Guys, I need serious help. I'm about to open up my heart here.

I love my BP Charlotte so much. I only want the best for her, even if that means she won't stay with me. Please help. I can't seem to keep her temps right. It gets too cold at night because my wife and I like the cold. I have Charlotte in a 40 gallon tank with UTH and a 100 watt CHE. Still, the ambient air is usually 75 or lower when ac is on. When it is off, it's roughly 81, sometimes more depending on outside temp. There's only two rooms she can be in: our bedroom or living room and I prefer the bedroom because of our cats(they sleep in living room mostly). I'm open to any and all suggestions as long as they are serious and not plain rude. If I can't provide the right shelter for her, then I'll re-home her. I just want what's best for Charlotte. I can't stand the thought of her getting sick or worse.

Yeah, you can simply buy a thermostat to control your heating elements so when you have it cold in the house the CHE kicks on, and when it gets too hot the CHE can kick off....

Okay, so you are having heat issues. Let me just go over the top for you and suggest insulation for the tank. There are a lot of other options but here are my own suggestions.


Triple layer aluminum foil wrapped around 3 sides of the tank, and over the screen lid. This should increase the heat somewhat.

Rigid foam board insulation surrounding 3 sides of the tank, with aluminum foil on the screen lid.

Either option will increase the internal temperature by helping to maintain the heat in the tank.

You sound very kind and it is obvious you have her best interest at heart no expert at all (just getting my first tomorrow) but have you consider an Animal Plastic cage instead of the forty gallon tank everyone here that has them says the are much easier to get temp/humidity right? Best wishes for you and your family, I am sure someone with much more knowledge will share too

I'm sorry. I forgot to say I had a thermostat. I'm so flustered by this I'm not thinking my posts all the way through. I do have a thermostat and it's been working great. I'm also alittle on edge because she went off feed and it's been close to a month now. :(

Animal Plastic cage? I've never even heard of that. Like a tub for a rack system?

Yeah, an enclosure upgrade is superior by a wide margin than my suggestions. But they do have their merit if you want to do something right now.

Keep in mind that ball pythons go off feed frequently, that shouldn't be too big of a worry. The temperatures should


http://www.apcages.com/home/

Check out the terrestrial cages. T3 and T8 are adequate sizes

So, I understand that being cool is a comfort for you, but you also say you'll do anything to get your snakes temps correct. In this case, the solution seems obvious to me: bump you AC setting up by 2 or 3 degrees. 75 is not a terrible drop in temps, as they can have an ambient of 78 and be happy. Point in fact, I keep my snakes at a cooler ambient as they seem more active. My snakes also stay in my bedroom and I just deal with it being a little warmer than usual.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Oxylepy

Okay, so you are having heat issues. Let me just go over the top for you and suggest insulation for the tank. There are a lot of other options but here are my own suggestions.


Triple layer aluminum foil wrapped around 3 sides of the tank, and over the screen lid. This should increase the heat somewhat.

Rigid foam board insulation surrounding 3 sides of the tank, with aluminum foil on the screen lid.

Either option will increase the internal temperature by helping to maintain the heat in the tank.

---

I do remember foil being nice when she was in the smaller tank. I had stopped using it because once we moved, this house was keeping her first tank pretty warm. That could work.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lizardlicks

So, I understand that being cool is a comfort for you, but you also say you'll do anything to get your snakes temps correct. In this case, the solution seems obvious to me: bump you AC setting up by 2 or 3 degrees. 75 is not a terrible drop in temps, as they can have an ambient of 78 and be happy. Point in fact, I keep my snakes at a cooler ambient as they seem more active. My snakes also stay in my bedroom and I just deal with it being a little warmer than usual.

---

Its true. I'm fine with the temp rise, but my wife usually complains about heat. I don't like being warm, but I feel like I just deal with it.

Find a south facing room. Shut the ac vents off in that room and see how far the temps bump up.

Everything that was suggested applies. When I was using tanks as enclosures for my animals I had "versa tops" for all of them. Versa tops are folding glass lids that come with a plastic attachment for one side of the glass. They insulate extremely well and help with both heat and humidity. One top for a 40 gallon may be pricey but it's a investment for the comfort and health of your animals. They are sold at Petsmart, Petland, and Petco. Worth consideration and be sure to do the price check at all those locations.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Albert Clark

Everything that was suggested applies. When I was using tanks as enclosures for my animals I had "versa tops" for all of them. Versa tops are folding glass lids that come with a plastic attachment for one side of the glass. They insulate extremely well and help with both heat and humidity. One top for a 40 gallon may be pricey but it's a investment for the comfort and health of your animals. They are sold at Petsmart, Petland, and Petco. Worth consideration and be sure to do the price check at all those locations.

---

That sounds nice. I will have to look in on those.

Animal Plastics T8 with a Radiant Heat panel will help solve your issues. Not the cheap way but it's what will do the job.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Oxylepy

Yeah, an enclosure upgrade is superior by a wide margin than my suggestions. But they do have their merit if you want to do something right now.

Keep in mind that ball pythons go off feed frequently, that shouldn't be too big of a worry. The temperatures should


http://www.apcages.com/home/

Check out the terrestrial cages. T3 and T8 are adequate sizes

---

Really good ideas , even if he goes with a Animal Plastic would probably help while waiting for his cage to come :gj:

Aside from keeping the room temps higher I think your options are upgrade your enclosure to a PVC enclosure like the AP ones others have suggested or insulate three sides of your enclosure with foam board insulation. I think something like 1" thickness should do well.

I agree with Lizard.. If it's a matter of turning up the AC a few degrees to provide a better environment for your snake I don't see the problem.. That would most definitely fall under the " do anything" category.. I keep my room warmer then the rest of the house for this exact reason.. If I wasn't willing to do it I wouldn't have gotten my Snake.. Not trying to be harsh but the solution seems quite simple

I should have also mentioned that my snakes are in my bedroom as well. I would prefer the room a bit cooler during the warmer months, but I've accepted that I'm a snake keeper and I'm going to have a warmer room to sleep in. I made the choice to keep snakes, and chose to keep them in my bedroom. So I choose to keep them responsibly and do what I need to do to make sure they are ok. I chose for them to be here, they don't have a choice, so I make sure I provide the best for them that I can.

I live in the midwest so winters are awful and summer is miserable. I have had my 40 gal since November, and have been coping just fine with it by using a few adustments. My room is probably in the mid-70s right now with a standing fan. However in the winter it would of course plummet. By using plexiglass and towels on the top i managed to retain heat (and humidity), and I got a couple panels of the Exo-terra rock-designed insulation foam to line the back of the tank, and two pieces of thick corkboard that are secured to the two sides. Insulating the tank worked like magic, and I only need a 60w daytime bulb to keep it going. I vote try insulating if you can't swing the money for a whole new enclosure.

Also is there another source of heat besides the CHE?

Overall unfortunately, you will have to make sacrifices for this animal whether it be dealing with adjusting your room a couple degrees (maybe just put a fan to keep air circulating about?) or moving the enclosure somewhere where the room is around the 70s (which isn't so bad) and not high-traffic.

I will add a vote for the AP cage. I kept my guy in a 40 gal for his first year and a half. Winter was a pain, too cold then too hot or too dry. Had the tank insulated on the back and sides with thin foam pads, and a custom cut plexi glass top to fit over the screen...it was a pain to remove every time we had to feed, but it kept him healthy.

This past x-mas my fiance and I decided not to get each other presents so we could save up for the AP cage. I waited for a sale and it was only $300 for everything (we got the T11 for more room).

You can also get blue board from the hardware store to insulate. Blue foam

Thanks everyone for all of your replies. I'm going to have to start with insulation as money is to tight for a new tank right now(literally just bought the 40 gallon one a week or so ago). But I will be saving up for the AP tank as soon as possible. Again thank you all for the help.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Akumu0

Thanks everyone for all of your replies. I'm going to have to start with insulation as money is to tight for a new tank right now(literally just bought the 40 gallon one a week or so ago). But I will be saving up for the AP tank as soon as possible. Again thank you all for the help.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

---

You mentioned she went off food less than a month ago and also that you've only had her in the 40g for over a week. So technically she skipped one meal then went through a move so that's a pretty normal response to skip a few meals. I'd just do the tank updates mentioned and also make sure there's lots of clutter in there so she feel secure. I missed if you said her size but 40g is pretty big if she's not a large adult so extra security will help her want to start eating too.