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Re: newbie help...with set up
check this out. it was a sticky at the top of this forum.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=32800
cass, does a really good job with glass tank setups.
vaughn
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Registered User
Re: newbie help...with set up
re: the sticky.....it looks like there is very little space for ventilation in the picture of the covered screen...once the light sits in the opening...is this OK?
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Registered User
Re: newbie help...with set up
Hiyah!
Thanks for posting the set up pictures. My setup is similar. 29 gallon tank with the 3/4 of the lid closed in by a plastic insert. I have the undertank heater on one side which is actually the "cool side" I have Cyrus's cave over that. The other side I have a ceramic heater (100 w) and his log. His water dish is in the middle. I was caught off guard by the changes in winter ambient temp and he suffered a respitory infection. I switched from a red infared light source and I am trying to see which product produces enough heat. He is on antibiotics now and is doing well. I also changed substrates to increase humidity from indoor/outdoor carpeting to lizard litter (humidity went from 55 to 65). He has always eaten well (a mouse a week) however my Vet feels he is skinny but I am not so sure. He is about 1lb 3 onces and is around 32 inches long. He is around 1year and 3 months old. I have had him 8 months and this is the first health scare we have had. I am very concerned about the temps in his tank and would welcome additional suggestions. Cool end is 80 degrees with his cave temp around 85. The Hot end is now at 90 top of log and around 82 lower level. Do you think I should fully cover the tank bottom with under tank heaters? This heat is constant and I only have digital thermometers to check temp and humidity. I will check out the termostats.
Sorry for the long post but it is really difficult to find people with accurate
info.
Thanks
Tina
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BPnet Veteran
Re: newbie help...with set up
Originally Posted by Wholuvsyah
Hiyah!
Thanks for posting the set up pictures. My setup is similar. 29 gallon tank with the 3/4 of the lid closed in by a plastic insert. I have the undertank heater on one side which is actually the "cool side" I have Cyrus's cave over that. The other side I have a ceramic heater (100 w) and his log. His water dish is in the middle. I was caught off guard by the changes in winter ambient temp and he suffered a respitory infection. I switched from a red infared light source and I am trying to see which product produces enough heat. He is on antibiotics now and is doing well. I also changed substrates to increase humidity from indoor/outdoor carpeting to lizard litter (humidity went from 55 to 65). He has always eaten well (a mouse a week) however my Vet feels he is skinny but I am not so sure. He is about 1lb 3 onces and is around 32 inches long. He is around 1year and 3 months old. I have had him 8 months and this is the first health scare we have had. I am very concerned about the temps in his tank and would welcome additional suggestions. Cool end is 80 degrees with his cave temp around 85. The Hot end is now at 90 top of log and around 82 lower level. Do you think I should fully cover the tank bottom with under tank heaters? This heat is constant and I only have digital thermometers to check temp and humidity. I will check out the termostats.
Sorry for the long post but it is really difficult to find people with accurate
info.
Thanks
Tina
1 lb 3 oz converts to about 538 grams (how most of us snake people weigh our snakes ) . Doesn't sound too bad. At that size though, your snake could easily be eating more than one mouse a week. You could try offering an additional mouse as soon as he finishes the first, or you could try a small rat.
As far as your tank heat goes, the ground level on the warm side needs to be around 90 to 92 degrees (while fighting an RI, maybe a few degrees higher). With what you described, your cool side and warm side are actually reversed! 85 cool side, 82 warm side. You really need to have an under tank heater (UTH) on the warm side to get that ground level temp up. You'll have a hard time getting rid of the RI otherwise. Is your current UTH on a rheostat (dimmer switch)? If so, just bump it up til you get the ground level at 90 - 92 (92 - 95 during RI) degrees, and start calling that the warm side. Otherwise, you should probably get a larger UTH for the warm side and dimmer switches (lamp dimmers) or thermostat to control the output. With proper under tank heat, you really don't need heat from above, just light. So you could use a low wattage incandescant bulb for light.
You did good bumping up the humidity. Its critical that you get the warm side heat raised, keeping the humidity up there. Otherwise, your snake will probably not beat the RI.
Steve
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Registered User
Re: newbie help...with set up
Ok,
I originally had my tank set up with the warming light and the uth on
the same side. My darn snake would never go over to that side. I would
always find him under his log freezing to the touch. I switched things up to
try to get a minimum tank temp of 82 degrees. If the cool side falls below 80 degrees I will get an UTH for that side and call it good. My house is usually a little chilly even though I try to keep the temp at 70. I am upping his feeding
schedule to every four days. I know he will eat a small rat so will try to switch him over to rats. Is is better to feed him larger prey or feed him more frequently? He has no trouble with 1 med-large mouse every four days. He never had any trouble killing on first strike but this last feed it took four attempts. Maybe the mouse was just fast? He has no mucus I only saw it once and he seemed to cough it all up so that is good. I think the antibiotic/
temp increase caught RI in time. With misting I am able to maintain 65 humidity so that is good.
Thanks for replying. I appreciate your comments.
Thanks
Tina
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BPnet Veteran
Re: newbie help...with set up
Originally Posted by snakemum
re: the sticky.....it looks like there is very little space for ventilation in the picture of the covered screen...once the light sits in the opening...is this OK?
Yes, there is open space in the corners of the cutout, and also the light itself is ventilated. The screen lid doesn't fit so tight to prevent airflow, and the heat from the light will create airflow. Heat rises, drawing air through and around the light, and fresh air will come into the tank in the cooler areas.
Steve
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