55 gal tank *almost* ready - what am I missing?

[metzler01]

My setup:
55gal tank, covered half w/ a towel, half with the domes.
(1) under tank heater (big)
(1) 150 wt ceramic heater in lg reflector dome
(1) 100wt heat light bulb
substrate is newspaper with green carpet stuff (you buy in pet store) over top n(previous dead snake would regularly accidentally eat the cypress)
1 water bowl & 1 wet towel in a bowl
1 hide (in the warm spot), 1 driftwood climbing branch.

Issue:
Day heat in hot area is 89-90. Night heat is 80-82.
Humidity wildly moves from 30 - 55.
We've had a BP in the past who got pnemonia & got dehydrated & had to be put down by the vet. It was young & may have been sick when we got it. At that time, the heat was only about 86. I don't want to kill this next snake.
***Tonight I am putting aluminum foil under the towelled half of the tank to see if that raises the temp.

Question
Do I need to get the tank a few degrees higher and if so, how (other than the foil)
Do I need more newspaper under the green carpet?
Should I use fake leaves & branches from the pet store to decorate?

Thanks

[Zedd]

Do you have anything contoling the UTH? if not you need something

[metzler01]

UTH is on 24/7. I do have a timer electrical socket but it doesn't look like I can afford to have it off for any length of time.

[Zedd]

you still need something to regulate how hot it gets. UTH's can get to over 110 ( probably hotter ) and if you bp gets into contact with that temp, it will burn him/her

[bman123]

Are you buying a adult?

[MitsuMike]

you still need something to regulate how hot it gets. UTH's can get to over 110 ( probably hotter ) and if you bp gets into contact with that temp, it will burn him/her

Actually 130 plus and yes a thermostat is a must. Cheap, reptitemp 500R and then a little higher is the ranco and if u want a proportional tstat then a helix or herstat is what ur looking for

Also u need 2 hides if not more, depending on size of bp.
Why do u have 2 heat bulbs? No need. Also there should be no night drop at all.
With a heat bulb going to be an issue.

[uwanaknome]

Get a dimmer switch from home depo to regulate the temp of the UTH. I also got a temp gauge from there and put the sensor on the UTH so you know the exact temp of the UTH. You dont want to burn your BP... The temp gage I got shows humidity too.

Personally I dont use lamps because it drys out the air in the tank, and dry air will make it tough for your BP to shed. I use 2 under tank heaters and have two separate temp gauges to monitor the heat. When the temp inside my house goes up I will see him move from one side of the tank to the other because he gets too hot. I never let the hot side exceed 95 and the cold side below 70. I am usually at 80 cold side and 90 hot side. I have a hide on each side of the tank so he can be comfortable and hidden no matter what temp he prefers.

[Zedd]

check out the link below. It is to the caresheet... a must read!

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

[metzler01]

Are you buying a adult?

I am going to a well known pet store that works with fish and reptiles. They get most of their reptiles from breeders in the area.

I will be getting a young one.

[metzler01]

Why do u have 2 heat bulbs? No need. Also there should be no night drop at all.
With a heat bulb going to be an issue.

One is a heater and the other provides light & heat. When I don't have the light\heat bulb the temp only gets to about 84.