I did it!!

I went out today and got my very first ball python :D

Here he is exploring his new set up!

http://img430.imageshack.us/img430/4...nake001cx6.jpg

http://img430.imageshack.us/img430/9...nake002ef4.jpg

Of course he's already knocked over his thermometer haha. I know snakes like hides snug, but I just think it'd be hard for him to fit into that hide (exact same thing on opposite side of the tank).

Congrats! He/she is super cute and healthy looking! Remember you've got to leave him alone for a week now.. I know it's hard. ;)

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Originally Posted by Shelby

Congrats! He/she is super cute and healthy looking! Remember you've got to leave him alone for a week now.. I know it's hard. ;)

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Yep. He just ate today too, so that's extra reason not to touch him lol. I'm just gonna leave it at changing his water/feeding/cleaning for two weeks and then I'll try handling him :)

Nice looking snake Congrats :sweeet:

Oh boy a new ball python! Congratz! How old he is? did you buy him from a breeder or a pet store?

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Originally Posted by Kilo

Oh boy a new ball python! Congratz! How old he is? did you buy him from a breeder or a pet store?

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I bought him from a store about 30 miles out from my house, that actually takes care of their animals I'm happy to say :D

I named my new bp Sharky, and I'm not sure how old he is (too excited, forgot to ask lol). I'll have to call and ask tomorrow :P

Very nice looking snake there! Good luck and welcome. Love the avatar BTW.

Congrats on the new bp! :gj:

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Originally Posted by sidhe

Very nice looking snake there! Good luck and welcome. Love the avatar BTW.

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Thanks :) I really respect and admire steve irwin, he was like a hero to me :D

Well, dang I bought a 100 watt bulb because i had an 85 watt bulb that didnt seem to keep the tank heated, and now the temps easily go up to 100 degrees in only a few minutes! One more trip to petco to trade the bulb :rolleyes:

Congrats on the new snake! He's a beaut!


Rather than going to the petstore for yet another bulb...try going to the hardware store and getting a lamp-dimmer-switch for it. Then you can control how hot the bulb gets.

And don't worry about the hides being too small. Those are plenty big enough with lots of room to grow into, believe it or not.

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Originally Posted by JLC

Congrats on the new snake! He's a beaut!


Rather than going to the petstore for yet another bulb...try going to the hardware store and getting a lamp-dimmer-switch for it. Then you can control how hot the bulb gets.

And don't worry about the hides being too small. Those are plenty big enough with lots of room to grow into, believe it or not.

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ah, good idea! (wish i would have thought about that before digging in the trash to get the bulb box...haha)

Is it ok for me to keep him with the 100 watt over night (still think its pretty hot) or go with the 50 watt (high temp about 85 on hot 79 on cool...pretty cool >_<)

Not sure what to use for tonight til i can get the dimmer for tomorrow

In that case, I'd err on the side of "cooler" and go with the smaller wattage. Then get that dimmer ASAP.

yay!:sweeet:

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Originally Posted by JLC

In that case, I'd err on the side of "cooler" and go with the smaller wattage. Then get that dimmer ASAP.

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The hot side is now up to 88.5 and the cool side is about 79, so I'm not too worried about tonight. I'm going to head out and get the dimmer tomorrow morning. Is it just a regular lamp dimmer? How to I hook it up to the lamp?

Home Depot-->Lighting/Fan section-->Lutron Credenza lamp dimmer-->$10.98-->Plug heating pad into dimmer, measure with digital thermometer, adjust from there

I am a short and sweet kinda gal :)

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Home Depot-->Lighting/Fan section-->Lutron Credenza lamp dimmer-->$10.98-->Plug heating pad into dimmer, measure with digital thermometer, adjust from there

I am a short and sweet kinda gal :)

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So I can do the same thing with a 100 watt bulb? lol Should I get one for the heating pad too?

Once the thermostat comes, I wont need the dimmers anymore will i?

Yep, that dimmer has a 300w rating, and should work with the bulb just fine(not to mention make it last longer). If you are getting your thermostat soon, I would still keep your dimmers, they come in handy. You may find you still need a light along with the heating pad to appropriately heat that tank. I find with my tubs, all I need is flexwatt and the ambient temp in the tub stays around 80.

why dont you get an UTH? i used to use a lamp as well. not anymore though. with a uth, my warm side is at 87 degrees. with a humidity level of 47 percent. just recently had a perfect shed too! every bp is different. apep doesnt come out of his hide much. which is on the cool side. hes a bum! lol. and congrats by the way! i hope everything works out great for you

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Yep, that dimmer has a 300w rating, and should work with the bulb just fine(not to mention make it last longer). If you are getting your thermostat soon, I would still keep your dimmers, they come in handy. You may find you still need a light along with the heating pad to appropriately heat that tank. I find with my tubs, all I need is flexwatt and the ambient temp in the tub stays around 80.

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here comes the endless stream of questions again haha i dont know where I'd be (or my snakes) without you guys :P

so tomorrow i go buy the dimmer, and plug the bulb into it, and dim it until i get a nice temp of about 90-92.

Should I buy a second dimmer for the heating pad? I have the temperature prob stuck to the glass on the hot side, so i'm not really sure how hot my heating pad is getting...

when the thermostat comes (I ordered a ranco), then i plug the light (and the heating pad?) into that and set the temps to desired ratio?

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Originally Posted by Rhapsody

here comes the endless stream of questions again haha i dont know where I'd be (or my snakes) without you guys :P

so tomorrow i go buy the dimmer, and plug the bulb into it, and dim it until i get a nice temp of about 90-92.

Should I buy a second dimmer for the heating pad? I have the temperature prob stuck to the glass on the hot side, so i'm not really sure how hot my heating pad is getting...

when the thermostat comes (I ordered a ranco), then i plug the light (and the heating pad?) into that and set the temps to desired ratio?

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I would suggest that the heating pad not be hooked up to the dimmer or thermostat. Let the UTH run on its own and just dim the bulb to the desired temperature. If the UTH is hooked up the the dimmer/thermostat as well, then it may take hours for it to heat up again after it is shut off or brought to low power.

Congratulations! That's a beautiful snake. I love the blushing on his/her sides.

Do you have the thermometer probe stuck to the SIDE glass, or the bottom? You need to be checking the temps where the snakes belly is, on the bottom.

Buying a second dimmer for the pad is a tough one. I think if it was me, I'd put the heat pad on the dimmer til the thermostat comes, and then just use the 50w bulb til then.

Plug just the heat pad to the thermostat. I'm not sure if ranco is proportional or on/off. If on/off, your light would be flashing constantly. If proportional, the light probably wouldn't get enough power to do much good most of the time. The main purpose of the thermostat is going to be keeping that heat pad from getting too hot for your snake.

Steve

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Originally Posted by hoo-t

Congratulations! That's a beautiful snake. I love the blushing on his/her sides.

Do you have the thermometer probe stuck to the SIDE glass, or the bottom? You need to be checking the temps where the snakes belly is, on the bottom.

Buying a second dimmer for the pad is a tough one. I think if it was me, I'd put the heat pad on the dimmer til the thermostat comes, and then just use the 50w bulb til then.

Plug just the heat pad to the thermostat. I'm not sure if ranco is proportional or on/off. If on/off, your light would be flashing constantly. If proportional, the light probably wouldn't get enough power to do much good most of the time. The main purpose of the thermostat is going to be keeping that heat pad from getting too hot for your snake.

Steve

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It's stuck to the side >_< I'll peel it off and restick it to about an inch or two off the bottom. Ranco is on/off. But what about the heating pad taking too long to reheat after they shut it off? I wouldnt mind the flashing bulb, but I want to make sure the snake is as comfy as possible

Well, I would think that if you put the probe for the thermostat directly on top of the heat pad, set to say 92 degrees, as soon as the heat pad cools to 91 degrees, its gonna come back on. It really doesn't have a chance to cool down too much. And thats why the lights are REALLY gonna be flashing! The heat pad should be fluctuating between around 90 - 94 degrees (if set to 92). My thermostats are proportional, so its a little different, but they are constantly kicking on and off.

Steve

What a sweet face!! And cute alien heads! Congrats!

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Originally Posted by _BoidFinatic_

I would suggest that the heating pad not be hooked up to the dimmer or thermostat. Let the UTH run on its own...

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Thats a very interesting theory... could you explain why this would be a good idea please?

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Originally Posted by ddbjdealer

Thats a very interesting theory... could you explain why this would be a good idea please?

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By having the UTH run at a constant until he gets rid of the light bulb(if he does), he can run the light bulb with the dimmer and just use it as 'added' heat. Why have the UTH start up slowly again after being shut off when the same could be done with the bulb with no 'stress'?

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Originally Posted by _BoidFinatic_

By having the UTH run at a constant until he gets rid of the light bulb(if he does), he can run the light bulb with the dimmer and just use it as 'added' heat. Why have the UTH start up slowly again after being shut off when the same could be done with the bulb with no 'stress'?

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Having a UTH running constantly can produce temperatures of 120 degrees!! Which will result in a severely burned snake. By using a dimmer on the UTH you can keep a more constant temperature, assuming the room temp doesn't fluctuate too much. An on/off thermostat will shut off and have to heat back up, but that is why you aim for 92-94. You set the temp for 93 (or whatever temp gets you 93 in the cage) with a 1 degree of variablilty. That way you are always within that range.

Any uncontrolled heat source is just asking for trouble and burns.

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

Having a UTH running constantly can produce temperatures of 120 degrees!! Which will result in a severely burned snake. By using a dimmer on the UTH you can keep a more constant temperature, assuming the room temp doesn't fluctuate too much. An on/off thermostat will shut off and have to heat back up, but that is why you aim for 92-94. You set the temp for 93 (or whatever temp gets you 93 in the cage) with a 1 degree of variablilty. That way you are always within that range.

Any uncontrolled heat source is just asking for trouble and burns.

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UTHs only heat up between 95- 100 degrees. Assuming you keep mulch/aspen on top of it(as Rhapsody does), the temp. will be significantly less. I think that the output of the light bulb would be the only thing that needs to be regulated. Keeping the python directly on the heating pad without any substrate could be risky.

I use aspen bedding for all my bps. As I was making my rounds this morning, I found at least 6 of them that had moved the aspen to the side, and were laying directly on the floor of the tub. Since my heat tape is on a thermostat, no worries.

By the way, using a temp gun, I have found that running at full power, my flexwatt can reach temps as high as 120 degrees fahrenheit.

Steve

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Originally Posted by hoo-t

I use aspen bedding for all my bps. As I was making my rounds this morning, I found at least 6 of them that had moved the aspen to the side, and were laying directly on the floor of the tub. Since my heat tape is on a thermostat, no worries.

By the way, using a temp gun, I have found that running at full power, my flexwatt can reach temps as high as 120 degrees fahrenheit.

Steve

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I agree. I have my UTH's on thermostats for that exact reason. When left just plugged into the wall, it reached temperatures of 110 - 115 degrees. With the thermostat, the hot temps flucuate between 89 - 94 degrees. I use repti carpet so most of the heat gets through. Also, I would be sure to place probe under the hot side hide as temps can build up quickly in there.

Peace.

So I had to 50 watt bulb on all night. Before I went to bed it read about 92, now it's at 91.9 Optimal temperature right? Should I get the dimmer just for the uth and leave the bulb as is till the thermostat comes? (shipped today).

I'm a girl by the way :P

Congrats on your new pet. He looks great. :sweeet:

At least yours started exploring immediately. Mine stayed in his hide for a week withour comming out.:tricho:

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Originally Posted by Rhapsody

So I had to 50 watt bulb on all night. Before I went to bed it read about 92, now it's at 91.9 Optimal temperature right? Should I get the dimmer just for the uth and leave the bulb as is till the thermostat comes? (shipped today).

I'm a girl by the way :P

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Yup!

That's what I'd do!

Steve