just hope the little guy is comfortable, when he isnt sleeping, hes trying to look for a way out.

link to thermometer: http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Econom.../dp/B004PBB1JE

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Yea, those ones are no good... get a digital thermometer and hydrometer.

I actually have two of those and they are surprising pretty good. I compared them with my digital gauges in my cigar humidor and they were spot on. For a cheap option it is the best I have seen.

I would still get a digital model and a temp gun.

okay, I put another thermometer in there, they have the same reading on the cool-side, both hitting about 80 degrees F. I replaced the 65w with the 100w because I saw a massive drop in temp on the cool side. (about 67 degrees on cool side with the 65w bulb). I put the thermometer on the hot side, getting about 90+ degrees. I think a 85w bulb would probably hit the spot... I currently dont have any money (Im not an adult) for a thermostat :tears:.
EDIT: the Basking-side got to 93 degrees F when writing!!! Yeah, Im going to get a 85w A.S.A.P.

Without a IR temp gun how are you measuring the basking spot? In a 20gal and a 100 watt bulb I bet the hotspot being created under the lamp is over 100F.

For your set up you don't have to have a tstat and instead can use a dimmer to dial in the 100 watt bulb to the power you need.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=sr_1_3&sr=8-3 (Lowes, HomeDepot, WalMart, and Target will have these too.)

You can also use two 60w bulbs and have one on each side, or whatever watt bulb you need to create the correct temps. If you keep the entire tank in the 80-85F range your snake will be fine. There are plenty of keepers that do not provide their collection with a hotspot and their collections are thriving with nothing more than a good ambient temp.

Without a tstat on the uth you need to UNPLUG it now. Having it unregulated is placing your snake in great risk. Google images of burned snakes and you will see what I mean.

Well, I put another thermometer in the basking side, it was hotter. I unplugged the uth, getting a digital thermometer today. Ill get a heat gun asap, I feel bad for him... I cant get a perfect temp...I just need a 80w bulb. Ill buy one along with the thermometer. He ate yesterday so that's good. Thanks alot for the help, without you guys this noobie would have a unhappy snake :D

Edit: Im going to grab a infared thermometer as well. Better safe than sorry. Ill say goodbye to my new watch haha.

YOU NEED A DIMMER, NOT ANOTHER BULB IN ANOTHER WATTAGE. Its will be far easier and cheaper it you just buy a dimmer and reduce the power of the bulb you have. Buying another bulb that may still be to hot is a waste of money. I added a link to what I am talking about a few post back.

In a 20gal an 80w is probably still way more than you need and when you get a temp gun and see the high numbers it is creating on the cage floor you will understand.

Okay, thanks for the help. Sorry if i'm being annoying about all of this, got the snake as a gift, with all of the husbandry items inside. If I got him myself I would have done some more studying.

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Originally Posted by Soups

Okay, thanks for the help. Sorry if i'm being annoying about all of this, got the snake as a gift, with all of the husbandry items inside. If I got him myself I would have done some more studying.

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It drives me nuts when people give animals as gifts; especially snakes, which require more care and maintenance than most folks are aware. The fact that you are here, learning, and willing to sacrifice some personal items (see ya, watch!) for your new snake gives me hope in humanity. You're not annoying at all, and post all the questions you need until your snake is all set. :) Good luck!

Thanks! :D

Alright, so I got my heat gun, no dimmer (yet!). I measured ground temps throughout the tank, it was hitting about 75-80 degrees F and measured temps on the hides and branches I have in there and it was hitting about 80 on the cool side (which has a 20w on it right now) and 70 on the basking side... Really odd... basking has a 60w on it. Air temps seem to be the same throughout which is about 75 degrees F on both sides. And the uth... I have it under one of my hides, It was the smallest uth at petsmart so like 10 inches by 10 inches, it was hitting about 90 degrees - 100 degrees on my temp gun so I decided to unplug it cause he never goes and hides under that hide and it was a little hot for my taste. So my house was getting REAL cold (55 degrees F) and I could NOT heat the thing up... I finally put a space heater in my room and its getting to a cozy 77 degrees in here. Its great for me and my python! Im excited for the summer to come along (I live in Arizona so it gets nice and hot) I wont have to worry as much about cold... Ill have to worry about humidity lol... I have one more question, does a regular light bulb produce more heat than a CFL bulb? that might be why my hot side is the same as my cool side...

As the room warms recheck the temps in the tank.

To bring up the heat in the tank you can insulate the sides of the tank. I used thick art paper to cover three sides and it helped retain a couple degrees of heat. You can also use foam, cardboard, really anything with an insulating property.

The same can be done to the screen. I cut cardboard out for my lid and made windows for the heaters. I then covered it with foil.

My BP is currently in a 36x18x18 tank, with a UTH on a thermostat and two lamps with 75W bulbs on a dimmer. Keeps it warm enough here in Calgary for her, though I do change out to 50W bulbs once it starts warming up outside :)

If no one has mentioned it, when you do get a thermostat, I'd make sure you get a proportional one instead of an on/off. They're pricier, but (in my opinion) safer for your snake, as the on/off variety simply allows your UTH to go full-bore, and then shuts it off once it gets to the designated temp. This results in temperature spikes and drops as opposed to a constant, sustained temperature

One thing to add to your list would be a cheap spray bottle (the Dollar Store ones work fine) for misting. Even with the cardboard/foil covers KMG suggested, you'll have trouble keeping the humidity up (at least in the winter) with 2 lamps.

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Originally Posted by das_nooblet

My BP is currently in a 36x18x18 tank, with a UTH on a thermostat and two lamps with 75W bulbs on a dimmer. Keeps it warm enough here in Calgary for her, though I do change out to 50W bulbs once it starts warming up outside :)

If no one has mentioned it, when you do get a thermostat, I'd make sure you get a proportional one instead of an on/off. They're pricier, but (in my opinion) safer for your snake, as the on/off variety simply allows your UTH to go full-bore, and then shuts it off once it gets to the designated temp. This results in temperature spikes and drops as opposed to a constant, sustained temperature

One thing to add to your list would be a cheap spray bottle (the Dollar Store ones work fine) for misting. Even with the cardboard/foil covers KMG suggested, you'll have trouble keeping the humidity up (at least in the winter) with 2 lamps.

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I got tired of spray bottles breaking so I got this.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...rch_detailpage

Best thing for misting your collection. Ive had it since Nov 14' and it is still going strong.

Nice! I have the Zoo Med Reptifogger (http://zoomed.com/db/products/EntryD...D=2&SearchID=5), and it makes my life sooo much easier. I can't wait to get a timer for it; I'm just concerned it might poop out on me. I've seen a lot of reviews where some people use them for a few months and then they break :/ but so far, so good for me *knock on wood*

I have a sleeping bag with pillows for insulation. The space heater has made such a big difference for the temps.