New to BPs. Heating questions

hey guys I just recently purchased a bp from a pet store.

I am having trouble with heating. i got a heating pad, the instructions said to stick it tothe side of the tank...(theres an adhesive side)....is this right. I feel like the glass tank gets to cold for it. as of right now i have one of those sticker thermometers which isn't very reliant.

Should I move the heating pad to the bottom of the glass cage? and if so should I adhesive it to the bottom or just put it under there so its not touching the glass?
My setup as of right now is during the day I keep the heating pad and heat lamp on during the day and at night I just turn off the heat lamp. It seems to get too cold for it, my buddies played with it late at night and said wen they picked him up it was mad cold and moving sluggishly.

I've looked all over sfor info, but i've yet to find anything specific to my liking.

I am thinking of tinfoiling and ducktaping some of the top the screen top to insulate..sound like a good idea?

If anyone has any suggestions feel free. cause i feel like I am not doing this right, and it has me worrying at.....4:30 in the morning

The heating pad needs to go on the bottom of the tank, on one side, preferably with a hide spot on top of it. Then on the other side, have another IDENTICAL hide spot for the snake to go in, therefore they can choose which temperature is best, not based specifically upon their best feeling of safety.

Tin foil will do alright, but I'd recommend going to Walmart, or any place of the sort to get a digital thermometer/humidity check for $12 which will be much more accurate in determining how you're keeping your temps.

Personally, I have a mesh top yet still keep cool side temps between 82-84 and warm side between 88-92. It's just a matter of the room surroundings, etc

put it on the bottom of the tank, and if its getting to cold in there go out to the local pet shop and buy a bulb that doesn't give off light (heat only) and leave it on all the time.

Another great addition to your set up is a thermostat or rheostat. This will control the temperature of your UTH so it stays within a good range. You want the hot spot to be 90-92 and the ambient of the whole tank to be 80-82.
Hot spot: 90-92
Ambient: 80-82
Humidity: 50-60% and 60-70% for shed.
Depending on your substrate and size of the tank, you may struggle with ambient temps and humidity. I found for a large glass tank, the coconut bark that comes all compacted in a brick works great. Its a deep brown color when its moist, (not wet please!) and lighter when its bone dry.
Buying that hygrometer/thermometer from walmart is important when trying to get ambient temps and humidity exact. Spend the 12 bucks.

Also, we have a great glass tank set up thread that shows how to use tin foil and duct tape to keep in the humidity and heat. It will be tougher with a tall tank, but not impossible. Keep us posted. ~Connie

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=32800

Make sure that you are using something to control how hot that heatpad gets (thermostat of some sort). I believe that is in the instructions for heatpads as well. They can leave some nasty burns on your snake. Even if you think it isn't getting too hot, it very well might be. Your snake's belly nerves cannot sense changes in temps like we do and they do not always move off of something that is too hot. It is your responsibility to make sure that their basking area is at a safe temperature. 90-94 degrees f.

Make sure you get a thermometer with a probe. The one mentioned above, Accurite is the brand I believe, works well. In my enclosures, I place the unit upright on the cool side to measure the ambient temperature and run the probe directly on top of the heatpad, under the hide on the warm side. Use two identical hides, like mentioned above.

As for lighting, you may need a heat bulb. If you measure the temps with the digital thermometer and find that your ambient is too low (below the 80-83 degrees f) , I recommend getting a night time blue or infrared bulb. 50-60 is the wattage range you'll probably need, but you'll have to play around with it to see what temp readings you get. Keep in mind that it will take a day or two for temps to stabalize.

Taping and tinfoiling the top off is a good idea. It helps a ton with humidity. Another suggestion is using 3/4 inch insulation board (pink or blue stuff) to cover three sides of the tank. This should help keep the ambient up too.

Hope this helps.

chetman7,

You definetly need to get a thermostat to regulate the heat pad(or a dimmer/rheostat at the very least). I had a heat pad with nothing to control it for a while(3-4weeks) and the pads temps were consistently 125 degrees and slightly higher at times. Luckily, I had aspen packed down so dense that the temp on the surface above it stayed below 95 usually(it did get to 98 once). My BP would have needed a shovel to burrow down below the substrate, however that is not a long term solution. Now I've invested in a Herpstat which isn't cheap, but keeps the temps on point. These guys live a long time so it's a small price to pay for there safety if you really think about it.

And follow the other advice that's been given also, the directions do say place on the side but your much better of sticking the pad underneath the tank on the hot side, with his hot side hide above it.

thanks for all your help, i've grown attatched to this little guy already. I wanna make sure everything is perfect in his environment

so...should i hook the thermostate to both the heating lamp and heating pad??

as of right now I have the heating pad under the tank and the heating lamp and the same side of the cage. and the water dish is on the other side of the cage away from the UTH and heating lamp

does this sounds right?

When I got my BP I got attached very quickly also :D he's a cute little guy.

Anyway, it doesn't really matter how you do it as long as your temps are roughly...

90-92 hotside(taken on the surface under the hide);
80-82 coolside(I take this temp on the coolside surface as well as an air on that side, both should be in that range);
Humidity 50-60% (During shed it helps to bump it up to 70%)

I think most people set up both the UTH and Lamp on the one side like yours is. Typically, with two identical hides (one on each end) a water dish in the middle. If the water dish is closer to the heat source it will increase humidity slightly.
However, with my set up I can keep the hotside temp on point w/ just the UTH. So I conviently have the lamp available to keep my cool side up where it needs to be. I only have my T-stat connected to my UTH, you should be able to find bulbs with the correct watts for you set up. Humidity is perfect also, but I do mist during shed to bump it up.

If you have more questions don't hesistate to ask, but a more detailed description of what you have set up now would help, or even a picture

ok so i bought a digital thermometer from petco.
I layed the probe right ontop of the bedding. it read 92.3 on the hot side with the heating lamp and UTH on. I do not have a reading on the cold side yet..but it should be fine i hope. I have a ceramic bulb which only gives off heat and no light...is this fine for the day? or does it need some light.

He seemed really grumpy today. I played with him for about 2 hours...letting him roam around on the table. Now hes all curled up in a ball for the past 3 hours. usually he unrolls when i pick him up..but no...he stayed in a ball....I guess i tired him out.

I can't seem to find a thermostat anywhere...does anyone know any good online sites where i can get products from?

Try to get an Acu-Rite Thermometer/Hydrometer to measure the humidity and temps on the cool side they're very cheap, don't try to guess or assume. If your Walmart doesn't have one then google it and find the cheapest one (I think I paid like $15-16 online). If your CHE is providing the correct amount of heat, then leave it in that spot and leave it on 24/7. Temps do not need to drop at night. The lighting in your house during the day should be sufficient since BPs don't require special lighting. They're nocturnal and spend the day hidden away in a hide anyway. As far as handling goes 2 hours is a long time, but it's always reccomended that you leave your BP alone for at least a week when you first put them in their new enclosure. This allows them to get accustomed to their new surroundings. To minimize stress on the snake you should keep handling time down to maybe 30mins at a time once a day at the very most.

This will allow it to slowly get used to you. Do you have 2 hides one on each end?

Here's the Tstat that I bought, like I said not cheap but worth it.
Herpstat Proportional

I use Helix brand.

www.reptilebasics.com
or
www.lllreptile.com

thanks for the help...I ended up buying an herbstat...works great and as stated....he just finished his first shedding....he looks great...I had some trouble keeping he humudity high...but I got it under control.

does anyone have any ideas of how to properly transport my guy? I have him up at school right now...and I'm gonna bring him home....instead of bringing a glass cage in my car...I'mma just buy another one wen i'm home and bring the herbstat and lights with me. I'm in albany so its real cold already,,, just wondering how i'mma keep him warm during the trip home

What I do is to put my snake in a pillowcase (or snake bag if you happen to have one handy :) )and losely knot the end (enough so that it can't get out but loose enough so that I can untie it easily and quickly). When its cold out I just tuck it inside my jacket so it stays warm. Glad to hear the little guy is doing well!

thanks alot

I actually have a couple more questions..... I having trouble telling if its too hot or cold in the cage....I set it to 89....For about a month..he always stayed on the warm side..he never moved away from it unless he was thirsty.. ever since he shedded..he now only stays on the cold side. Ii've had ppl tell me to set it to 92 and others say thats too high and could increase his matabolism so much that he could starve to death....and thats the last thing I want to happen? the guy at the shop said put the hot side to 82..which seams low...I don't noe who to believe anymore cause every website I go to says a differen thing. I usually neglect the site if it says to use a heat rock...cause I noe thats an absolute no no

Alright i know it is confusing and i also got alot of conflicting info from lots of places! But out of all forms i believe this is the best for info. Snakes do what ever they want to do, mine sometimes stay on one side or the other for days sometimes. You need to keep everything consistant, dont move which side is hot or cold just make sure your temps are good. Make sure your ambient temp which is the air temp in the cage stays in the low 80 range. Never below 75. 92 is not to warm all of mine are kept at that temp and have never had the first problem, you do need to know your temps on both sides get two digitals is the best way i found, one on the warm side and one on the cool. Also if you have not had your snake that long they take time to adjust, get your temps right on leave him alone for a week or so, meaning no handling. Once everything seems to be good keep your handling less than half hour a day, you wont wear him out you will stress him beyond belief!