New Member and New BP

Hi guys! Great boards you've got here. I just purchased my first BP from Tim Bailey, a normal male. I set him up in a 20L tank with an UTH (Zoo-Med 10-20 gallon size) and a 100w CHE.

I used Repti-Bark for the substrate, but I might mix in some coco-brick stuff to help with humidity. I just ordered a Helix thermostat from Reptile Basics.

The hot side of the tank is 94 and the cool side is 81 right now. Humidity shows 48% on one hygro (Fluker) and 56% (Oregon Scientific) on another, so who knows! I plan to add some plexi on the top to also aid in humidity control.

I am new to BP's but a long time herp keeper. Until now my collection contained: 1.0 Cal-King, 1.1 Cornsnakes (Sunglow and Ghost respectively) and 3.0.1 D. leucomelas and 0.0.4 D. imitator.

Here is Tim's shot of the ball:

http://www.wax32.com/python/slides/07nm2l.jpg

And here is a shot of his set-up so far:

http://www.wax32.com/python/slides/072507_0363.jpg

I realize I will need another hide, that will be added soon! In the photo the snake is hanging out in the hide. Since I only picked him up yesterday I haven't wanted to disturb him for any of my own photos, but rest assured, some will be forthcoming.

very nice pick up. and welcome to bp.net. theres tons of good people here and great advice..


looks like you well on your way to having a happy bp..

Thanks!

Who's this Tim Bailey people keep talking of. No Tims a great guy. And thats a great pick up.. Welcome to the site.

Thanks frog. :D

A hearty welcome to the land of Ball Python! :D

Welcome to the site!! Good to see another person from Louisiana and you couldn't have picked a better guy to get a ball python from ;)

do u really need a light and a UVB light

Welcome aboard. Nice looking snake you have there.:)

Dave,
Congrats on your new snake. I look forward to seeing how that guy progresses. He is a very good looking dude. It was a pleasure doing business, and please feel free to give me a call if you have any questions or concerns.

And, Welcome to the best site on the internet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shawn2881

do u really need a light and a UVB light

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I don't have a UVB, snakes don't need it.

Thanks for the warm welcome guys. Tim, I will be bugging you I'm sure, but will try to keep it to a minimum! :D

My Helix Control System came in!

http://www.wax32.com/gear/072807_0367.jpg

Now, what the heck is this for?

http://www.wax32.com/gear/072807_0368.jpg

Hi,

I honestly don't know but can I guess splatter gaurd or wall mounting bracket?


dr del

I figured some kind of mounting bracket, but I can't figure out how I would use it!

I think you can slide it from the right side to the left side, and it will just be a simple stand for the Helix. Very nice T-stat might I add. Muddoc is AWESOME working with. I unfortunately haven't done business with him, but he had helped me quiet a bit. I can tell he is a very dedicated guy towards his animals. It'll be a matter of time till the addiction grows on and you'll be getting a handful of animals yourself I bet. Welcome to the site !

Welcome aboard :) Now get ready for the addiction. (Must have one more BP, can't stop!)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by westcoastjungle

Welcome aboard :) Now get ready for the addiction. (Must have one more BP, can't stop!)

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x2

Welcome to the forum Dave! Very nice looking little male you picked out. Congrats on aquiring him and to Tim and Monica for producing yet another sweet snake! :)

Congrats on your new BP. I know you will enjoy him. :)

Just in case you haven't figured out that mounting stand for the helix,

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k1...e111/helix.jpg

Hi,


How is that held to the upright portion? Sticky pads?


dr del

There are two-sided "sticky pads" on the short side of the mount and on the back of the helix.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rapture

Congrats on your new BP. I know you will enjoy him. :)

Just in case you haven't figured out that mounting stand for the helix,

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k1...e111/helix.jpg

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AHHH! That helped thanks!

I set mine to 92, but my box is only reading 90 right now, is it normal for it to fall below your desired temp by a bit??

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dotc0m

I think you can slide it from the right side to the left side, and it will just be a simple stand for the Helix. Very nice T-stat might I add. Muddoc is AWESOME working with. I unfortunately haven't done business with him, but he had helped me quiet a bit. I can tell he is a very dedicated guy towards his animals. It'll be a matter of time till the addiction grows on and you'll be getting a handful of animals yourself I bet. Welcome to the site !

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Thanks dotc0m, I ordered the helix from RBI after reading lots of posts about how nice Rich is to deal with. It shipped the same day I ordered it... :D

Shh, don't tell my wife that this is addicting!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wax32

I set mine to 92, but my box is only reading 90 right now, is it normal for it to fall below your desired temp by a bit??

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Nevermind, I had the probe to far away from the center of the hotspot! :D

DUH :rolleye2:

I'll be getting a helix soon and I just had a question. I'm wondering how many outlets it has on it. Is one of those white cords kind of like an extension cord with 3 outlets on it?

Sometimes the temp of your basking area that is actually reachable by your snake is lower than the temp at the heat source itself... I personally shoot for an 88-90 degree basking area. The rack that I have this helix set on has belly heat. On another rack I have that has back heat, I have to set the helix many degrees higher to get the basking temp I desire.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pwilliams58

I'll be getting a helix soon and I just had a question. I'm wondering how many outlets it has on it. Is one of those white cords kind of like an extension cord with 3 outlets on it?

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I was wondering the exact same thing. Can someone put a pucture of the outlets and ends of the cords?

Hi there,


I found this really good article on reptilebasic's website earlier that mentions it has 3 outlets. If you were wiring it yourself or using extensions cords I would assume as long as you pay attention to the wattage there could be quite a few units powered and controlled by the thermostat.

This is the link.

I found it via google me - my google-fu may finally be coming back.:rockon:



dr del

The end of the cord has 3 outlets, in a straight line... like a power strip. You can choose between regular or grounded.

D,
The grounded model, like the one in your picture hsa three outlets in a row, but the non-grounded model, has a female end like an extension cord, you can plug in 2 cords on one side, and on on the opposite side. Either way, bot models have room for 3 plug ins. However, if you were wanting to add recepticles, you could plug in three power strips to your Helix, and ad potentially add 30 -50 more plug-ins. Also, just remember that a Helix can safely run 500 watts of heat tape, or for my calculations, 50 feet of 10 watt/foot 3" Flexwatt.

http://www.wax32.com/gear/072907_0369.jpg

I got the grounded cord one.

Speaking of back versus belly heat, would I be better off going with a larger UTH on the hot side instead of the CHE I am using right now? Would that burn off less of my humidity?

And also, would a larger UTH even be able to get to 92 degrees? My small one tops out right at 82ish.

Well, I went ahead and got a larger UTH for the hot side. I got the 16 watt Zoo Med. Right now I have the probe down in the substrate and I am getting 92 no problem. I will actually tape the probe down later on this afternoon.

Here is what the set up is looking like now.

http://www.wax32.com/gear/073107_0005.jpg

I found a ceramic bowl to replace the plastic rock looking one.

I looked at Wal-Mart but they only had TINY under pot saucers, I need to get over to lowes or home depot and see what they have, so I can put in two of the same hides.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wax32

Well, I went ahead and got a larger UTH for the hot side. I got the 16 watt Zoo Med. Right now I have the probe down in the substrate and I am getting 92 no problem. I will actually tape the probe down later on this afternoon.

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Hi,

I really don't think tape in an enclosure is a good idea at any point to be honest.

Isn't there any way to tape the themostat probe between the heatmat and the glass tank? You might find you need to tweak things a bit to get the internal tank temps right again but the snake will never be able to move the probe or get it wet or anything.

Or did you mean the themometer probe and I am wittering nonsense again?:)


dr del

No I meant the t-stat probe.

The UTH sticks right to the glass under the tank, not sure how I would get the probe between it and the tank. I guess I COULD, but it would be a pain to remove if I ever have to move the tank for cleaning (which I guess I will be doing pretty often).

Here is a shot showing the probe from the Helix and my Flukers unit:

http://www.wax32.com/gear/073107_0008.jpg

Looks good, right? Only, the Helix is showing 81 degrees at the probe when I took this shot! How can that be possible?

DUH.

Ok, I taped the probe under the tank and UNDER the heater. I realized I only need to give the t-stat something to reference.

Once it stabilizes, if the thermometer temp probe reads 92 in the hot end of the tank, it doesn't matter what my t-stat is actually reading, I just need to set the t-stat to whatever temp gets my thermo-probes in the tank to read 92, right?

I hope I got this right in my head, it is making me feel kind of dumb! :D

Hi,


Actually that's somehting I'm not sure of - someone posted on here saying the mats give off more heat in one direction than the other. I think that your way will also work but I'd get confirmation from people who have tried it before.

Anyone else want to jump in on this with opinions?


dr del

OK, I'll have to keep an eye open.

Meanwhile, I have had him for exactly one week today, so I went ahead and offered him a F/T hopper mouse. I had to dance it around for about a minute (with tongs of course) but he took it, POW. :D

I also came up with a name for him today and whipped up a little logo in CS3:

http://www.wax32.com/images/konjou1.jpg

Konjou is Japanese for will-power, near as I can tell.

Ahhh,


Nothing beats the zombie mouse dance when it works.:D

**edit**

That's odd - your name isn't showing anymore for me but it was a minute ago.:confused:
**end edit**



dr del

Should be back now, I was having issues. (Trying to get the background to match the forum. Got it now!) Yeah, I am weird. :D

One thing that I think is giving me problems in my tank... too much Reptibark. I used an entire 8 quart bag of it. I think I am going to take out about half and see how that goes. :D

Hi,


Yeah you want to make sure that the substrate layer is shallow enough that the surface temp gets to the right range without the UTH having to be too hot on the inside surface of the tank as the snake is capable of burrowing down and getting burnt if it is too hot.

Ideally I think you should aim for the inside of the bottom of the tank to be around 94-95 and the surface to be between 90-94.


dr del

Dave,
I'm glad to hear that he made the switch to F/T for you so easily. I would comment on the heat issue, but it sounds like you have it under control. If you do have a question though, feel free to give us a call.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr del

Ahhh,


Nothing beats the zombie mouse dance when it works.:D

**edit**

That's odd - your name isn't showing anymore for me but it was a minute ago.:confused:
**end edit**



dr del

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Zombie dance, I like that :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by muddoc

Dave,
I'm glad to hear that he made the switch to F/T for you so easily. I would comment on the heat issue, but it sounds like you have it under control. If you do have a question though, feel free to give us a call.

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Me too Tim! I was pretty surprised that he took it so fast.

As far as the temps go... I'm still a little low, even after taking out half of the reptibark.

I just bumped the t-stat up some more to 100, gonna see what that does. I also taped the t-stat probe directly to the UTH instead of to the desk under it. But, I'll get it soon I am sure! :carrot:

OK, 100 wasn't enough. I bumped it to 105 and moved the substrate so I can feel the glass... barely hitting 90ish.

Would I be better off ordering a foot of 11" flexwatt from Rich and having him wire it up for me? Would this generate more heat?

Hi,


How long have you given it to heat everything up?


dr del