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  1. #1
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    please help! What should my CORRECT ambient air be at?

    Please help with correct ambient air and humidity.

    I’ve heard SOOOO many different “correct temps” everything should be at and it’s driving me crazy.

    I have a male ball around 4 months old, I did lots of research before hand. I’m a research kinda mom. I have him in a glass tank (yes, I know everyone hates them), two hides, UTH under hot hide, set to 93, temp gun reads 87-90 on his substrate, humidity is normally around 57-60, ambient air was usually 78. It’s starting to get colder in Texas (surprisingly) and I was worried my baby was too cold. I read that ambient air should be above 80, I freaked and bought a CHE immediately. I plugged it up and my temp shot up and my humidity shot down (as expected). I was researching whether to get a dimmer or thermostat for my CHE when I read an article that said ambient air at 78 was normal. So now I’m confused and frustrated. I know I didn’t spent $40 for a CHE and was about to spend more money if it’s not needed.

    please answer these for me
    1. Can you have the same ambient air all around your tank? (My hot side was around 79, and 76 on cold side but I read somewhere that it didn’t matter.)
    2. What’s a normal ambient air temp for hot side/cold side IF it’s not supposed to be the same temp all across the tank?
    3. What’s the normal humidity when snake isn’t in shed?
    4. What’s the normal humidity when snakes IS in shed?
    5. If 78 ambient air is too low, should I put my CHE on dimmer or thermostat ( I read that it’s risky on a thermostat because it’s constantly switching the heat off and on and it can cause too much stress on it, causing a fire)
    6. if you suggest thermostat for CHE, what temp do you set it to?
    7. What wattage do you use for your CHE? I have 100 watt bulb and it’s very hot (hoping it’ll tone down with the thermostat)
    8. I noticed the wired lid got very hot to the touch and I’m afraid my ball will burn himself, I couldn’t hold my hand against it for long. He’s a wall climber big time and loves licking the lid. If I need the CHE, do you think with the thermostat at the correct temp, it’ll still be too hot for him to touch? Should I get a lamp stand?

    I read ambient air at 78 is normal but then I read that it should be as high at 90 on hot side and 85 on cool side, so I’m just very confused. If you see someone has already replied, please reply anyways. I like lots of different opinions and don’t be afraid to dumb it down and explain, I wanna learn anything I need to, to take care of my boy. THANK YOU! Also please post links to whatever devices you use or recommend!!

  2. #2
    BPnet Veteran Luvyna's Avatar
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    Re: please help! What should my CORRECT ambient air be at?

    Hello and welcome to BP.net!

    The most important thing is that ALL your heat sources MUST have a thermostat!! If you are not currently using one, please get one immediately and turn off all your heat sources until you have one. Both CHEs and UTHs can get heat spikes which easily burn or kill snakes in a matter of hours if unregulated. You can get relatively inexpensive ones like the Jumpstart Thermostat on Amazon but if you can spare the funds I'd recommend a Herpstat 2. If you can't afford one right away, it would be good to save up for one because they are the most reliable and don't need to be replaced, whereas Jumpstarts may fail after a year or two.

    The general consensus here seems to be that any temperature between 75F-82F is okay for ambient temps (although I prefer 77F-80F in case the thermometer is a degree or two off).
    Some people say 90F for the warm end ambient temps which is also okay, this tends to be the situation if you are using just a CHE or radiant heat panel as your heat source.

    To answer your questions:

    1. Yes
    2. (see above)
    3. 50-65%
    4. 70-80%
    5. CHEs are best on proportional thermostats (like the Herpstat) which regulate the amount of power going to the CHE to control the temperature instead of turning it on or off. This also makes the temperature more even with less fluctuation.
    6. This depends a lot on how well your enclosure holds heat and the ambient room temperature. You need to measure the ambient temps with a separate digital thermometer inside the enclosure as well as the probe for the thermostat. You look at the temperature your thermometer is showing and adjust the thermostat temperature until the thermometer shows the temp you're aiming for.
    7. I use a 100 watt bulb for my CHE hooked up to a Herpstat 2 which is also connected to my UTH. A 100 watt bulb is fine but will be hot enough to kill your snake unless you control it with a thermostat.
    8. Yes, definitely get a lamp stand! There should be a minimum of a few inches between the CHE and any surface your BP can touch, and always test the surfaces your snake can reach with your CHE on full blast to ensure getting burned is impossible before you put your snake into the enclosure. Some people go the extra mile and add a wire mesh guard on the lid to be extra safe.

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    htx.lea (11-19-2020),Hugsplox (11-19-2020),Sonny1318 (11-19-2020)

  4. #3
    BPnet Veteran Hugsplox's Avatar
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    Re: please help! What should my CORRECT ambient air be at?

    It's a struggle keeping temps and humidity correct, which is why I ordered a PVC enclosure to help me out, not suggesting you do the same, just saying I got tired of constantly worrying about it. I had a very similar experience to you when I first brought my guy home, and quickly realized if you go to 10 different sites looking for temp and humidity guidelines, you'll find 10 different answers. The crew on BP.net have talked me off a few ledges when it comes to being concerned over what my parameters are like.

    It's just as bad with other animals as well, I keep crested and leopard geckos and you'll find all kinds of different info about husbandry for them.

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  6. #4
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    Re: please help! What should my CORRECT ambient air be at?

    Thank you thank you thank you.

    So my ambient air is okay? It’s normally 79 on his hot side and 76ish on his cold side. Everything else seems fine, his humidity is 60 normally. What’s the temp the ambient air should NOT go under. I’m going to keep the CHE for the colder nights.

  7. #5
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    Re: please help! What should my CORRECT ambient air be at?

    Quote Originally Posted by Hugsplox View Post
    It's a struggle keeping temps and humidity correct, which is why I ordered a PVC enclosure to help me out, not suggesting you do the same, just saying I got tired of constantly worrying about it. I had a very similar experience to you when I first brought my guy home, and quickly realized if you go to 10 different sites looking for temp and humidity guidelines, you'll find 10 different answers. The crew on BP.net have talked me off a few ledges when it comes to being concerned over what my parameters are like.

    It's just as bad with other animals as well, I keep crested and leopard geckos and you'll find all kinds of different info about husbandry for them.

    well the only issue I’ve heard about glass tanks are concerning humidity but I live in Texas, our humidity is 70+ year round. I didn’t have to do anything for my humidity, it’s been a constant 60. I’ll have to raise it for when he’s in shed but it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. I was just worried about my ambient air temperature which I’m seeing is okay for what it’s at. I was just making sure since I didn’t realize I hadn’t done much research on what temp it should be at.

  8. #6
    BPnet Veteran Luvyna's Avatar
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    Re: please help! What should my CORRECT ambient air be at?

    Quote Originally Posted by htx.lea View Post
    Thank you thank you thank you.

    So my ambient air is okay? It’s normally 79 on his hot side and 76ish on his cold side. Everything else seems fine, his humidity is 60 normally. What’s the temp the ambient air should NOT go under. I’m going to keep the CHE for the colder nights.
    Yes, your range is fine. The minimum ambient air temperature is 75F but it's preferable to have your temps at least 1-2 degrees above this. And as mentioned before, make sure you are using a thermostat with both your UTH and CHE!

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  10. #7
    BPnet Veteran Hugsplox's Avatar
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    Re: please help! What should my CORRECT ambient air be at?

    Quote Originally Posted by htx.lea View Post
    well the only issue I’ve heard about glass tanks are concerning humidity but I live in Texas, our humidity is 70+ year round. I didn’t have to do anything for my humidity, it’s been a constant 60. I’ll have to raise it for when he’s in shed but it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. I was just worried about my ambient air temperature which I’m seeing is okay for what it’s at. I was just making sure since I didn’t realize I hadn’t done much research on what temp it should be at.
    I think you're doing fine. You're lucky on the humidity front, the humidity here in GA in my snake room is 40% so it's a battle for me with glass tanks. Luckily, again thanks to BP.net, I found a few guides on how to alter tops and have gotten a good system worked out. Glass also doesn't hold heat AS well as I'd like, but again as long as you're keeping an eye on everything I think you're okay.

    You did plenty of research as well, don't cut yourself short. I think you just walked into that "10 sites, 10 answers" issue that I ran into and then panicked, which I also did lol. I'm slowly learning that the parameter requirements for these guys to be healthy and "happy" are much easier to stay within than what some of the folks over on Reddit and other sites lead you to believe.

  11. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Hugsplox For This Useful Post:

    ballpythonluvr (11-20-2020),htx.lea (12-05-2020),Luvyna (11-21-2020),Spicey (11-20-2020)

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