Best Options for Heating and Insulating a Tank?

[LacyB]

I'm a new ball python owner and sadly fell into the trick of "this starter kit is all you'll need" at a reptile show. Only to get home and realize I grabbed the worst options possible after doing further research and reviews. My ball python is in a 10 gallon tank with a UTH hooked up to a thermostat on one side. The temps on the cold side were staying around 77-78 until today when we had a chill and now they're down to 72 with the spot on my hot side remaining at 84 (I've been struggling getting it to go above 85 for a few days now and am not sure what to do there). Her humidity has been fluctuating between 55-65, but the only thing I have to measure is a terrible stick on thermometer + hygrometer combo.

Before anyone says "go grab x thing at walmart" - I spent probably 12 hours one day going to over 15 wal-marts, lowes, homedepots, petcos/petsmart(as a last resort), and even tractor supply places to look for a thermostat of some kind(because I learned I needed that) and also checked for hygrometers and thermometers. Found zip except for one thermometer that I don't trust is entirely accurate but I wanted something because I figured it's better than nothing. So please don't tell me to just go pick one up- believe me once I learned what I had was wrong or inaccurate I tried.

I did eventually find a reptile place and get a thermostat there the following day (after spending the whole night up regulating my snakes UTH myself via the thermometer I got), but thermometer and hygrometer wise what they had was no better than what I have now. So I ordered a temp gun and accurite thermometer + hygrometer combo and am waiting on that. The issue is, today we had a random cold chill and I am thinking a CHE might be what I need for my snake's tank but I don't have my vehicle today as my mom and I work different schedules so the reptile place will be closed by the time I have my vehicle again.

Petco and Petsmart, however, will not be closed so as much as I don't like those places I'm hoping to dash over there quickly. So my question is would a CHE on a dimmer be a good choice? Or would that be a bad choice for when I have to leave for work and my classes? I'm not sure how often temps should be checked if something is on a dimmer rather than a thermostat. And what wattage for a ten gallon tank? I've also read threads on getting plexiglass cut to fit the top but if I need a CHE I'm not sure how I would go about that. I know I can get a bin to, but my UTH was a stick on so I can't remove it. So for the time being until I order a new one that doesn't help me and I'm just trying to get my snake comfortable until I can get these things and purchase better quality versions of things like my UTH and hygrometer.

If the money for a CHE, plexiglass top, and the like for now is a waste- so be it. If it's a means to an end until I can get a more appropriate, healthy setup for my snake I'm not all that worried about buying things that I might not use anymore come next payday.

[RickyNY]

A CHE will work to bring ambient temps up, but you'll need a thermostat for the CHE also. The CHE will lower the humidity inside the tank, but you can counter that will a moist towel over the lid of the tank. You will have to continue to moisten the towel when it dries. A large water dish or two also helps with humidity. Is all trial and error until things get dialed in.
Is too late now, but for future reference or if you get a second snake, buy this things 2 weeks or more before getting the snake. When you bring the snake home, the temps and humidity etc need to be already dialed in and holding consistently.

Good luck.

[luckydoll]

I use a 100W CHE for my 29 gallon tank, so you would probably need less than that for a 10 gallon. I got my CHE and lamp it uses from a Petco, so they should definitely have them at your local one. I don't have any experience with a CHE plugged into a dimmer as mine is plugged into a thermostat, but that is more than trusty enough. As for insulation, I was recently given the great advice to use some 1/2" foam board. I got some 3/4" foam board from my local Home Depot (as they were out of 1/2") and it works great at keeping the heat in the necessary range. I just have to taped around three out of the four sides of the tank.

[LacyB]

A CHE will work to bring ambient temps up, but you'll need a thermostat for the CHE also. The CHE will lower the humidity inside the tank, but you can counter that will a moist towel over the lid of the tank. You will have to continue to moisten the towel when it dries. A large water dish or two also helps with humidity. Is all trial and error until things get dialed in.
Is too late now, but for future reference or if you get a second snake, buy this things 2 weeks or more before getting the snake. When you bring the snake home, the temps and humidity etc need to be already dialed in and holding consistently.

Good luck.

Went ahead and got one. I'll check for a thermostat soon but will have to get a dimmer in the meantime. It had been super hot out the last few weeks (high 80s sometimes dipping into the low 90s) but today specifically we got hit with a cold snap so I'd have had to do this on the fly either way. 100% get where you're coming from though with the two weeks in advance thing and will certainly do so next time. Thank you for the advice! My mom ended up walking in with my temp gun and new thermometer so I'll thankfully be able to monitor her humidity a lot better. I live in Florida so hopefully humidity won't give me too much of a headache.

I use a 100W CHE for my 29 gallon tank, so you would probably need less than that for a 10 gallon. I got my CHE and lamp it uses from a Petco, so they should definitely have them at your local one. I don't have any experience with a CHE plugged into a dimmer as mine is plugged into a thermostat, but that is more than trusty enough. As for insulation, I was recently given the great advice to use some 1/2" foam board. I got some 3/4" foam board from my local Home Depot (as they were out of 1/2") and it works great at keeping the heat in the necessary range. I just have to taped around three out of the four sides of the tank.

I went with a 60 watt and will monitor that with the dimmer for now. Sadly too late to get the foam board because I was more worried about the heat source but will get that ASAP tomorrow.

[SquirmyPug]

A CHE on dimmer will work but you will probably have to adjust it every day. Since you have an UTH for the hot spot, just use the CHE for ambient temp. Put it near the hot side or near the center (you will have to do some testing) and set it so that ambient temp is close to 80 on the cool side and just a little warmer on the hot side.

Where are you in florida? I'm in Jacksonville and could possibly help you out if you're close. I have an extra thermostat I could let you use until you get you own.

[LacyB]

I am home everyday for the entirety of the day usually, so adjusting it daily or even hourly if needed is no problem. My mom also, after all of this and me running out to get a CHE, decided to inform me that we have a space heater in storage that I could have gotten to before it ever even got that cold. So if the CHE seems to make things fluctuate far too much for the ambient in the tank I can go ahead and just boost up the heater and make the ambient of my entire room 78-80% for the time being. I did also go with a 60 watt bulb just because I knew I didn't need anything too powerful.

I have the CHE on the hot side and the temps are 77-78% cool side, 80-82% in the middle, and 88-90% on the warm side with 64-67% humidity and have been for a good 5-6 hours now. I have the CHE on full blast right now and things seem to be settled and moving maybe a degree up or down if at all.

I'm over in the Zephyrhills area, so a bit far but thank you tons for the offer!

[LacyB]

Just to add this question on for when I can get the CHE off the dimmer and on a proper thermostat- where exactly would the probe go for that? I've been measuring the space the area hits with my temp gun for now and adjusting the dimmer based on that for the time being, but I know the thermostat probe won't measure in the same manner once I get that. I've only found maybe 2 threads that even go into this for BPs- almost all just said switch to UTHs but didn't really detail how to set things up if you need both. The other that did talk about it varied from putting the probe on the substrate, to partway down the enclosure wall, to on top of a hide, or to right on the top of the tank right under the CHE. So admittedly 100% lost there as I can't even figure out a proper middle ground because each bit of placement advice is drastically different. The only consistent thing was making sure the probe is secure but that I knew already.

[SVT Wylde]

It sounds like you are on the right track. Those temps and humidity sound a lot better and I’m sure your snake is much happier.

What kind of substrate are you using?

Christmas is just around the corner so that’s a good time to ask for a Herpstat or similar thermostat. I have a Herpstat 2 and it’s worth every penny in terms of convenience and control of you snakes habitat. There are also several other options if you don’t want to invest that much money at this time.

[SVT Wylde]

Just saw your latest post. The probe for my heating pad is sandwiched between the heating pad and the bottom of the tank. The probe for my CHE is suction cupped to the side of the tank about 2 inches above the substrate directly beneath the hotspot.

I have my thermostat set to 84 degrees but that creates a hotspot of 88-90 below my CHE. Your results may vary so you just have to adjust the temp on the thermostat and verify the actual surface temp with a heat gun.

You can place the probe in several different places and probably get the same results. That’s just how I do it.

[LacyB]

I'm using a coconut chip bedding right now as I was told it was one of the better beddings to use since it can hold humidity well.

I'll be looking into getting a Herpstat for sure! The one I have now seems to do the trick fine- a Zoomed digital thermostat that lets me view the temperature and set alarms if things get too high or low.

And alright, when I get my thermostat for the CHE I'll give that a go. Thank you for the advice!