a lil new please help. heating and humidity. Please!!!!!!!!!

I just got a baby ball python the other day. It looks like i got everything under control except the most important part heating and humidity. I am in the middle of purchasing a thermostat and humidistat. And was just curious how the thermostat works. Like i know the concept but do you plug your light into the thermostat or what? And if so what type of light and wattage should I use. I have a 20gallon glass tank with mesh top. And how would i keep the humidity and temp at a steady level since i have mesh top. Please help. Much appreciation!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU...

It depends on what brand you get, but with most thermostats you hook them up to the light and it senses the temperature in the cage. If it gets over a certain temp (you set it), it will shut off, then turn back on when the temps get too low (again, you set it). However, lights going on and off during the day can stress your snake out. I suggest buying a rheostat (dimmer)($10 @ Home Depot), which you can manually use to turn the light down a little bit. If you see the temps are getting a bit too high or low, you turn the knob on the rheostat up or down.

The light wattage all depends on the temp of your house, size of your enclosure, etc. But if you have a rheostat, the wattage doesn't matter so much because you can adjust it if it is too hot or too cold. Personally, I suggest using a heat pad. That way, you don't have to turn the light off at night and on during the day. Another option is a ceramic heat emitter, which doesn't give off any light, although it dries out the enclosure.

Spray the enclosure regularly for humidity. However, if you live in a desert area (like me), that may not be enough. If you simply cannot get the humidity above 50% (75% while shedding), you may need to move your snake to a plastic bin with holes drilled in the sides.

I know; its really complicated. It's mostly about trial and error.

Good luck! If you have any other questions, post here or message me!

Woah, wait a second.

Identical duplicated thread. Slow down there...

ok thank you so just to make sure i'm clear on the situation. Get a thermometer, hydrometer and a rheostat. and that should get me on the right path? And one last thing pease. The rheostat has inputs for the light(therefor being able to control lighting) right? Excuse my ignorance just wanna make sure i get everything right so i can make him comfortable. oh and what light should i use to plug into the dimmer i know wattage varies but any suggest. on light brand and fixture type.? thank you so much youve been alot of help so far. Much appreciated. Oh and blackcrystal22... thanks for your two since captain obvious, no dissrespect intended ;)

http://images.lowes.com/product/027557/027557390927.jpg
Here is a picture of the type of rheostat I use for my bearded dragon. It is very simple; plug it in and plug the light into that. I must warn you; this particular rheostat does not work with flourescent bulbs or strips or heat pads.

As for the brand, there are so many. I used this ZooMed halogen bulb: http://www.petmountain.com/product/r...heat-lamp.html

Again, with fixtures, you can use just about anything. Most household light fixtures would probably work. I reccommend this one: http://www.petmountain.com/product/r...lamp-lamp.html because it is ceramic, therefore not affected by extremely hot bulbs, and it comes with a clamp that you can use.

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Originally Posted by Crazy4Herps

http://images.lowes.com/product/027557/027557390927.jpg
Here is a picture of the type of rheostat I use for my bearded dragon. It is very simple; plug it in and plug the light into that. I must warn you; this particular rheostat does not work with flourescent bulbs or strips or heat pads.

As for the brand, there are so many. I used this ZooMed halogen bulb: http://www.petmountain.com/product/r...heat-lamp.html

Again, with fixtures, you can use just about anything. Most household light fixtures would probably work. I reccommend this one: http://www.petmountain.com/product/r...lamp-lamp.html because it is ceramic, therefore not affected by extremely hot bulbs, and it comes with a clamp that you can use.

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Those dimmers work fine with heat pads...

Really? That's weird. I just got 2, one for my BP's heat pad, and one for my soon-to-be BRB's heat pad, but it didn't work. I'll try again...

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Originally Posted by Crazy4Herps

Really? That's weird. I just got 2, one for my BP's heat pad, and one for my soon-to-be BRB's heat pad, but it didn't work. I'll try again...

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How did it not work?

I plugged it in, then plugged the heat pad into it, then turned it up so it was only dimmed the slightest bit. After a half hour or so, I checked the temps, and it was really low. I felt the heat pad and it was off. It went right back on again when unplugged the dimmer...

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Originally Posted by Crazy4Herps

I plugged it in, then plugged the heat pad into it, then turned it up so it was only dimmed the slightest bit. After a half hour or so, I checked the temps, and it was really low. I felt the heat pad and it was off. It went right back on again when unplugged the dimmer...

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What kind of UTH are you using? I have one plugged into a UTH right now and it works fine.

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Originally Posted by Crazy4Herps

Really? That's weird. I just got 2, one for my BP's heat pad, and one for my soon-to-be BRB's heat pad, but it didn't work. I'll try again...

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works just fine on my 8w heat pad on my 10gal with the baby bearded, for a dimming a single device cant beat it.

if your doing 2 devices you can make your own dimmer with a single pole wall dimmer, a wall socket some wiring, a grounded extension chord repair kit, a double wall box and some brains. i made one although im just running the UTH on it right now if i add another pad to help the hot side i can regulate them both in unison.

i should do a parts list and a how to some time.

I'm using a ReptiTherm (ZooMed).

So sorry, Rocky88, I'm invading your thread!

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Originally Posted by Crazy4Herps

I'm using a ReptiTherm (ZooMed).

So sorry, Rocky88, I'm invading your thread!

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same as mine

That's really weird.... and you're using this rheostat?
http://images.lowes.com/product/027557/027557390927.jpg
Maybe its the outlet. I'll try plugging it in at the other side of my room...

The light dimmers work great on UTH. I have used one for over two years without a problem.

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Originally Posted by Crazy4Herps

That's really weird.... and you're using this rheostat?
http://images.lowes.com/product/027557/027557390927.jpg
Maybe its the outlet. I'll try plugging it in at the other side of my room...

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yes that exact same one.

This is really bugging me now... I'm now going to experiment with it a little....

See you all later!

only way i can see this being an issue is if the dimmer plug or UTH plug is not polorized and it was plugged in in reverse. this would cause the UTH not not heat correctly.

Umm... sorry, JeffJ, but that made no sense. Could you maybe say that again in English? lol, sorry, I'm so bad with all the technical stuff...

So, I tried plugging it in a different plug. Then I thought maybe its a dud, so I opened the one I got for the soon-to-be rainbow boa, and that one didn't work either. :(

are the Dimmers and uth's plug keyed? (one prong is fatter then the other) if not you ucan actually reverse the polarity of the uth by plugging it in backwards and it will not work.

my fridge in my garage shocks me when its plugged in backwards. its not keyed so u can plug it in either way. it still runs. but u get shocked every time u grab the handle if the plug is reversed.

if thats not it im stumped, because i have a zoo med think heat pad on this dimmer on my 10 gal with my bearded dragon. and its working. maybe yours is busted or a knock off? china is pumping some garbage out. we got a whole box of counterfeit power strips at my work. we didn't know at first until we got a notice from out supplier. if you put anything that drew over 1000W it would short and catch fire. so a house hold hair dryer would cause it to smoke up.

Wow. That's very interesting; I didn't know you could reverse it. Anyways, I checked and neither the rheostat or the heat pad plug in the other way.

But I think I figured it out. This is really weird. The little red light on my beardie's rheostat (which is the exact same) becomes bright when it is up all the way and goes off when I turn it all the way down. As a last resort, I tried turning the rheostat for my BP all the way "down" so the light went off. I can't be sure yet, but the thermometer above the heat pad went up 4 degrees. If it keeps going up, I guess the problem is solved... I feel pretty stupid that I didn't try that before.

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Originally Posted by Crazy4Herps

Wow. That's very interesting; I didn't know you could reverse it. Anyways, I checked and neither the rheostat or the heat pad plug in the other way.

But I think I figured it out. This is really weird. The little red light on my beardie's rheostat (which is the exact same) becomes bright when it is up all the way and goes off when I turn it all the way down. As a last resort, I tried turning the rheostat for my BP all the way "down" so the light went off. I can't be sure yet, but the thermometer above the heat pad went up 4 degrees. If it keeps going up, I guess the problem is solved... I feel pretty stupid that I didn't try that before.

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ok they are keyed so your good, and DOH! some times its the simple things eh :P and most devices since household current is A/C don't care what way they are plugged in. however it CAN effect some devices and cause unwanted behavior. the electrician wired the hot wire to neutral and vice versa in one of the wall sockets in my house. i have a dvd player and an 42" LCD HD TV that had very odd sound issues when i used it and didnt know why finally tested the wall outlet, repaired what the dummy electrician did and havnt had an issue since. my old tv and dvd player ran on the miss wired socket for years no issues.

Electronics/electricity all makes me so mad sometimes! lol!

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Originally Posted by Crazy4Herps

Electronics/electricity all makes me so mad sometimes! lol!

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i do this stuff for a profession, it is frustrating. but its not so bad all in all there are worse things.

the reason why some things have polarized plugs is because they mess up if they are wired backwords. flexawatt isnt that way it is more like a lightbulb which will work either way. if your electrician wired your stuff backwords well then i wouldnt call him an electrician anymore.

is the dimmer the problem? It could be bad dimmer.

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Originally Posted by JeffJ

i do this stuff for a profession, it is frustrating. but its not so bad all in all there are worse things.

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Wow! Kudos to you!

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Originally Posted by nixer

the reason why some things have polarized plugs is because they mess up if they are wired backwords. flexawatt isnt that way it is more like a lightbulb which will work either way. if your electrician wired your stuff backwords well then i wouldnt call him an electrician anymore.

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house is older then the dirt. it had been wired wrong for literally a decade at least im sure of it. and i agree, he is no electrician or she possibly. it was a pretty big bonehead mistake.