*** Lights in Tank ***

what lights does every1 have over their tank??

i have a 60 watt light for the daytime, the UV light, and 2 red 40 watt lights for nighttime...

I don't have any lights for mine. And BP's don't need UV light. How are all those lights working for you? They tend to suck up the humidity, but can work if you dont mind the extra effort.

Just to clarify you mean lights outside your tank not actually in it right?

No lights for heat here either.

Just checking, are your lights actually INSIDE the tank?

yes, inside

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Originally Posted by rmune0750

yes, inside

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Lights INSIDE the tank are very, very dangerous for your snake! You really need to get those out immediately. What kind of set-up do you have that you can have so many lights INSIDE the tank???

the pet store said i had to have the lights in it...wtf?!?!?

is there anything between the bulb and your snake?

Describe you setup.

Lights should not be IN your tank...they shoudl be ON your tank, resting on top of the cage lid (assuming you have a wire-mesh lid to your cage) There should NEVER be any light INSIDE your tank where the snake can touch it!

yeah, im sorry, i messed up, the lights r ON TOP of the snake tank on top of the tank cover....thats what i mean

SOO...r those the lights everyone is using for on top of the tank, there are NO lights inside my tank dont worry

ball pythons dont need lights. any pet store employee that tells you they do knows nothing about them.

do you have anything to measure your humidity?? i would think with all those lights it would suck a lot of humidity out of the tank.

What kind of tempertures do you have in the enclosure? Please describe your setup. No one can say if those bulbs are right if they do not know ALL the enclosure information.

if they dont need bulbs in there then how r they supposed to get the heat they need, they come from africa and its really hot

okay, there is a light holder thing that holds 1 white 60 watt daytime bulb, then there is a spot for 2 red nighttime bulbs, then there is a huge spot for the long UV light....the pet store said that u need to put the UV light and the daytime light on in the day, and then turn them both off and put on the 2 red bulbs at nighttime...

That pet store is WAY off bps dont need any special lighting. the heat u need for them should come from an under tank heater. you can probably get one at a pet store for around 20 bucks each. all those lights are gonna do is suck the humidity right out of the tank.

Ok...let's try this again:

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Originally Posted by JLC

I'm not saying it's impossible to actually have a hands-on, experienced reptile person working at a petstore....but....just because they call someone the "Snake Guy" doesn't make it safe to ask him to probe your snake. More than likely, they call him that because he actually likes working with the snakes...as opposed to 99% of other pet store employees that prefer the fuzzy pets....or maybe he actually owns a pet snake. But so do I...and I'm not the least bit qualified to probe one.

I just can't emphasize it enough....MOST pet-store employees are notorious for thinking they know all there is to know about keeping certain animals, just because they sell them. While in reality, the "knowledge" they are trying to dispense is impractical at best....and downright dangerous at worst.

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The same thing applies here. Don't be surprised to hear that what the pet store employees told you was wrong.

Most people use UTH (Under Tank Heater) to provide their snakes with the heat they need. Some people use lamps to supplement that heat. Some people do use lamps exclusively. BUT...doing so makes it that much harder to maintain a proper environment for your snake. UTH's are much easier to control with a t-stat and they don't suck the moisture out of the air the way lamps do.

Without a doubt, that big ol' UV light is a waste of money and space. BP's are nocturnal animals and do their hunting and stuff at night...and sleep underground during the day. Which means...they rarely get exposed to sunlight in the wild...so they are designed to not need it. It also means they avoid the primary heat of the day. Just because an African plain can reach 110 during the day doesn't mean BP's will do well with that kind of heat.

Please please please read this:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=52

It will help you learn a LOT about how to set up a proper BP enclosure and what your snake really needs from you.

these r pics of my lights setup:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l4...0/100_1093.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l4..._1092_0001.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l4...0/100_1091.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l4...0/100_1089.jpg

Miss Judy is right.

I went and spent way to much money on bulbs. It sucked my tank dry!!!!
I switched to two UTHs and a ceramic heat emitter and covered a 3rd of the top so that it would stay warm and the humidity wouldnt escape. (i ve got a ridiculous size tank :rolleyes: ) IT ended up working better for me. but as everyone here probably knows I ve had plenty of problems with my set up.

Anyways ditch the bulbs if possible. you'll see how much easier your set up will run.

Have a fantastic day! (or nigtht :confused: ?)

Most people obtain the correct temperature gradient by using a under the tank heater (controlled by a thermostat). They also use a digital thermometer to measure the temperatures and humidity.

oy veigh, i have so many things to change cuz of the ****** pet store employees that dont kno **** and they were just trying to make money off of a person that didnt kno ne thing about ball pythons (ME) so they sold me a UV Light and took advantage of me and the light i dont even need !!!

how much money r those UTH's ??

please dont tell me they r like $100

A single dome fixture with a 50w red/night bulb for 24/7 heating is all you need to heat the tank.

The pet store sold you an expensive hood light setup really for no good reason other than to get more $ out of you. I'd take it back and exchange it for what I described above. Its really horrible they got you like that. Just take it as a lesson to do some reseach prior to going to the store. Then you can see if the store is really full of it or not by listening to what they tell you.

The heat pads usually run about $30-40 for the mid-sized one...then you can save some cash by hooking it up to a dimmer that you can get at any hardware store. A better alternative is to use a thermostat, which run from about $50 for a Ranco to $135 for a Helix.

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Originally Posted by elevatethis

A single dome fixture with a 50w red/night bulb for 24/7 heating is all you need to heat the tank.

The pet store sold you an expensive hood light setup really for no good reason other than to get more $ out of you. I'd take it back and exchange it for what I described above.

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yeah, a lot more money out of me....i spent a ton of money on that light setup....so angry right now i cant even explain

ive had that UV light for a long time so they def wont take it back...

Its all good, just go to the store and tell them that you did some research and found that you didn't need all of that.

There's a sticky in the husbandry forum that has a really good tutorial on what a glass tank should look like for a ball python.
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=32800

do u think they would take it back if i say " I bought a UV light for my ball python and i did some research and found out that they r nocturnal so they dont even need the UV light so can i return it? "

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Originally Posted by elevatethis

Its all good, just go to the store and tell them that you did some research and found that you didn't need all of that.

There's a sticky in the husbandry forum that has a really good tutorial on what a glass tank should look like for a ball python.
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=32800

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Thats a good idea but it doesn't work for everyone. I have a single red bulb on 24/7 and it seems to be working fine for me setup. I have a 20gl tank and the humidity is always 62%, the temperature are 90deg f warm side and about 85 cool side.

what thermometer do u use??

i have one of those stick-on-the-wall plastic crappy thermometers....i need a digital one...

Here's a thread that might help you out.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=30974

You want a indoor/outdoor thermometer, preferably one that will measure humidity as well. You can find them at many large stores like Taget, Lowes, Walmart .... etc.

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Originally Posted by SnakesvsRodents

Thats a good idea but it doesn't work for everyone. I have a single red bulb on 24/7 and it seems to be working fine for me setup. I have a 20gl tank and the humidity is always 62%, the temperature are 90deg f warm side and about 85 cool side.

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The "issue" with that setup is, that heating in the form of overhead lighting responds directly with what the base room temperature is. If your room temp is 72 and you cage temps are 90 warm, 85 cool, those cage temps will go up and down as room temperature fluxuates. These fluctuations can cause issues with ball pythons, since they are so sensitive to the environment around them. That's where a thermostat comes in. The "idea" you mention does in fact work, you just might have to spend a few bucks to do it. What are you using measure the temps? Have you measured the temps at say, 3am?

I have one light over each tank with like a 40wt soft white bulb it just helps keep my temps up where they should be

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

I have one light over each tank with like a 40wt soft white bulb it just helps keep my temps up where they should be

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A white daylight bulb is not the best choice for a ball python. It might look like a soft white light that lights the cage from your point of view, but how would you like to stare directly at the filiment of a light bulb all day long?

We use CHE's above our glass tanks for additional ambient heat. Have a look at posts 2-4 in this thread for a full description of how our tanks are set up.

Oh gosh no. They dont stay on. It just gets the ambiant (sp) temp up first thing in the morning and then the UTH keeps them where they should be. I have them on a timer and they are only on for like 15 to 20 minutes. I am switching most of them over to the red bulbs.

There ya go. I'm not totally convinced that the so-called "infared" are actually invisible to nocturnal animals, but I've used them for day/night heat on balls, boas, and leopard geckos, and haven't had any stress related issues. I'm *guessing* that the red part of the spectrum is more difficult for them to see.

yeah but its weird cuz my snake isnt under any stress at all, like the lights arent messing up his feeding habits or ne thing, my snake is a fantastic eater...

im def gonna get a digital therm...the one i have is saying that its 85 in the day and at night its like 75...