Need some advise

I'm new to keeping Ball Pythons or any kind of snake and have some questions. Me and the wife just got two ball pythons a couple days ago. There both juvenilles ones a little over a foot and the other is a little smaller. At first I had them togther is a 30 gallon long but was advised to seperate them and put them in smaller tanks also to get a few things so I did tonight. Now I have the biggest one in a 20 gallon with a acurite thermometer humity in one with a probe. I have two heating pads one for the cool side and one for the warm side and I have the probe lying on top of the bedding on the warm side. I've had it set up now for a few hours both heating pads are on high. my reading right now are 74.8 on the cool side and 79.5 on the warm side and rising slowly. I have the smaller Bp in a 10 gallon reading pretty much the same. Now I know I will need to get some thermostates to control both sides. I'm thinking I will have to get two infered lights one for each tank to help the cool side get up. One question is since I have both heating pads on both sides the cool and warm on high why am I getting different reading. I have the termometer itself on the cool side right above the bedding. If I get lights I will need three theromostats one for the cool sides one for the warm sides and one for the lights. My tanks are setting right next to one another. Also my humity right now is 38% I just misted the bedding a little bit ago which raised it a little. Can some one pleae help me get my temps and humity to were they should be. I'm going tommorrow to see if I can get lights nad theromstates. Thanks guys! Also I have screen tops should I inslate them with tinfoil and tape like I seen a pic on this site to hold in heat and humity.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k1.../welcome41.gif

Insulating the screen will help reflect some of the heat back into the cage, and also help keep some of the humidity in. You may also want to try and insulate 3 sides of the cage as well.

That seems like a lot heating pads to not be at the right temps. How cold is the room and how think is your substrate? What bedding are you using? And just to double check, what type of thermometer are you measuring with?

Congrats on the new snakes, and even more for already separating them. :sweeet:

Its weird because I have all my heating pad set on high got up this morning and the cool side is like 72 F and the warm side is like 82 F in both tanks. The room temp is at 65 to 67 never colder. The type of bedding I am using is coconut bark it about 1 to 2 inchs thick. The type of thermometers I'm using are acurite here is a link
http://www.chaneyinstruments.com/pgs/inout.htm

Its the one on the right just a few more buttons then that one. How should I inslate the tank. I just check the temps again here are the readings. cool 75 warm 85 humidy 37%. How can I get everything into the range it should be someone please help me I need to fix this ASAP. I just don't see how if I have all my heating pads on high why there two differnet readings, only thing I can see is earm side are using probs and cool sides are using the thermometers.

I would raise the room temp. 65 is pretty cool and will make it harder to keep the temps in the snake's tank up.

Bag the human heating pads.

-adam

I can't turn up the heat I already am paying 200 dollars a month for gas bill, what do you mean bag the human heating pads. What should I be using. I just spent like $50 on them.

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Originally Posted by erk628

I can't turn up the heat I already am paying 200 dollars a month for gas bill, what do you mean bag the human heating pads. What should I be using. I just spent like $50 on them.

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Human heating pads are made for "humans" not snakes ... they are designed to be run for short periods of time, not 24 hours a day 7 days a week for months on end ... sooner or later they will short/burn out and your snakes will have no heat ... also, if they obviously aren't providing your animals with the temps that they need to live, what's the point?

Flexwatt, radiant heat panels, ceramic heat emitters, are all excellent choices for providing your snakes with the temps they need to remain healthy. With a room that cold, you'll either have to figure out some way to bump the room temps or use a combination of the products listed above to get your snakes the temps they need ... 82-84 on one side, 92-94 on the other.

Hope this helps.

-adam

Flexwatt would work well. Plus it's cheap.

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Originally Posted by erk628

I can't turn up the heat I already am paying 200 dollars a month for gas bill, what do you mean bag the human heating pads. What should I be using. I just spent like $50 on them.

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Go with commercially available under tank heaters, or better yet buy some heat tape and wire it up yourself. The human heat pads don't really get the job done well, and they aren't meant to be on 24/7, especially for years at a time.

-Evan

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Human heating pads are made for "humans" not snakes ... they are designed to be run for short periods of time, not 24 hours a day 7 days a week for months on end ...

-adam

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Beat me to it :rolleyes:

-Evan

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Originally Posted by Evan Jamison

Beat me to it :rolleyes:

-Evan

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That's what happens when you put two great minds and a ton of combined experience together in a room. ;) :sweeet: .... You know my drink, you can catch me in Daytona! :D :carrot:

-adam

Ok, So exaclly what should I get to get the heat that I need with a room temp of 65, I have already spent $50 dollars on heating pads that don't seem to be giving me what I need I don't want to buy something else only to find out it don't work either. So the next thing I buy I want to make sure its going to work. So what should I get how much of it should I get and use and were can I get it and how much is it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by erk628

Ok, So exaclly what should I get to get the heat that I need with a room temp of 65, I have already spent $50 dollars on heating pads that don't seem to be giving me what I need I don't want to buy something else only to find out it don't work either. So the next thing I buy I want to make sure its going to work. So what should I get how much of it should I get and use and were can I get it and how much is it.

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The cool side will depend on your ambient temp so the best would be to have a oil filled heater (35$ at walmart) to keep the room where your snake are at around 80+ degrees

Quote:

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Originally Posted by erk628

Ok, So exaclly what should I get to get the heat that I need with a room temp of 65, I have already spent $50 dollars on heating pads that don't seem to be giving me what I need I don't want to buy something else only to find out it don't work either. So the next thing I buy I want to make sure its going to work. So what should I get how much of it should I get and use and were can I get it and how much is it.

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Unfortunately, no one can tell you "exactly" what you need to provide the correct temps ... there are many variables in every setup ... room temp, drafts, cage type, heat sources, cage location in a room, etc ... proper cage setup requires a lot of trial and error to get things "dialed in" ... That's why a lot of people spend weeks "tweaking" their setups before they even bring their snakes home ... keeping equatorial temps in a home during the winter isn't easy.

My advice would be to start with an oil filled heater in the room where you keep your snakes in order to increase the rooms ambient temps. Then work on ditching those human heating pads ... they're just not safe.

Hope this helps.

-adam

I have the snakes in the living room a room temp of 80 would be to hot for us. I think with infered light I can get the hot side in the right zone, cause its in the middle 80's right now. But I have to get the cool side up like 10 degrees. Do you guys think instaling the tanks and getting heat strips ould work if so what kind of srtips or mats were can I get these and how do I inslate the tanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by erk628

I have the snakes in the living room a room temp of 80 would be to hot for us. I think with infered light I can get the hot side in the right zone, cause its in the middle 80's right now. But I have to get the cool side up like 10 degrees. Do you guys think instaling the tanks and getting heat strips ould work if so what kind of srtips or mats were can I get these and how do I inslate the tanks

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About your temp just to make sure what are they right now

Cool side need to be 80-84
Warm side need to be 90-94

You can get Flexwatt heat tape or UTH and you MUST have a thermostat as well controlling your temps and preventing from overheating

Ok right now my temps are not that my cool sides are 75.4 in both tanks warms sides are 84 in one and 83 in the other. Were can I get these strips Petstores around here don't sell them could I get them like say walmart in the hardware section or will I have to order them Also were can I get theromates petstores around here son't seel them either. Will I have to order them to. If I inslate the tanks will that help until I get the stuff I need. Also how would I inslate them with tin foil

Quote:

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Originally Posted by erk628

Ok right now my temps are not that my cool sides are 75.4 in both tanks warms sides are 84 in one and 83 in the other. Were can I get these strips Petstores around here don't sell them could I get them like say walmart in the hardware section or will I have to order them Also were can I get theromates petstores around here son't seel them either. Will I have to order them to. If I inslate the tanks will that help until I get the stuff I need. Also how would I inslate them with tin foil

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Sent you a PM with info on places where to get reptile supply

thank you