newbie defacto snake owner tank too cool!

[jlatenight]

Hi All, At my son’s prompting, my wife bought him a BP, and a Zoo Med tank kit w/ “everything you need”, which is clearly not the case... As I suspected, primary care-taking has fallen to me, and I know almost nothing about caring for snakes. I’m already cringing at the replies I’m going to get from all the pros out there, so take it easy on me. I’m trying to improve our snakes quality of life.

We’ve had her for a few months now, and she’s eaten a few times, and pooped maybe twice. After some trial and error, I think I have a good system for humidity; I wet a dish towel, lay it over the screen, and cover it with a piece of plexiglass. The problem is I can’t get the temperature right….it’s WAAAY too cool. Consequently (I’m assuming), she’s coiled-up in her hide ALL of the time and almost never comes out. I have the hide in the middle of the tank, I have a heat pad underneath the left side, and a heat lamp resting on the mesh top on the left as well. I have an infrared heat gun, and it reads 70F in the middle, and like 75F on the left (warm) side. With a heat pad and a red heat lamp that are both on 24x7, how could it be so cool still? What adjustments would you make to make it warmer? No idea the wattage of the heat pad, but the lamp is Ambient temp in our house mid-winter is cool, like 64F, so that certainly doesn’t help. I can’t jack the temp just for the snake unfortunately. I'd post pictures of the setup, but I'm too new.



I’m also thinking the tank they sold us is way too small too. She’s like 3.5 to 4ft long in a 20 gal tank. I need a bigger tank, right?


I’ve had some small issues with mites here and there, so I got kind of spooked about loose substrate, thinking that might be a source, so I use paper towels to line the floor of the tank. Would you recommend Aspen snake bedding instead?
Assuming I can get the temp jacked-up, should the light be on a timer so it’s out some of the time to maintain proper biorhythms, or does it not matter? I also don’t want it to get too cool without it on.



Thanks to ALL for your help!! I’m sure Samantha thanks you too!

[tttaylorrr]

welcome!


ALL sources of heat MUST be regulated. you need a thermostat to control the under tank heater (UTH from now on) as well as something to control the bulb, or you risk cooking your snake. what size bulb are you using? you might need a bigger bulb. how are you measuring your temperatures? the readings could be incorrect.

the saying goes: "a hiding ball is a happy ball". it's a good thing she stays hidden, but that's also because she has no heat anywhere else in the enclosure.

you need 2 identical hides, and you need to create a thermal gradient.

read up here: ball python care sheet
and here: how to set up a 20 gallon tank
but the photos for that thread are here.

read up and if you still have questions we will be more than happy to help.

EDIT: lights on a timer are not necessary. regular daylight that comes in the room is enough.

[Sunnieskys]

Oh boy....way to cool. What size is you uth? You need a thermostat to regulate all heat sources. If your uth is on the left move the hide to the left over the uth (when you get a thermostat). Are you taking the uth temp at the glass? You need two identical sides one on the hot spot one on the cool side. Get a Che (ceramic heat emitter or bulb) your uth will not provide you ambient temps.

[Craiga 01453]

Welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of snake keeping, granted it wasn't your choice. I commend you for putting in the effort to provide the snake with a good home.

tttaylorrr is spot on, and one of the forum's best members for helping newbies and experienced keepers alik, so you're in good hands. Like she said, read up on the husbandry stickies she linked and go from there.

It sounds to me like you're really close. My guess is you need to up the strength of your bulb to probably a 100 watt. I use the dark purple ones because I can let them run all night and it remains dark in the enclosure. During the day, the lighting from the windows in the room are plenty for a BP.
Your UTH is there solely to provide a hot spot to aid in digestion and not for ambient temps.
VERY IMPORTANT: ALL heat sources should be regulated by a thermostat to prevent dangerous heat spikes which can cause serious burns or worse to your snake.

As for tank size, yeah, you'll need to upgrade, especially for a female. If you're going to stick with glass a 40 gallon breeder tank is ideal due to its floor space.

We're here to help, so feel free to ask away.

And I don't suspect anybody will be hard on you, you're stepping up and providing a good home for the snake rather than letting it suffer or just dumping it off on Craigslist or something. So, good on you!!

[jlatenight]

Thanks everybody! I knew I'd get tons of good help here. Ok, so I'm testing the temps using a infrared heat gun (one of the types with a laser) The UTH is an 8x6 Zoo Med Repti Therm. It says it's 8watts....should I get the next size up which is 8x12 and 16watts? I will fit under this tank, but I need a bigger tank anyway. So I assume without a thermostat, it's cranked at full power all the time, right? I'll get a thermostat for it! So the thermostat probe would lay right over the pad in the tank, right? I would set that to 90F? How do I know if the larger UTH can get there? Maybe I should put the smaller pad under the right side since it only does like 72-3?

The bulb is 100watts and red.

She barely fits in the plastic hide I have, but if she fits one way or the other, she's fine with it, right? I have two of them so I'll def put them both in. Oddly, I used to have two in there, and she never went into the one on the left over the heat pad, but it seems like it's only 75. Maybe it's WAY hotter inside the hide and especially once she's in there?? Thus the need for a thermostat huh.

[zina10]

Do yourself a favor and don't spend more money on more glass enclosures.

They are an endless source of frustration, and the bigger they get, the more difficult to heat correctly and keep humidity up.

Fix up what you have for now, and then order a PVC or Plastic snake enclosure (some take a while to ship out, hence the fix what you got for now..). Add to that the correct heat tape and thermostat and unless your house is kept under 75 degrees that may be all you need. You can add a light or radiate heat panel to it, if needed.

Your snake will be happier, you will be happier. If you add a substrate that holds humidity (any of the coco substrates for example) you will only have to mist every 3 days or less, very lightly. The snake will have the more private/dark enclosure it craves.

Then you can get a few hides and even some deco if you like.

[MD_Pythons]

Once you get your tank issues ironed out, I would set your snake up temporarily in a tub and get a PVC tank. Glass tanks are the worst for heat and humidity, a 41qt is a enough for an adult bp. Also, CHEs are better than the bulbs they last longer and don't produce light which could stress out your snake.

[tttaylorrr]

So the thermostat probe would lay right over the pad in the tank, right?

big rookie mistake. the thermostat probe should not be somewhere that it can get wet, poo/peed on, or pushed as this can cause a misreading and create a temp spike.

Oddly, I used to have two in there, and she never went into the one on the left over the heat pad, but it seems like it's only 75. Maybe it's WAY hotter inside the hide and especially once she's in there?? Thus the need for a thermostat huh.

this is likely because your enclosure is freezing, so she stayed where there was warmth.

[CALM Pythons]

welcome!


ALL sources of heat MUST be regulated. you need a thermostat to control the under tank heater (UTH from now on) as well as something to control the bulb, or you risk cooking your snake. what size bulb are you using? you might need a bigger bulb. how are you measuring your temperatures? the readings could be incorrect.

the saying goes: "a hiding ball is a happy ball". it's a good thing she stays hidden, but that's also because she has no heat anywhere else in the enclosure.

you need 2 identical hides, and you need to create a thermal gradient.

read up here: ball python care sheet
and here: how to set up a 20 gallon tank
but the photos for that thread are here.

read up and if you still have questions we will be more than happy to help.

EDIT: lights on a timer are not necessary. regular daylight that comes in the room is enough.

This ^^^^ and at some point a larger enclosure will be easier and needed. A 3.5/4' snake cant do anything in a 20 gallon tank with 2 hides and a Water dish. If this is going to be partly your new friend id grab a AP (animal plastics) T10 pvc enclosure for $240 delivered. You would end up enjoying the Snake. Hear are 2 AP enclosures stacked to give you a idea and a Link to the T10 i mentioned for you.
http://www.apcages.com/home/





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[Pengil]

If you do end up getting a PVC enclosure at some point, be aware that some of them can come with quite a bit of lead time. If you'd like to bump her up to something bigger before then, tubs are a great option, and a LOT cheaper than buying a larger tank (my 32qt was maybe $6 at Target, but for a female you might to go at least one more size up, if not two). If you end up going this route, I recommend getting a melamine board to attach your UTH to- the probe can just go under the UTH (you can even route a little channel for said probe if power tools are your jam), and then nothing is stuck to your tub.

You're going to want a thermostat that you can plug both your UTH and heat lamp to, so a Herpstat EZ2 would probably be your best option. Herpstats are very reliable, and this one is very easy to use (I have the EZ1). Plus, if you end up going PVC later, you won't need to buy another t-stat to hook your heat panel and heat tape to. Shell out the extra $1 for the metal probe.

And if you want to know for sure where your ambient temps and humidity are, these are awesome. ---> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M252EWA