BP heating questions

Hello,

I currently have my BP in a 29 gallon glass tank. During the day, my BP's hot side gets between 85-90 degrees. The cold side hovers around 77. He mostly stays under the hide on the hot side but will move around at night and climb on the vines on both sides. During the day, he is given a 75 watt basking bulb. At night he is given a 75 watt nighttime bulb. It is not infrared. Nighttime temps stays at around 72-75 degrees.

If the temperatures are too low, would changing the lamp make a difference? Currently, it is just a regular desk lamp.

I need to invest in a UTH and a thermometer, so should I do that or change the heat lamp? Unfortunately, I do not have enough funds right now to do both. If I go with the UTH, what size would be appropriate?

Those temps aren't terrible during the day. Could be a touch warmer, minimum 75, at night though. If you do spring for a UTH make sure you get a thermostat as well. Most important piece of equipment you'll need regarding heating element temp regulation. You may want to bump up to a 100 watt bulb and a lamp dimmer or get a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) and use a dimmer on that as well. You'd want a lamp with a ceramic socket if you go the CHE route too


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Those temps aren't terrible during the day. Could be a touch warmer, minimum 75, at night though. If you do spring for a UTH make sure you get a thermostat as well. Most important piece of equipment you'll need regarding heating element temp regulation. You may want to bump up to a 100 watt bulb and a lamp dimmer or get a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) and use a dimmer on that as well. You'd want a lamp with a ceramic socket if you go the CHE route too


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Ok, thank you! For the UTH, should I go with the 10-20 gallon one or the 30-40 gallon one? The tank dimensions are 30" L x 13" W x 18" H

I'd probably go with the 30-40 gallon size. Just be sure you have it on a thermostat with the thermostat probe placed between the UTH and the bottom of the cage. I'd also cover the adhesive side of the UTH with foil tape and then tape it to the enclosure. That way you can remove it and reuse it whenever you need


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

I'd probably go with the 30-40 gallon size. Just be sure you have it on a thermostat with the thermostat probe placed between the UTH and the bottom of the cage. I'd also cover the adhesive side of the UTH with foil tape and then tape it to the enclosure. That way you can remove it and reuse it whenever you need


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Does the UTH go inside the tank or just underneath? I have seen it both ways.

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS outside the cage. Heating elements should never be placed where the animal can come into direct contact with it.


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS outside the cage. Heating elements should never be placed where the animal can come into direct contact with it.


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Ok, that's what I thought but just wanted to make sure. I also heard of using Flexwatt as an UTH. What size would you suggest for a 29 gallon and also what does the setup entail? The tank currently sits on a solid unthread pine cabinet. Would there be any problems using a UTH with that?

Thanks!

For flexwatt I'd probably get a 12" square for the size cage you're working with. It's essentially the same thing as a UTH just less expensive and without a bunch of extra packaging around it. You just tape it to the bottom of the enclosure with foil tape, thermostat probe between the flexwatt and the bottom of the cage and set the temperature at about 90*. Should be fine on that cabinet but make sure to put some furniture pads or something on the bottom corners of the cage to make sure there the cord doesn't get pinched and to ensure some ventilation. UTH generally come with spacers/feet to put on the corners of the cage but flexwatt will come as is. Try out reptilebasics.com for flexwatt. Cheapest place to get it that I know of and they'll wire it together for you for a couple bucks extra, well worth it imo



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Quote:

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

For flexwatt I'd probably get a 12" square for the size cage you're working with. It's essentially the same thing as a UTH just less expensive and without a bunch of extra packaging around it. You just tape it to the bottom of the enclosure with foil tape, thermostat probe between the flexwatt and the bottom of the cage and set the temperature at about 90*. Should be fine on that cabinet but make sure to put some furniture pads or something on the bottom corners of the cage to make sure there the cord doesn't get pinched and to ensure some ventilation. UTH generally come with spacers/feet to put on the corners of the cage but flexwatt will come as is. Try out reptilebasics.com for flexwatt. Cheapest place to get it that I know of and they'll wire it together for you for a couple bucks extra, well worth it imo



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Ok, cool. After looking at my funds, I'm going to go ahead and get him a new light and a UTH. For the UTH I'm going to go with the Zoo Med Reptitherm UTH 30-40 gallon size. For the light, since I'm going with ceramic, what size do you think (5.5 or 8.5)? Also is it worth getting a hanger for it so it doesn't sit directly on the screen?

I never bothered with a hanger when I used lights for heat. I'd go for the 8.5" lamp. Make sure you get a thermostat for the UTH. That thing will easily reach temps in excess of 110-120* and quickly at that. Recipe for a burned snake if you don't use a thermostat. Herpstat is best in my opinion but being on a budget I'd say get a jumpstart by Hydrofarm. I think you can find them on amazon for around $30. Also, that zoomed UTH is going to cost a good bit more than flexwatt from reptile basics. Probably $35 vs $10 from reptile basics. They also have ceramic heat emitters which work like a heat lamp but put out no light so you can leave it on 24/7. $10 for 60 watt-150 watt. Just throwing some of your available options out there. Getting things set up your first time around is going to take some time and $ figuring out what works best for you and your animal(s). I've kept snakes for 20 ish years and still look for ways to make things better/more efficient/etc all the time.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

I never bothered with a hanger when I used lights for heat. I'd go for the 8.5" lamp. Make sure you get a thermostat for the UTH. That thing will easily reach temps in excess of 110-120* and quickly at that. Recipe for a burned snake if you don't use a thermostat. Herpstat is best in my opinion but being on a budget I'd say get a jumpstart by Hydrofarm. I think you can find them on amazon for around $30. Also, that zoomed UTH is going to cost a good bit more than flexwatt from reptile basics. Probably $35 vs $10 from reptile basics. They also have ceramic heat emitters which work like a heat lamp but put out no light so you can leave it on 24/7. $10 for 60 watt-150 watt. Just throwing some of your available options out there. Getting things set up your first time around is going to take some time and $ figuring out what works best for you and your animal(s). I've kept snakes for 20 ish years and still look for ways to make things better/more efficient/etc all the time.


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Should I consider a ceramic infrared bulb to assist with nighttime temperatures and just leave it on 24/7?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

I never bothered with a hanger when I used lights for heat. I'd go for the 8.5" lamp. Make sure you get a thermostat for the UTH. That thing will easily reach temps in excess of 110-120* and quickly at that. Recipe for a burned snake if you don't use a thermostat. Herpstat is best in my opinion but being on a budget I'd say get a jumpstart by Hydrofarm. I think you can find them on amazon for around $30. Also, that zoomed UTH is going to cost a good bit more than flexwatt from reptile basics. Probably $35 vs $10 from reptile basics. They also have ceramic heat emitters which work like a heat lamp but put out no light so you can leave it on 24/7. $10 for 60 watt-150 watt. Just throwing some of your available options out there. Getting things set up your first time around is going to take some time and $ figuring out what works best for you and your animal(s). I've kept snakes for 20 ish years and still look for ways to make things better/more efficient/etc all the time.


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Thanks, I will keep that in mind. Do you think I should consider getting a ceramic infrared bulb to leave on 24/7? I know balls don't like a lot of light plus I was thinking it might help out his nighttime temp's better than his current nighttime bulb.

From reading the earlier part of this thread I recall your day temps around 85-90 warm side 77ish cool side. That's about what you're shooting for. Maybe 2-3 degrees warmer over all which means you're pretty close. I've gotten away from lights for heat and started using pvc cages and radiant heat panels and I like them a lot.
Having said that you can definitely create a nice environment for your ball python with UTH and CHE. Most important thing is to have both heat sources regulated. Definitely need a thermostat for the UTH and you'd at least need a lamp dimmer for the CHE. It will take a little while to dial in your heat sources. Let them run regulated for an hour or two, take temps, lather rinse repeat until you find your target temp range. Thermostat with both the CHE and UTH would make it the easiest to deal with once you've got it set up well but either way you want the UTH on a thermostat.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

I never bothered with a hanger when I used lights for heat. I'd go for the 8.5" lamp. Make sure you get a thermostat for the UTH. That thing will easily reach temps in excess of 110-120* and quickly at that. Recipe for a burned snake if you don't use a thermostat. Herpstat is best in my opinion but being on a budget I'd say get a jumpstart by Hydrofarm. I think you can find them on amazon for around $30. Also, that zoomed UTH is going to cost a good bit more than flexwatt from reptile basics. Probably $35 vs $10 from reptile basics. They also have ceramic heat emitters which work like a heat lamp but put out no light so you can leave it on 24/7. $10 for 60 watt-150 watt. Just throwing some of your available options out there. Getting things set up your first time around is going to take some time and $ figuring out what works best for you and your animal(s). I've kept snakes for 20 ish years and still look for ways to make things better/more efficient/etc all the time.


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Yep, I ordered the 30-40 gallon ZooMed UTH, iPower thermostat, Fluker's 8.5 inch ceramic lamp with dimmer, and lamp stand. I also ordered a 75 watt black infrared CHE to use as his light 24/7.

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Originally Posted by ariez189

I also ordered a 75 watt black infrared CHE to use as his light 24/7.

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Just in case you didn't know, a CHE does not give off any light.


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Originally Posted by BPGator

Just in case you didn't know, a CHE does not give off any light.


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Thank you, I did some research and noticed that so I ordered a 5.5 inch ceramic lamp with a 13 watt 2.0 UVB bulb so he can still be viewed.

I like having the hangar/stand for hooking the dome on when I am opening up the tank (lid on top). Otherwise, the dome sits on the screen. A little less wasted heat that way, too.