PLEASE HELP, my enclosure is too cold

I will be getting my ball python in a couple days and I need my problem to be fixed. I have a 40 gallon breeder tank with a 175 watt bulb from zoo med and a 30-40 gallon tank under tank heater from zoo med. my basking are heat is fine but the other side of my tank is only 68degrees. Here are pictures of my enclosure and my bulb, please help😀

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/webk...b6a8/imagejpeg

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/webk...a92a/imagejpeg

175 watt bulb!?!?! That sounds like a lot for a 40 gallon tank. I hope it is on a dimmer or thermostat.

Is the UTH on a thermostat? It needs to be.



I had a 40 gallon tank in a room that stayed 68 and got cooler in the cold months. I used a regulated 100 watt che on the warm side and a 60 watt bulb on the cool side. I also had a uth on a tstat. I added thick art paper to the back and sides to insulate it and cover most of the screen lid with foil covered cardboard. That kept the tank just where it needed to be.

BTW, your pics are not showing up. Copy and paste the 'img" code into your text box. You have to load them to a site like photobucket to get the code.

I agree w/KMG 175 is way too much. With the UTH the temp will get even higher. We use 100's in our 40g's and get a hot spot of ~102 (we keep water there since none of our snakes like it that hot) and a cool side of ~78. Kudos to you for figuring this out before you acquire a snake, IMO the easiest way to avoid RI is a properly heated enclosure. You say your basking heat is fine, what is it? If it is in the high 90s then your cool spot 36" away (your tank dimensions = 36" x 18" x 18"?) should be > 68. Have you measured the temp with 2 different instruments? What is the cool side up against? Tape a blanket or aluminum foil on that side for insulation.

the bulb doesnt have a dimmer, ill get on though now that you said i should. neither the pad or the bulb are on a thermostat, i have the zoo med uth is it compatible with a thermostat? and why would a 175 watt bulb be too hot if the tank isn't even getting hot enough? Oh and the basking area temp is 93 degrees. THANKS FOR THE REPLIES!

my basking spot heat is 93 degrees

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...zigu5hDUQ/edit

This is a link to my enclosure and the kind of bulb i have.

Ok, so i have a 40 gallon breeder tank and a 175 watt bulb and a zoo med under tank heater both on the same side. the bulb puts my basking spot at 93 degrees which is fine, but on the opposite side (cool side) it only gets up to 68 degrees and i have my thermometer probe taped to the wall of the cool side at snake level. Also some people said my bulb is to big do and that id need a dimmer is this true? in please help

did you seal off the cover except for where the lamp is? that keeps heat in and is the easiest way to maintain humidity. we use cling-wrap but others use aluminum foil, glass, plexiglass, etc. the holes in the lamp will allow for enough circulation

no i didnt seal it off ive just had a towlel over it will that do it?

How and where are you measuring temps in the cage?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Be careful to have all of your research done before putting your snake in this setup. It sounds pretty dangerous. ... you will need two thermostats, three if you end up warming up the cool side with an additional bulb... and I'm worried about your humidity for sure... hopefully this isn't a hatchling we are talking about here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...aIP1bybW4/edit

This link contains a picture of the bulb im using as well as my tank( don't mid the thermometer reading on the bottom left, i movwed the lamp over to thats side for a bit to see if i could heat it up but when i moved the lap back to the normal spot the cold side just got too cold again.

Ok so i have a 40 gallon breeder tank with and under tank heater by zoo med and a 175 watt bulb in the tank but im having heating issues, my basking spot temp is fine at 93 degrees but, the cold side of my tank is at 68 degrees with the thermometer probe taped to the wall of the cold side at snake level. please help on ways i can the tanks heat up.

People are already assisting you in the other thread, no need to create another one.

I cant see the pic in the link either. Says I don't have permission.

As to the tank and bulb. There is no way the bulb is only creating a hotspot of 93. Are you using a IR temp gun to measure your temps. A analog or even a probed digital thermometer are not good devices to find the actual surface temps.

The uth needs a tstat before it can be used. The uth can get really hot when it is not regulated. Google pics of burns snakes and you will see what it can do. They can seriously harm and even kill a snake. The uth is not purpose built for a BP and they require much lower temps than that mat will provide. A thermostat is the most important thing you will be buying for your snake and I always say to buy the best you can afford. I like Herpstats from Spyder Robotics.

In my first post I included the setup I used to have. The 100 watt che were regulated by distance and even when they were 18 inches away from the surface they were heating they created hotspots at and just over 90F. I used lamp stands to distance the che which then lowered the amount of heat that reached the tank. I also really like this method as it keeps the fixtures of the tank lid and makes for a much safer setup as you are not moving hot metal fixtures around.

If you are placing the a 175 watt lamp directly on top of the screen lid you are asking for trouble. I would get a IR temp gun to see exactly what temps you have.

Also as I said in my first post I required a second fixture to keep my cool temps at a good level. When dealing with glass tanks many times you have to work harder to keep the temps correct. It is very possible but it does need more work than some other cage types.

Again look up burned snakes on Google. They can be burned by under tank heating as well as over head heat.

1st I can guarantee your hot spot is over 93 degrees if you are not regulating it. :gj:
You need to take the temperature UNDER the substrate.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...psqcouxfgn.jpg

2nd

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-Post-Pictures

Two more things to try, in addition to the advice you've already gotten: First, insulate the tank. Aluminum foil will help reflect the heat that is in the form of IR radiation, but will not do much for heat losses due to conduction/convection between the walls of the tank and the air in the room. For that you need something more like foam, blankets, etc. Foam insulation is good, or packing foam, styrofoam, even a couple layers of bubble wrap. It doesn't have to cover the front of the tank and block your view, but the more sides you cover the more effectively it will insulate. Same goes for the top of the tank. Just make sure that you keep anything flammable well away from that 175-watt lamp!!!

Second, you can try putting the CHE on one side and the UTH on the other so that both ends are heated with something. The CHE will make more heat than the UTH, so the UTH will basically just be boosting the cool side a bit while the CHE makes the warm side. Since you don't have your snake yet, you can try rearranging stuff like that now at full power just to see where you stand even without thermostats. Ideally, running everything at full power should give you temperatures higher than what you really want, because then your thermostats can regulate it down.
If full power from your current heat sources doesn't achieve high enough temps, you need an additional (or more powerful) heat source or more insulation.

My humid level is fine

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brock

My humid level is fine

---

Im not sure if you are asking or telling but you need to get the temps correct first.

Humidity is fairly easy to add. I like to add moist moss to the hides. This does not raise the total tank humidity but it gives the snake what it needs where it is. Very simple and easy. Also the moss makes the hides feel more secure and make a hide that is a bit big feel smaller to your snake.

I put cardboard wrapped in tinfoil and it raised the temp from 68 to 75-80degrees!

I bought terrarium moss right off the bat so I haven't had a problem with humidity, plus I live in north Idaho if that makes a difference

You really need to get a thermostat if you don't have one. It's prob the most important piece of equipment you will use...

Oh and my bulb is 150watts not 175 watts....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brock

I put cardboard wrapped in tinfoil and it raised the temp from 68 to 75-80degrees!

---

The ambient is good but with that raised temp it also raised your hotspot temp.


IR TEMP GUN

So is the probe inside the tank under the substrate or isn't it under the enclosure on to of the uth heater? @PitOnTheProwl

Yeah I'm going to get a temp gun and two heater regulators one for the uth and on for the lamp, oh and you said I need a dimmer for the 150 bulb? It's a zoo med red bulb k for 24hour use because it supposedly doesn't mess up their sleep cycle. And what do you mean by the "ambient is good"?

A dimmer is good.

Red 24/7 is fine.

What are these heater regulators you speak of?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

1st I can guarantee your hot spot is over 93 degrees if you are not regulating it. :gj:
You need to take the temperature UNDER the substrate.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...psqcouxfgn.jpg

2nd

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-Post-Pictures

---

So is the probe inside the tank under the substrate or isn't it under the enclosure on to of the uth heater? @PitOnTheProwl

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brock

So is the probe inside the tank under the substrate or isn't it under the enclosure on to of the uth heater? @PitOnTheProwl

---

OUTSIDE the tank between the tank bottom and UTH.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KMG

A dimmer is good.

Red 24/7 is fine.

What are these heater regulators you speak of?

---

I meant a thermostat, I couldn't think of the word:P

- - - Updated - - -

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KMG

A dimmer is good.

Red 24/7 is fine.

What are these heater regulators you speak of?

---

Is a dimmer a must?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brock

I meant a thermostat, I couldn't think of the word:P

- - - Updated - - -



Is a dimmer a must?

---

Most likely for that size bulb you will.

What thermostat are you looking at? Many of the pet store options are junk and if you can afford a nicer one Id highly suggest getting one.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brock

I put cardboard wrapped in tinfoil and it raised the temp from 68 to 75-80degrees!

---

Doesn't it feel great when something finally works!? I had a similar conundrum with my humidity, tried all sorts of things, then finally one simple fix made everything perfect and it was just such a relief. But on a more important note: get those heat sources regulated! Your UTH will work with any t-stat, they are made to do so. For your bulb, go to home depot and get a $12 lamp dimmer. The IR heat gun is especially crucial for accurately dialing the lamp in (many good ones available on amazon for around $30). My tip is to mark spots on the dimmer that correspond to day high, and night low, though i would also plug that into a t-stat for safety.
This is how both my UTH and my RHP are set up, its basically a ghetto HerpStat 2 :D.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KMG

Most likely for that size bulb you will.

What thermostat are you looking at? Many of the pet store options are junk and if you can afford a nicer one Id highly suggest getting one.

---

What thermostat do you suggest? That's not too expensive

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brock

I put cardboard wrapped in tinfoil and it raised the temp from 68 to 75-80degrees!

---

hey now that sounds like a good idea ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brock

What thermostat do you suggest? That's not too expensive

---

Like in my earlier post I like Herpstat.

http://www.spyderrobotics.com/

the link above, Spyder Robotics, makes the HerpStat 2, which i have so pathetically simulated. Its like a thermostat and dimmer (rheostat) in one. It monitors the temp and adjust the amount of current going to the appliances so that their output doesn't surpass the desired temp. Unlike a simple on/off thermostat that just runs the appliance at full power until it reaches the desired temp, then just shuts off until the temp goes down a few degrees, then turns back on, and so forth (this is how your house's HVAC thermostat works)
Great thing about the H-2 is that it can monitor 2 different heaters set for 2 different temps at once.
Whats more, its only $175 - which isn't nothing, but its not crazy money either. If two or three times you want to go out to dinner, but make yourself a sandwich instead, its pretty much paid for.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brock

So is the probe inside the tank under the substrate or isn't it under the enclosure on to of the uth heater? @PitOnTheProwl

---

Yes and yes......

THERMOMETER probe is inside under substrate
THERMOSTAT probe is outside on UTH

If you don't yet have a temperature gun, there's no reason not to pick this one up on the Black Friday sale:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013X0NQT0..._BB5nybAHA5BZ4