Climbing snake

[Stofey]

Hello! My name's Amanda.

So, my baby ball python who I just got today keeps climbing the sides of his tank. It worries me cause he's getting really close to the ceramic heater on the top of his cage. His hot side average 86 degrees Fahrenheit and the cold side is 78 degrees Fahrenheit. he climbs towards the top of his cage on both sides, but I'm worried. I don't want him to get burned by his heater. I was using a heat lamp, but it didn't get his tank warm enough so i bought the ceramic heater which is perfect with my thermostat. But I'm still worried. I think he might just be exploring his tank at the same time cause he's climbing all over. I put a climbing branch in there and he seems to like it a lot. But I'm still worried about the heater, I don't want him getting burned. Unfortunately I can't turn his heater off at night cause it'll get too cold for him and his tank doesn't retain heat well. Anyone have any recommendations? He's currently in a 10G tank but I plan to purchase a 20G tank for him soon. Could it be that his substrate isn't hot enough? I do have a UTH but only one Thermostat which his hooked to his ceramic heat emitter cause it heats up really fast and quite a bit. So I can't use both because my ceramic heat emitter is currently plugged into it. Any help would be great!

[tttaylorrr]

hello, amanda!
i don't use a CHE but i know they shouldn't be touching a surface the snake can also touch. how is it set up on your tank?
a hot spot of 86 is too low; bump that up to at least 90.

[CALM Pythons]

Hello! My name's Amanda.

So, my baby ball python who I just got today keeps climbing the sides of his tank. It worries me cause he's getting really close to the ceramic heater on the top of his cage. His hot side average 86 degrees Fahrenheit and the cold side is 78 degrees Fahrenheit. he climbs towards the top of his cage on both sides, but I'm worried. I don't want him to get burned by his heater. I was using a heat lamp, but it didn't get his tank warm enough so i bought the ceramic heater which is perfect with my thermostat. But I'm still worried. I think he might just be exploring his tank at the same time cause he's climbing all over. I put a climbing branch in there and he seems to like it a lot. But I'm still worried about the heater, I don't want him getting burned. Unfortunately I can't turn his heater off at night cause it'll get too cold for him and his tank doesn't retain heat well. Anyone have any recommendations? He's currently in a 10G tank but I plan to purchase a 20G tank for him soon. Could it be that his substrate isn't hot enough? I do have a UTH but only one Thermostat which his hooked to his ceramic heat emitter cause it heats up really fast and quite a bit. So I can't use both because my ceramic heat emitter is currently plugged into it. Any help would be great!

Hi Amanda, I have a CHE in my 10G that I have hatchlings in. Your temps are good and as long as your CHE is ontop of the screen its fine. I also use tin foil on 3/4 of the lid to hold heat and my CHE is 60 watt... These Balls love to climb, I have branches and they acualy hang from the leaves in my big enclosures. Hahaha Your good dont worry

[Justinhicks]

You need to unplug the UTH until you get a thermostat for it.

[Justinhicks]

Black out the sides and back of the tank and make sure he has a hide on both sides of tank. He's climbing because he's a little stressed I'm sure. And unplug the UTH until you get a thermostat. It can burn your snake or fracture your tank.

[Stofey]

Sorry, I'm pretty sure I said this but he already has a thermostat and it works just fine! I got him a bigger tank since he is a bit bigger than a baby. Not too much, but enough that a ten gallon just seemed way too small for him. He seems to like it. He seems to like climbing a lot so I got him some climbing decorations that double as hides. He seems to love them. He also has a new cave shaped hide on the cooler side of his tank which he loves. I also added some fake plants. He's not climbing and pushing on the top of his tank anymore, he just seems to be climbing and resting on his climbing trees, so I think he just wanted a little more space. I also got an actual reptile tank instead of a normal one. This one has a sliding lid, so I'm not worried about him escaping anymore

Thanks guys for all your help! And I would imagine he is a little stressed, but that's due to the fact that i JUST got him two days ago. I'm just being a worry wart. Though, he ate perfectly fine today and seems content with the new tank. So for now, I think I figured it out. Thank you all so much for your help!!

[CALM Pythons]

You need to unplug the UTH until you get a thermostat for it.

The OP posed what the temps are, 78-88 degree wont burn the snake. A thermostat does need to be run for all heat sources though as some of these UTH even run 125 degrees.

[CALM Pythons]

Get yourself a "Plug in Light Dimmer" $14.95 at LOWES for the CHE and use the Tstat for the UTH.
That way you can lower the CHE with the Dimmer if you need to during Summer and do the same with the UTH with the Tstat

[Justinhicks]

The OP posed what the temps are, 78-88 degree wont burn the snake. A thermostat does need to be run for all heat sources though as some of these UTH even run 125 degrees.

The OP states ambient temps and also stated that only the CHE is plugged into a stat and also states that there is a UTH present. An unregulated UTH will burn a snake and most likely will crack the glass. Do whatever you want though.


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[Stofey]

Sorry about that, I left it out. I do HAVE a UTH. It is currently not in use because of how hot the CHE gets and the fact that I only have one thermostat. Though, he seems to be fine now that it has been a few days in his new tank. He ate perfectly fine and seems to be okay now. I think it was just a bit of stress from being in a new home. :3