Heating question

[bollingers4]

I was wondering if I should leave the heat lamp on for the snake, once we get it, all the time as a heat source or should I also invest in an undercage heater for night time heating purposes? Do the snakes need a period of no light?

I am sure I will come up with many more of my silly questions as it gets closer to my actual snake purches.

[RPlank]

Ball Pythons are nocturnal animals, so it will stress them out to have a light on 24/7. In fact, as far as biologists know at this point, they do not have a physical need for light at all, unlike lizards, who use sunlight to synthesize some vitamins. It is ok to drop temperatures a few degrees at night, but don't turn off all heat sources. I leave my heat sources on 24/7. I would suggest a ceramic heat emitter for heat. This puts out heat, and no light, and fits in a spotlight fixture. You would then need some supplemental lighting for nighttime viewing.

[bollingers4]

Thanks! That's what I thought, just wanted to make sure. Can you get the ceramic heat emitters at any pet shop or would I have better luck in the web? I live in a very small town so my options are limited.

[RPlank]

Since you are in a small town, you will probably find them cheaper on the web. Any of the supply sites under Feeders and Supplies in the Web Links section of the site have them. Plan on spending $25-$35. It's a lot for one shot, but cheaper per year than $6/month on black light bulbs!

[Kara]

If you're combining a ceramic heater with a screen-top cage, make sure you keep an eye on the humidity within the enclosure. You can also head off any humidity issues by providing a moist box for your snake - i.e. a rubbermaid/tupperware container with a hole cut in the side or top, and filled with damp (think wrung-out washcloth) sphagnum moss. That way your snake has access to a humid hide just in case...

K

[BallKingdom]

I've used ceramic heat emmiters, hated them. They make the place bone dry, and can't be used for viewing purposes.

I personally don't "provide" a night time drop. My heat sources run 24/7 and are perfect. I use red bulbs which supposedly reptiles can barely see, but I can. I like to see my herps at night, pitch dark is no good. The heat drop is provided by the drop in temp at my house. It provides it perfectly. So just buy some red bulbs and run them and a heat pad. And use a florescent light. Hehe, I love it that way.

[Jeanne]

I use human heating pads since they are cheaper than the ones made for herps..I have one under the cool side and one under the warm side..reason being, so my warm side has the heat it needs to suppliment the heat emitter I use..and the cool side would get too cool at night if I did not have a little heat under it. I have my water dish sitting over the heat pads a bit to add humidity, it took a while to figure out where and how much to sit over the heat to give off just the right amount of humidity. However I have to fill the dish frequently because of this. But I dont mind since I am always in and out of thier cage. I have not had problems with the heat emitter drying things out...and I have my bp's in a 40 gallon breeder tank.