Guys, I need serious help. I'm about to open up my heart here.

[Akumu0]

I love my BP Charlotte so much. I only want the best for her, even if that means she won't stay with me. Please help. I can't seem to keep her temps right. It gets too cold at night because my wife and I like the cold. I have Charlotte in a 40 gallon tank with UTH and a 100 watt CHE. Still, the ambient air is usually 75 or lower when ac is on. When it is off, it's roughly 81, sometimes more depending on outside temp. There's only two rooms she can be in: our bedroom or living room and I prefer the bedroom because of our cats(they sleep in living room mostly). I'm open to any and all suggestions as long as they are serious and not plain rude. If I can't provide the right shelter for her, then I'll re-home her. I just want what's best for Charlotte. I can't stand the thought of her getting sick or worse.

[bigSAK]

Yeah, you can simply buy a thermostat to control your heating elements so when you have it cold in the house the CHE kicks on, and when it gets too hot the CHE can kick off....

[Oxylepy]

Okay, so you are having heat issues. Let me just go over the top for you and suggest insulation for the tank. There are a lot of other options but here are my own suggestions.


Triple layer aluminum foil wrapped around 3 sides of the tank, and over the screen lid. This should increase the heat somewhat.

Rigid foam board insulation surrounding 3 sides of the tank, with aluminum foil on the screen lid.

Either option will increase the internal temperature by helping to maintain the heat in the tank.

[C.Marie]

You sound very kind and it is obvious you have her best interest at heart no expert at all (just getting my first tomorrow) but have you consider an Animal Plastic cage instead of the forty gallon tank everyone here that has them says the are much easier to get temp/humidity right? Best wishes for you and your family, I am sure someone with much more knowledge will share too

[Akumu0]

I'm sorry. I forgot to say I had a thermostat. I'm so flustered by this I'm not thinking my posts all the way through. I do have a thermostat and it's been working great. I'm also alittle on edge because she went off feed and it's been close to a month now.

[Akumu0]

Animal Plastic cage? I've never even heard of that. Like a tub for a rack system?

[Oxylepy]

Yeah, an enclosure upgrade is superior by a wide margin than my suggestions. But they do have their merit if you want to do something right now.

Keep in mind that ball pythons go off feed frequently, that shouldn't be too big of a worry. The temperatures should


http://www.apcages.com/home/

Check out the terrestrial cages. T3 and T8 are adequate sizes

[Lizardlicks]

So, I understand that being cool is a comfort for you, but you also say you'll do anything to get your snakes temps correct. In this case, the solution seems obvious to me: bump you AC setting up by 2 or 3 degrees. 75 is not a terrible drop in temps, as they can have an ambient of 78 and be happy. Point in fact, I keep my snakes at a cooler ambient as they seem more active. My snakes also stay in my bedroom and I just deal with it being a little warmer than usual.

[Akumu0]

Okay, so you are having heat issues. Let me just go over the top for you and suggest insulation for the tank. There are a lot of other options but here are my own suggestions.


Triple layer aluminum foil wrapped around 3 sides of the tank, and over the screen lid. This should increase the heat somewhat.

Rigid foam board insulation surrounding 3 sides of the tank, with aluminum foil on the screen lid.

Either option will increase the internal temperature by helping to maintain the heat in the tank.

I do remember foil being nice when she was in the smaller tank. I had stopped using it because once we moved, this house was keeping her first tank pretty warm. That could work.

[Akumu0]

So, I understand that being cool is a comfort for you, but you also say you'll do anything to get your snakes temps correct. In this case, the solution seems obvious to me: bump you AC setting up by 2 or 3 degrees. 75 is not a terrible drop in temps, as they can have an ambient of 78 and be happy. Point in fact, I keep my snakes at a cooler ambient as they seem more active. My snakes also stay in my bedroom and I just deal with it being a little warmer than usual.

Its true. I'm fine with the temp rise, but my wife usually complains about heat. I don't like being warm, but I feel like I just deal with it.