Help needed fast, ambient temp

Hello,

Today I came home and checked on the tub set up to see the temp. Today was a pretty cold day and there was no one at home (apartment) and the temp was down to 66 degrees, in the tub as well. 15 qt plastic tub, with 4 inch heat tape is all it has currently. No snakes right now, I am picking it up this weekend. I will be doing couple things within a week.

I am going to put bubble wrap on my room window. This window takes up 80~90 percent of the wall (pretty big big) letting every cold air into my room. I heard bubble wrap is an awesome insulator for windows during winter.
Also, I will be building close sided one level rack with melamine wood for just one tub, which I heard can help keep the heat better.
These are two things that I am going to do for sure.
However, I doubt that the ambient temperature in the tub will be on the safe side in cold days. So I really need your guys' advice from experience or knowledge on how to fix this problem.
I had some options in my head, and these options are considered after the five sided one level rack made with melamine sheet.
put belly heat tape on the hot spot and another tape along the side of rack along the cool spot, acting like a side heat. Or put belly heat tape on hot spot and another belly heat tape on the cool side set to 80 degrees. These options, I know require two thermostat.

In the summer, it gets pretty hot/warm here so I don't think it will be a concern. Winter is the problem, Colorado sucks in winter lol. When it is really cold, I do have an oil-filled radiator to heat my room as back up. I just don't want to run heater all day long, just cold days. I really hope insulating window helps because I feel a lot of cold air coming from that window when I stand next to it.

Please help me experts!! thank you so much in advance.

You have to be the leader for most threads created in a 24 hour period.


Heat tape does nothing for air temps. You need another heat source. Racks are always difficult to keep in cool rooms.

If it were me I'd add a lamp on a lamp stand over the tub for additional ambient heat.

Raise the stand to lower the heat delivered.

Lower the stand to raise the heat delivered.

Or, add a dimmer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KMG

You have to be the leader for most threads created in a 24 hour period.


Heat tape does nothing for air temps. You need another heat source. Racks are always difficult to keep in cool rooms.

If it were me I'd add a lamp on a lamp stand over the tub for additional ambient heat.

Raise the stand to lower the heat delivered.

Lower the stand to raise the heat delivered.

Or, add a dimmer.

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I think at this point the Rack is a bad idea for him. In a cold room he needs another source of heat and with less experience the rack is going to be to much back & forth for him to dial in... At least a tank or something he can put a CHE over. I dont know what to say, he has my head spinning too hahahaha
Im afraid he will build a rack that slides hard against the heat tape and he will cause a Short and have a disaster.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KMG

You have to be the leader for most threads created in a 24 hour period.


Heat tape does nothing for air temps. You need another heat source. Racks are always difficult to keep in cool rooms.

If it were me I'd add a lamp on a lamp stand over the tub for additional ambient heat.

Raise the stand to lower the heat delivered.

Lower the stand to raise the heat delivered.

Or, add a dimmer.

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would that help with tub with lid on it though? and what wattage lamp? you are referring the CHE right?

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Originally Posted by gusanr14

would that help with tub with lid on it though? and what wattage lamp? you are referring the CHE right?

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Heat Tape does nothing for ambient in a cold room. You need to rethink this set-up for your house conditions bro. You need a CHE and the UTH for your hot side.. Ditch the homemade rack idea for 1 tub. Use the heat tape now to keep him warm under his Hide and get yourself a 20 long tank this weekend so your CHE goes over the top on the cool side, uth on the hot side. Make it easy on yourself.

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Originally Posted by CALM Pythons

I think at this point the Rack is a bad idea for him. In a cold room he needs another source of heat and with less experience the rack is going to be to much back & forth for him to dial in... At least a tank or something he can put a CHE over. I dont know what to say, he has my head spinning too hahahaha
Im afraid he will build a rack that slides hard against the heat tape and he will cause a Short and have a disaster.

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I don't understand what you mean by going back and forth. I think I can make a leg on tub so there can be space between heat tape and tub. But, I thought closed rack helps with heat tape or just keeping the heat? I just saw some posts saying five sided rack helps with heat a bit. I am not building multiple rack though, would be more like a tub storage with one open side. I am not experienced so my thoughts could be wrong.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CALM Pythons

Heat Tape does nothing for ambient in a cold room. You need to rethink this set-up for your house conditions bro. You need a CHE and the UTH for your hot side.. Ditch the homemade rack idea for 1 tub. Use the heat tape now to keep him warm under his Hide and get yourself a 20 long tank this weekend so your CHE goes over the top on the cool side, uth on the hot side. Make it easy on yourself.

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What size tank is ideal of the adult male ball python? I guess 20 gallon tank for babies and i will need bigger ones later right?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gusanr14

I don't understand what you mean by going back and forth. I think I can make a leg on tub so there can be space between heat tape and tub. But, I thought closed rack helps with heat tape or just keeping the heat? I just saw some posts saying five sided rack helps with heat a bit. I am not building multiple rack though, would be more like a tub storage with one open side. I am not experienced so my thoughts could be wrong.

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Your problem is your House temps. People with Racks mostly have there Snake rooms heated. When I say back and forth I mean your going to struggle with temps not dialing in.

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Originally Posted by gusanr14

What size tank is ideal of the adult male ball python? I guess 20 gallon tank for babies and i will need bigger ones later right?

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10 gal Hatchling but id go with a " 20 gal LONG" so you can use it for a year at least.. Once he is a adult you might want a PVC display enclosure for $200 shipped. Like the AP (animal plastics T8)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CALM Pythons

10 gal Hatchling but id go with a " 20 gal LONG" so you can use it for a year at least.. Once he is a adult you might want a PVC display enclosure for $200 shipped. Like the AP (animal plastics T8)

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how does that CHE thing work? do I need separate thermostat? what is difference between dimmer and thermostat?

I think I will just set my space heater to 75 degrees during winter. I am sure this will make the tub temp over 75 degrees, and like I said above, I am ready to put side heat to supplement little heat if needed. Would this be good setting for me to make that 5 sided thing?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gusanr14

how does that CHE thing work? do I need separate thermostat? what is difference between dimmer and thermostat?

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CHE is in a Bell housing like a heat lamp. Its the same but doesn't light up the enclosure.
What thermostat do you have now? I cant remember what you have said and what you haven't said hahhahahah
Everything SHOULD be on a Thermostat but if funds are tight you can raise the CHE higher to adjust the heat. Once you decide what your going to do for a enclosure I can help you.. But we are spinning wheels right now. You need to take this weekend to get things strait. For now he is in his Hide with Heat Tape and a Thermostat so get your plans strait on what size Tank you can get etc...then I'll tell you how to set it up.

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Originally Posted by gusanr14

I think I will just set my space heater to 75 degrees during winter. I am sure this will make the tub temp over 75 degrees, and like I said above, I am ready to put side heat to supplement little heat if needed. Would this be good setting for me to make that 5 sided thing?

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Yes if you really want a Tub set-up. Just make sure you think about and plan what your building otherwise you'll waste time and money and get aggravated then end up getting a Tank anyway lol.

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Originally Posted by CALM Pythons

Yes if you really want a Tub set-up. Just make sure you think about and plan what your building otherwise you'll waste time and money and get aggravated then end up getting a Tank anyway lol.

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yea, thank you so much for help. Made me think harder haha. I guess the space heater would be the key. Mine runs with built in thermostat and controls its power automatically depending on temp so I think the bills are not going to be as high. Glass tanks I have considered a lot, but humidity is just crazy in Colorado. I know there are many things I can do to bump up humidity but I would rather work with temp than worry about humidity here everyday. But thank you so much for help, and other people. I will update once I pick my ball. Husbandry stuff, I think I get most of it. Space heater at 74 degrees at this moment and it already boosted tub up to 77 in 30 minutes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gusanr14

yea, thank you so much for help. Made me think harder haha. I guess the space heater would be the key. Mine runs with built in thermostat and controls its power automatically depending on temp so I think the bills are not going to be as high. Glass tanks I have considered a lot, but humidity is just crazy in Colorado. I know there are many things I can do to bump up humidity but I would rather work with temp than worry about humidity here everyday. But thank you so much for help, and other people. I will update once I pick my ball. Husbandry stuff, I think I get most of it. Space heater at 74 degrees at this moment and it already boosted tub up to 77 in 30 minutes.

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Yup if you run the heater at say 70 thats good enough for the temp to raise in the Tub a bit. At least then your not going to freeze the lil guy and he has a good Hot Hide already. The tape will help warm the other parts of the Plastic tub floor now that the rooms chill is gone.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CALM Pythons

Yup if you run the heater at say 70 thats good enough for the temp to raise in the Tub a bit. At least then your not going to freeze the lil guy and he has a good Hot Hide already. The tape will help warm the other parts of the Plastic tub floor now that the rooms chill is gone.

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yea and thanks . I won't say anything from now until I get my ball until its first feeding lol Bothered people too much. I will update the photo in the pic forum! thanks again for helping out

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Originally Posted by gusanr14

yea and thanks . I won't say anything from now until I get my ball until its first feeding lol Bothered people too much. I will update the photo in the pic forum! thanks again for helping out

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Next thread open a Progression Thread when you get him home and all your snake pics and Questions can be under one thread so it wont be confusing.

There is no way you can make tubs or racks work unless you keep the ambient in the room around 77F. No amount of building wood or adding heat tape or anything like that will work. You basically have 2 choices. Either find a raise a way to raise the rooms temps via a space heater or just turning the house t-stat up. Or the other choice is get a PVC cage with a radiant heat panel.

I think you got lots of great advice already but I'll chime in some things because I too probably experienced what you are going through years ago.

I live in a cold state and my room gets the ambient temps too low. I kept my ball in a 20L for ~8months -year or until he out grew hides that I could fit in the tank. During the time with the tank, I had a heat mat on the bottom with a Herpstat thermostat running for the hot side. I also followed this thread https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-With-Pictures! and made a very good environment with humidity through the thread. I cut a hole big enough to have a heat lamp sit on top of the mesh screen top and had a 40W-50W of this brand. https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-nightl...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

Notice that it is a night bulb so that the snake would not be bothered by it running 24/7. In the winter I would also heat the room slightly with a space heater.

With this, I was able to keep good ambient temps! I eventually switched to a AnimalPlastics cage and bought a RHP which does wonders for ambient and hot spot temps in one. Although I still run a space heater in the cold months. Hope this helps as well.

I would recommend dialing the temps in before getting the actual snake if possible! It will cause unneeded stress for you otherwise :P

I didn't read everything here after my post. Y'all got rolling!

As to having a bulb or che over a tub with a lid.

It works great.

I've done it several times, once for almost a year.

The heat penetrates the lid easily. You can even create a hot spot and good ambient temps if needed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KMG

You have to be the leader for most threads created in a 24 hour period.

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42 new threads in a week.

OP, I'm not trying to pick on you, but a lot of your questions are pretty basic, snake keeping 101 questions. Most of which have dozens and dozens of threads you could read through without starting a new thread every time a thought pops in your head.

My advice: try to stop worrying so much, and put in the due diligence to research. Use the forum as a tool and as a reference, most of your questions have been answered a hundred times over and are only a click away.

Please don't take this the wrong way, we're here to help and happy to help, but I just think you're getting yourself overly worked up and worried. Take a deep breath, and just read, read, read.

That being said, don't be afraid to ask questions at are urgent or you're having trouble finding answers to.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KMG

I didn't read everything here after my post. Y'all got rolling!

As to having a bulb or che over a tub with a lid.

It works great.

I've done it several times, once for almost a year.

The heat penetrates the lid easily. You can even create a hot spot and good ambient temps if needed.

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Yeah I agree.. Its hard to explain things to him as he has Zero experience and isnt understanding why we suggest otherwise. Im afraid if he went with a Lid he would put the Thermostat Probe in the wrong place for the CHE or not use one at all and melt the Lid. He is also stuck on a single Rack idea.. Dont know why he likes that idea but he said he has read about how well racks help hold temps...
He will find out sooner or later a 40 gallon Breeder for $50 with a screened lid he can cover for heat & Humidity & a UTH would be 100 x's easier hahahaha.

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

42 new threads in a week.

OP, I'm not trying to pick on you, but a lot of your questions are pretty basic, snake keeping 101 questions. Most of which have dozens and dozens of threads you could read through without starting a new thread every time a thought pops in your head.

My advice: try to stop worrying so much, and put in the due diligence to research. Use the forum as a tool and as a reference, most of your questions have been answered a hundred times over and are only a click away.

Please don't take this the wrong way, we're here to help and happy to help, but I just think you're getting yourself overly worked up and worried. Take a deep breath, and just read, read, read.

That being said, don't be afraid to ask questions at are urgent or you're having trouble finding answers to.

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Yes I have searched everything and read more than 100+ answers in the forum. They didn’t have consistent answers probably due to some different factors. All my ideas have came from this forum and I wanted to double check if I was on the right track. Like tank vs tub thing, from this forum, I have seen different suggestions of, tub holds humidity and heat well and tank does not hold anything well. That was why I went with tub because humidity is pretty dry here and tub had the perfect humidity. But some say glass tanks are easier so I get confused lol. Same thing for that rack stuff, I’ve read it somewhere in this forum. I know I have been asking a lot, and I am worrying too much I guess. I am thankful to all people who helped me, bothered people too much haha


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by gusanr14

Yes I have searched everything and read more than 100+ answers in the forum. They didn’t have consistent answers probably due to some different factors. All my ideas have came from this forum and I wanted to double check if I was on the right track. Like tank vs tub thing, from this forum, I have seen different suggestions of, tub holds humidity and heat well and tank does not hold anything well. That was why I went with tub because humidity is pretty dry here and tub had the perfect humidity. But some say glass tanks are easier so I get confused lol. Same thing for that rack stuff, I’ve read it somewhere in this forum. I know I have been asking a lot, and I am worrying too much I guess. I am thankful to all people who helped me, bothered people too much haha


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Thanks for understanding that I wasn't picking on you.

I hope you also know I want the best for you and your snake, but I want you to be able to ENJOY your new pet and not be so stressed.

You see different opinions and ideas because there is no one "right way" to keep snakes. You will see plenty of variances in how different people keep their snakes. There are different reasons and different things work in different situations, climates, etc... etc... etc...

A lot of what works for you and your snake will come down to trial and error. Use what you learn as a guideline. Establish what you know to be scientific facts, including safe temps, humidity, prey, etc...and build off that foundation to find what works for you and your snake. As long as you're staying within proven safe parameters and continuing to learn you'll be just fine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

Thanks for understanding that I wasn't picking on you.

I hope you also know I want the best for you and your snake, but I want you to be able to ENJOY your new pet and not be so stressed.

You see different opinions and ideas because there is no one "right way" to keep snakes. You will see plenty of variances in how different people keep their snakes. There are different reasons and different things work in different situations, climates, etc... etc... etc...

A lot of what works for you and your snake will come down to trial and error. Use what you learn as a guideline. Establish what you know to be scientific facts, including safe temps, humidity, prey, etc...and build off that foundation to find what works for you and your snake. As long as you're staying within proven safe parameters and continuing to learn you'll be just fine.

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Thank you so much. I feel relieved now after thousands of post lol once I get my snake, instead of thousand posts, I will just make one progression thread!


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by gusanr14

Thank you so much. I feel relieved now after thousands of post lol once I get my snake, instead of thousand posts, I will just make one progression thread!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Hahahahaha, post away!!!