How many heat sources do you have?

How many heat sources do you have in your Ball Python enclosure?

For those who answered one:
How do you keep appropriate temperatures for the cool zone and ambient air temperature? Or do you feel having the appropriate temperature for only the hot zone is sufficient? Such that heat sources for the cool zone and ambient air temperature are unnecessary.

For those who answered two:
Does having two heat sources automatically make the ambient air temperature appropriate? Or do you feel having appropriate temperatures for both the hot and cool zone is sufficient? Such that a heat source for the d ambient air temperature is unnecessary.

For those who answered three:
Why do you think it is completely necessary to have three heat sources? And do you notice better results in the behavior of you Ball Python when he or she has three heat sources rather than one or two?

Also, be sure to state what kind of enclosure and heat source you are using, as different methods of heating can have different results in different enclosures.

thank you!

I have my snakes in my room. Technically they have only one real heat source (UTH) and then the entire room is kept about 80 degrees with a space heater, my computer, and some blacklights.

I voted two but not because I use one to heat the cool side. I have a ceramic heat emitter in the middle (but more on the warm side) of my enclosure with a UTH under his warm hide. The ceramic heat emitter keeps my 20 long at 80-82 constantly. The UTH makes it about 92 in his warm hide.

I really like the ceramic heat emitter. I've had the same bulb for literally years. They worked great for the baby tortoises I had prior to acquiring my BP.

Just 1....Radiant Heat Panel. Best investment I ever made.

in my time keeping these snakes i have noticed a few of things.

1 ambiant temp can be as low as 75 with no health problems.
2 humidity can be next to nothing as long as a humid hide is available
3 warm hide can be from 85 to 100 with no problems(ill get grilled but i dont care)

there is a billion ways to keep these animals so just test stuff out and see wat works for you and your animals

try keeping the hobby fun and not worry about precise temps and humidity.if you are close you will do just fine,its not rocket science

the heat pad I use is relatively large for the size of the tank (about 1/3 of the bottom) so it keeps the ambient up. then I have a towel over the top and a small thin throw blanket covering half of it since my room can get a little cold. but it never gets cold enough that I'd have to use a heat source under the cool side.

I voted for two sources, however I primarily use flexwatt to heat the tubs hot spots and a space heater to keep the entire room temp at 80 degrees. this works great at home.

Snakes in my classroom have two distinct heat sources because I have no control over my classroom temps (which are often too low). I have had no health issues in either case.

For those who answered one:
How do you keep appropriate temperatures for the cool zone and ambient air temperature? Or do you feel having the appropriate temperature for only the hot zone is sufficient? Such that heat sources for the cool zone and ambient air temperature are unnecessary.

them ambient air temp is kinda regulated by itself, i have a small room and 8 animals in it with heat so that room get pretty warm around 75ish, then the heat source gets the opposite side of the tub above 80. the temp on the hot end is regulated by thermostat... all you need.

ambient air temp should be taken into account when you install your heat source. and every single place will be different, thats why some people have space heaters and some don't, tho i don't see a need to keep the room at 80, but i guess you can be sure your ball python will never get cold.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Butters420

try keeping the hobby fun and not worry about precise temps and humidity.if you are close you will do just fine,its not rocket science

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agree 100%

I currently have my UTH with tstat under the warm side hide in my 20gL, I then also have a 50watt infrared bulb over the hot side connected to a dimmer so that i can control the basking temp when my room temp fluctuates.

Butters said it right, try stuff out, find something that works and have fun with the hobby!!!

I have a 75 Watt Red light on the top about halfway between the hot end and the center of the 20 gallon tank. Then I have a UTH regulated by a dimmer. Measuring temps with Acu-Rite.
The whole top is covered in Styrofoam but the UTH isn't strong enough to heat up the whole tank.

In all of my cages I have RHP's. They provide the warmth and bump the ambients quite nicely :)

In all of my racks I have flex watt and that does the trick :)

I keep my snake room in the low 80s with a thermostat and a space heater.

My colubrids are kept at room temps (low 80s) with no additional heat sources.

My BPs all have a hot end with ambient temps that are the same as the cool end.

My yearling to adult BPs have a hot end of 89-90 provided by flexwatt and an additional thermostat. A few of my bigger snakes have heat pads (exo terra) instead of heat tape (third thermostats). While my hatchlings have a hot end of 86-87 (fourth thermostat).

I would never put a bulb on a snake.

Too many thermostats I think? :confused:

Bruce

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bruce Whitehead

I would never put a bulb on a snake.

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Why shouldnt I use the infrared bulb? I only picked it up to try it out:confused:

I use only one, I live in the south. My home is always 76-77 year round and the cool side is right at 80 with a hot side of 90.
Rack with flexwatt and herpstat for the win.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Butters420

there is a billion ways to keep these animals so just test stuff out and see wat works for you and your animals

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not sayin to try what you are sayin but you do have a point, just look at all the "wrong" way to keep a bp we come across, from the petstores with low heat and dry cages to the people on craigslist that house retics, burms and balls all in one cage and some how seem to be doing fine.

1

Tubs are generally smaller so the ambient air temp and the cool side are the proper temperatures.

I have two different heat sources, one UTH and a light with a 100W light bulb in it. As my BP stays in its hides (warm or cool) almost all the time, that is where I concentrate on temp/humid adjustments which in turn makes the rest of the enclosure obtain good numbers. I have only one BP, so I have her in a 30g tank which can be a pain to keep constant, but with patience and research the numbers will settle. With the system I use, I have had constant temp/humid numbers for quite some time now. (I am switching to a tub as soon as I build my racking system, and I will be back to the drawing board once again.)

Everyone is going to have a different opinion on this because we all live in different areas of the world/city/or even in the same house. My little one is currently in shed, so I have found in my current apartment, during this time of year, with my apartment heat at a constant 80, in a 30g tank away from any heat vents, with one UTH that covers about 1/3 of the tank, hooked up to a thermostat, one light fixture with a 100W light set to a timer for 12.5 hours a day, bi-daily misting, daily water change in the 9 inch ceramic bowl, a 1.5-2 inch moss bed above the UTH with aspen covering all, plastic covering over half of the top, my temp/humid numbers for my warm hide is 91-92/75-80%, cool hide 80-87/70-75% and ambient temp is approximately 87-90 day, 80-84 night with humid numbers staying between 65-75%. After the shed is complete things will change a bit, but the temps will stay the same. Now as soon as the snow flies, or spring/summer/fall rolls around Ill be adjusting my system again (if the numbers start changing). This works for me, but it probably will not work for you.

As long as you are getting the numbers you need for the environment you are attempting to simulate, you are doing great.

Cheers all, I really should be working...:rofl:

One here, flexwatt runs under the back of each tub. If you have a rack system it's not that hard to heat the tubs with only one heat source. Although, in the winter I run a space heater in the snake room to keep it around 70 degrees.

Heat tape for the hot side and oil filled heater to keep the snake room at 76-78 during the winter.

Mine are split:

Hatchling Rack: 1 source (heat cable)
Stackables: 1 source (heat cable)
Glass tanks: 2 sources (Under tank heat pad, 60 watt heat lamp above)

One source: Flexwatt. I keep the warm side at ~85, and the room itself is usually in the upper-70s.

I use 2 sources: one heat pad on the hot side and one on the cool, and both of those keep my ambient air temp around 79-80

For a few months all I've used is a UTH, which has worked decent but with recent temperature drops I had to get a small CHE and my BP seems a lot happier.

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m.../TankSetup.jpg

I use three thermometers: Warm side, glass directly over UTH, and cool side.

One UTH on the warm side of each enclosure, either hooked up to a rheostat or thermostat. By reducing the space between the cage and the UTH (about 1/2") and restricting oxygen flow, then fine-tuning temps with the rheo/thermostat, the temps are perfect. In larger enclosures I will occasionally use a second UTH+rheostat on low to bump up the cool side in the winter.

I use two UTH one warm side one cool side. A herpstat pro controls the temps On the cool side I have 82ºF in the hide and that drops outside to about 79 outside the hide. The Hot side hide is 92ºF and the range outside is in the 90 to 86 close to the substrate (inch above measured with a lab grade probe) and the ambient temp is about 85ºF middle and halfway up the side, same probe thermometer. The fore mentioned temps were with a scanning IR gun as you can't get ambient temps with it.

i have the 12 inch UTH on both my tubs. but when winter comes i leave a red light on almost 24/7 for ambient temp and everything stays perfect