New bp owner that just wants to make bp happy!

Hi everyone I have questions about my enclosure. I've read many many threads
on here, going back and forth to the store to purchase different things in hopes
of making my little habitat for my little one better but I just can't get the temps
right!!!

First off, I purchased him at pet smart and I know this is bad but the way I saw
it, I'm saving him (not sure if it's a boy or girl yet we are taking it to the vet
in a few days). He's 7 months old, about 1 1/2 - 2 feet long. He's very nice with me
and loves to sleep all day and night on his warm spot. I'm assuming he does this
because it's too cold. My room in the socal winter gets pretty cold about 60 degrees F
im guessing.

I bought a 20 gal glass tank by the brand All Living Things (I think it's called) it came with a UTH with
a sticky back, a dome fixture, a thermometer/hygrometer with a sticky back, and repti carpet.
I also bought a 40w infrared light, a thermometer with a probe, an additional heating pad and 2 hides and a water bowl. So setting up this thing has been pretty hard. At first, with only 1 heating pad on the hot side
along with the infrared light above, my hotside temp wasn't rising over 72 with the ambient temp
at 60 something! Way too cold. That's when I installed the second UTH on the cold side. Still everything
i felt was too cold. Read some more and thought maybe I need a diff bulb. So I went to the
store and got a 100w infrared, put that in and now the hot side is 84 f with the cold side analog therm that came w the tank reading 70 f (I stuck the thermometer
probe underneath the substrate on the hot side directly above the UTH on the inside on top of the glass- do I need another therm for the cold side UTH for more accuracy?). What the heck! Idk what else to do since 100w infrared already seems like too much..do I need a better UTH? I bought all this at petsmart I wouldn't doubt the quality isn't up to par.

im also going to purchase a better thermometer/hygrometer to replace the one that came with the tank.
i also want to buy some thermostats but at this point nothing is even getting warm enough!

Please help, I'm stressing so much over trying to get this right for my baby. I don't want him to be cold
and get sick, and there is no where else in my house to put him as my family is scared of reptiles.

Check my thread "Shopping list" we are talking about a really good hygrometer, and thermostats for the uth (they are very dangerous without it) im sorry i cant help you with the rest, as im still a noob myself, another thing, bulbs will dry out your enclosure and bp needs 50-55% humidity, good luck

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ima new as well, and i also live in socal. my house temp is just like yours. my ambient temp stay a little under 75° so just like you i installed an smaller strip of flexwatt heat tape on the cool side. my temls on the cool side "under his hide" stays a consistent 81 degrees. reese love it, he come out at night from his hot side and takes a drink and go back inside. during the day depending on this weather where i live he usually comes out during the day and go into the cool side. my family will kill me if i kept my heater on 80 degrees lol so the extra heat tape works a lot

Deu2e

Awesome can't wait to see the list that Sully will have for you tomorrow! Thank you
And oddly the humidity is at 80%

Haha! Wow he comes out in the day? My boy hardly comes out at all:/
but this is only the 2nd night that he's been with me so maybe he's shy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kittyloks

Haha! Wow he comes out in the day? My boy hardly comes out at all:/
but this is only the 2nd night that he's been with me so maybe he's shy.

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yea one day i came home early from work and i caught him entering his cool hide lol. that day was pretty warm so he probably wanted to cool off.

Deu2e

If you can buy a temperature gun from a tool or hardware store. This has been the most reliable way for me to gauge temps.

There is a sticky thread in Bp enclosures, Pit made an actual drawing on how to set up an enclosure. Follow that to a T... very important. There is no other options of you want you ball python to be safe and happy as far as I'm concerned as a beginner.

enjoy your new pet!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kittyloks

Awesome can't wait to see the list that Sully will have for you tomorrow! Thank you
And oddly the humidity is at 80%

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We're done with the list, i know exactly what to buy, the best objects at a very good price

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I see your trying to raise your hot spot with a additional Heat mat... Then a bulb. When you mesured the temp and got the 72 was that the air temp or the Glass where the UTH goes and the snake lays? Thats what you want is the surface so your snake lays on a Hot Spot of 88-91.
I think people keep measuring their temp wrong.

Thermometer - This has Probe for HOT Spot temp, unit goes on cool side for temp and also gives Humidity.
https://m.lowes.com/pd/AcuRite-Digit...meter/50425266

Thermostat: https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTP.../dp/B000NZZG3S

CHE heater for ambient air. 60 watt for 10 gallon tanks. 100 watt for 20 gallon tanks. You can buy at Petsmart for $15 CHE bumb & Housing $8.99.
This way the snake doesnt have Light on them during the night. Also tbey last a lot longer than bulbs.

Put Tin Foil over your screened lids to hold heat. You only want to use a Heat Mat on your HOTSIDE. If your air "ambient" temp is below 76 on the Cool side then you need to raise ambient with a heat soutce (CHE ECT..)
If your house is 75+ then the UTH is ok alone regulated on a tstat to 88-90.




(Do not ever use tape inside a enclosure, that is like death to a snake)
Use Silicone to fasten things. (DAP kitchen & Bath Clear $5 at LOWES)

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-With-Pictures!

I went with a 20 gal long and read about using it on it's side (to help keep the heat and humdity high enough). the candundrum on what heat source to use befuddles pretty much all of us. it's amazing how something so simple gets so complicated so quickly. high heat sources require an open top and over dry, low heat sources don't get the ambient temp high enough unless you seal up and insulate. you might want to insulate your tank, 60 degrees room temp is a challenge. I used 1" thermax insulation, you can use 2". it's relatively easy to cut and looks decent because it is shiny on both sides. I am puzzled by how low your temps are and fear you are getting ambient temp not surface temp... a temp gun is worth its weight in gold (I know, one more thing to buy). really, it's the body temp of the snake that is most important, and a heat gun allows you to check that easily. I made a sort of cave by covering all but the front side. best tape is metal foil for ducting (common brand: Nashua), outside of tank only. if you go side mount, you have to fashion some sort of secure front door, I went with a sliding plexi door but that is complicated to make. if you stick with a top lid, use tin foil to seal up the top and make a cover with the insulation, making some small holes for air exchange as needed. here is a photo of what I made with insulation, using tape to make a box for the outside of the tank. https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...img_8119_1.jpg

I used UTH's but I mount them on glass panels and place inside the tank, but that requires a somewhat complicated process. if you use a UTH on the bottom, you must allow some way for heat to escape, avoiding heat encapsulation, so no insulation where the heater(s) are. a thermostat is pretty critical, jumpstart is most economical: http://www.greenstategardener.com/di...FRSUfgodT7UIeg . Herpstat is the cats meow: http://www.spyderrobotics.com/index....=index&cPath=1. I went with the herpstat 2, it allows for control of two UTH's independently. I use one probe on the low side, one on the high side. if you want to see more pictures, check out my gallary or PM me for more details. the fact that you care is what matters, there are several viable ways to achieve the proper temp range.

Can you share a picture of your set up so we can see how your heating elements are working? Are you using a thermostat with those heat pads? Not a thermometer (measures temps) but a thermostat (controls the temps).

Chances are it is getting hotter than you think. Throw away the sticky back dial thermometers, they are useless.