Newbie and question

[Bumblebeeball]

Hello. Bumblebee Ball she's 4 months old housed in a 55 gallon aquarium. First random question is how do I post pic?

Next question is where is a good place to put my digital thermometer hydrometer sensor. The sensor itself is on the end of a white cable. I have it under the repti bark very close to the heater (reading high temps right now) and thought to move it to the top of the substrate then thought about contacting this forum to see what you all think. Thanks!

[anicatgirl]

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-Post-Pictures

This. And typically you should have a thermometer between the heat pad and glass. But in this case I guess I would say right against the glass. IDK about the humidity measuring part, I've been told it should be suspended to measure the air humidity.

[Eric Alan]

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-Post-Pictures

This. And typically you should have a thermometer between the heat pad and glass. But in this case I guess I would say right against the glass. IDK about the humidity measuring part, I've been told it should be suspended to measure the air humidity.

The thermoSTAT probe is what goes between the glass and the heat pad (on the outside). The thermometer probe goes directly above the heat pad inside of the tank, measuring the hottest temp your snake has access to.

OP - You said you're seeing high temps. How high are you talking? Anything 95 or over is unsafe for your BP and you need to get a thermostat to be able to control the temperature of that heat pad.

[Bumblebeeball]

The thermoSTAT probe is what goes between the glass and the heat pad (on the outside). The thermometer probe goes directly above the heat pad inside of the tank, measuring the hottest temp your snake has access to.

OP - You said you're seeing high temps. How high are you talking? Anything 95 or over is unsafe for your BP and you need to get a thermostat to be able to control the temperature of that heat pad.

With the probe on the glass ( only one probe, how does it read humidity and temp?) I got 111 F. With that I feel the top of the Repti Bark; felt fine like a warm west African day and I've heard these dudes do not dig.. What's up with that knowledge?

[Bumblebeeball]

Just picked her up yesterday.

[Joe balls]

Awesome snake, great place to start your ball python addiction. I check the package of you hydrometer and see where the sensor is. And place it appropriately. The probe most likely is just for heat. Ball pythons can and will dig and belly burns are a big concern because ball pythons don't seem to feel the burning pain Untill they are badly burnt and blistered! So be careful and get a rheostat to adjust and fine tune your heat pad. 111 is warm but unregulated I temped one at 140.
good luck and have fun with your new Bp. I give you 2 months max before you'll have another one.

[Eric Alan]

With the probe on the glass ( only one probe, how does it read humidity and temp?) I got 111 F. With that I feel the top of the Repti Bark; felt fine like a warm west African day and I've heard these dudes do not dig.. What's up with that knowledge?

Wow! 111 is WAY too hot. Don't take this the wrong way, but at that temperature burns and neurological damage pretty much a guarantee - even in the short term. Unplug the heat pad until you have a way to control it. Cooler temperatures are far more safe than exposing them to that kind of heat.

As far as humidity goes, most dual readout units read temperature only at the probe and humidity is then read from the display unit itself.

For the "knowledge" part: 1) If you can feel warmth with your hand (especially at the top of the substrate), it's too hot - hands are poor indicators of the proper temperatures for BPs anyway; 2) A warm day where these guys are from is in the low 90s (it may actually feel cool to the touch); 3) The substrate should not be thick enough for them to dig when using a heat mat (or any UTH) - just think enough to cover the bottom and that's about it; and 4) They will absolutely move the substrate around in their search to thermoregulate (control their body temperature).

Please take some time to read at least the Caresheet link and Glass Tank link in my signature below. They will go a long way in helping you steer towards a much more welcoming home for your BP.

Best regards,
Eric

[Bumblebeeball]

Wow! 111 is WAY too hot. Don't take this the wrong way, but at that temperature burns and neurological damage pretty much a guarantee - even in the short term. Unplug the heat pad until you have a way to control it. Cooler temperatures are far more safe than exposing them to that kind of heat.

As far as humidity goes, most dual readout units read temperature only at the probe and humidity is then read from the display unit itself.

For the "knowledge" part: 1) If you can feel warmth with your hand (especially at the top of the substrate), it's too hot - hands are poor indicators of the proper temperatures for BPs anyway; 2) A warm day where these guys are from is in the low 90s (it may actually feel cool to the touch); 3) The substrate should not be thick enough for them to dig when using a heat mat (or any UTH) - just think enough to cover the bottom and that's about it; and 4) They will absolutely move the substrate around in their search to thermoregulate (control their body temperature).

Please take some time to read at least the Caresheet link and Glass Tank link in my signature below. They will go a long way in helping you steer towards a much more welcoming home for your BP.

Best regards,
Eric

Thank you for the reply. Just the reply I was looking for. Foward thinking, factual and informative. Well let me tell you what I'm doing. I will drop the hydrometer thermometer in the tank. Too bad because it looks terrable. I want the humidity reading. Next iI'm going to do research on glass aquarims from the post above thank you also. Then im going to get some things at the store to controll my heat pads temp, a timer and a switch to controll my foger. The switch will conect to the power cord giving me convenience. I am not pluging and unpluging like I do with my fish aquariums... So with all of this I think I will be set. Hook line and sinker. What do I need to control heat pad heat? Thanks again. I want to see pictures of peoples snakes.

[Eric Alan]

What do I need to control heat pad heat?

My recommendation is a Herpstat brand thermostat from Spyder Robotics (a Herpstat 1), but there are other options out there that will work (but with less accuracy and less safety features). In the set-up thread it talks about a couple of them.

[Bumblebeeball]

Wow! 111 is WAY too hot. Don't take this the wrong way, but at that temperature burns and neurological damage pretty much a guarantee - even in the short term. Unplug the heat pad until you have a way to control it. Cooler temperatures are far more safe than exposing them to that kind of heat.As far as humidity goes, most dual readout units read temperature only at the probe and humidity is then read from the display unit itself. For the "knowledge" part: 1) If you can feel warmth with your hand (especially at the top of the substrate), it's too hot - hands are poor indicators of the proper temperatures for BPs anyway; 2) A warm day where these guys are from is in the low 90s (it may actually feel cool to the touch); 3) The substrate should not be thick enough for them to dig when using a heat mat (or any UTH) - just think enough to cover the bottom and that's about it; and 4) They will absolutely move the substrate around in their search to thermoregulate (control their body temperature).Please take some time to read at least the Caresheet link and Glass Tank link in my signature below. They will go a long way in helping you steer towards a much more welcoming home for your BP. Best regards, Eric

I looked at the set up portion and I will do everything true, now does it matter the color of the paper to cover up sides and back? I want to use black. The therm hygro in the presentation had two probes mine has one it a KTJ model number TA316; is it a necessity to get one with two probes? I don't want to buy another and with my understanding you only need temp from heat pad and RH from inside.