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  1. #1
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    Question Enclosure heating question

    Hi, I am new to snake ownership, and I just got a BP about a month ago.
    I currently have an exoterra medium low glass terrarium. I have an UTH on one side with a fluker's clamp lamp with an infrared bulb sitting on the mesh above the same side. I am using a thermostat for the UTH, and I have that set at 92°F (the probe is taped to the glass underneath the substrate, above the area where the UTH is). I am using eco-earth substrate. I have a thermometer on the hot side about an inch above the substrate and a thermometer/humidity gauge on the cool side above the substrate. I have a cool hide, hot hide, and humid hide with spagnum moss.


    Currently my hot side measures around 88-91°F and my cool side sits around 72-78°F. My humidity is between 55-65% (was struggling with that, but found some solutions that have helped).
    I just ordered an infrared thermometer to measure the basking surface temp (not that BPs bask very much).


    My question/concern is: as you go higher in the terrarium (closer to the light bulb) the air temp increases. I measured air temp above the hot hide at 100+°F yesterday. I have read that you should never have air temps more than 95°F. Is that true for the entire height of the terrarium, or just at snake level? If I need to lower that air temp, how do I do that without making the air temp at surface level too low. I tried dimming the light, but the air temp above the substrate quickly fell below the recommended. Also, should I not have the light fixture sitting directly on the mesh of the lid? If not, how high should it be clamped?


    Extra information in case it helps: my snake is doing well. He has eaten 4 times for me (every week except the first) and he is active and able to digest (evidenced by poop). He has no side preference and will go back and forth between hot hide and cool hide freely. He adventures some nights. And sometimes likes to drape himself over the fake plant under the light. Maybe the temps are fine and I'm just worrying, but I would appreciate any advice or help.

  2. #2
    BPnet Veteran Hugsplox's Avatar
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    Re: Enclosure heating question

    First off welcome to the forums and welcome to BP ownership!

    Couple of things to unpack from your post right off. Your probe placement for your UTH is incorrect and dangerous. Below is a link to a thread that will show you how your probe and UTH need to be set up.

    https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...cement-for-UTH

    We do this for a couple of reasons, your snake could move your probe or pee or get some other moisture on it that causes it to malfunction, then you have a UTH running wide open. The way you're currently set up makes the risk of burns pretty high. The second issue with your probe is you say you have it taped in there. You absolutely should not have any tape anywhere inside your enclosure. If the snake gets it stuck on them it can cause some serious injuries. My suggestion right off is to look at the linked thread, and make these corrections right away before you worry about anything else.

    Moving on to your heating questions, you're right you don't want anything in your enclosure surface temperature wise to be over I'd say low 90s. Especially if the temperature stays there consistently. The air temperature on the other hand is obviously going to be higher the closer you get to the lamp. While excessive heat can cause neurological issues, it sounds to me like you're just measuring directly below the light, which of course is going to be much hotter than where your BP is actually hanging out at. I don't want to tell you that this isn't something you need to pay attention to, but you may be worrying needlessly about that. You can, however, pick up a lamp stand that essentially raises the lamp higher off the mesh, and you can reduce your temperatures that way. I prefer to keep my hot side in the mid 80s, but you have to find what works for you and your animal.

    You've got a pretty big fluctuation in your cool side temperatures, but on the level of importance I would say fixing that UTH setup is the number 1 concern you should have. Take care of that, and then we can dial everything else in. I understand it might be a tad aggravating having to pull all that stuff out and redo it, but it's not worth the risk to leave it as is.
    Last edited by Hugsplox; 04-18-2021 at 11:47 AM.

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

    Bogertophis (04-18-2021),dakski (04-19-2021),Julibean (04-18-2021),PitOnTheProwl (04-19-2021)

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