Temp and Humidity Problems

[tjones]

Ok I have a 40 gallon breeder tank with two heat pads hooked up to two thermostats, one is set for 82 and one is set for 92. But when i measure the temp with my heat gun on the top of the substrate it reads low 70s for both sides. I am using eco earth and forest bedding mix. The humidity is funny to because when i spray its at about 80% but the next day its at 30%. What can I do? What bedding should i get? I just bought a ton of forest bedding and eco earth so i dont want to waste it. I tried to thin it out but that didnt help. Im thinking about getting unprinted newspaper and putting that underneath a really thin layer of this mixure that i have know. Whould that work???

[Clurin]

If your probes are directly on the mats, then you are losing heat first through the glass, and then through the substrate. If the substrate is reasonably thick, you can lose a lot very quickly. Adjust the warm side up 5-6 degrees and recheck temps. Keep adjusting until you get it right. Be sure to watch your snake though and be sure he sits on top of the substrate and does not burrow. If he burrows, check temps at the depth he goes to and not at the surface.

As for humidity, do you have an open screen top? If so, you need to cover it up with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, vinyl, etc with only enough open space to allow ventilation. This will help hold in the humidity. I've personally used a sheet of acrylic cut to allow a dome lamp and that's it (about an 8.5" square with the lamp on top) and it worked wonders for holding humidity.

[Argentra]

First, The thermostats often have to be set 5-10 degrees higher to get desired temps inside. Since the t-stat probe sits on the UTH itself, that reading will be much higher than what's in the tank. In these cases, it helps to have thermometers with probes to place the probe on the glass over the heat. Then you can set your t-stats based on these readings, supplimenting with the temp gun.

Second, the eco-earth, forest bedding, and any other dirt substrate is totally unnecessary for a ball python. It can harbor bacteria and mold, and is heck to clean! Just use aspen or twice-milled cypress, maybe with a sheet of newsprint paper underneath, and save a lot of headache.

Also, if you have lamps those will kill humidity fast. Make sure your screen top is foil treated (I have a tutorial I can PM if you like) and any lamps you use are at least 8" away from the top.
Insulating the back and both sides of the tank will also help stabilize temps in a glass tank.

[tjones]

Should i move the probes so that they are directly on the inside glass??? Would that help???

So i have a screen top do you think i could get some plexglass make it so it fits in the plastic trim area around the screen and put a whole in it just big enough for the light???

[tjones]

Second, the eco-earth, forest bedding, and any other dirt substrate is totally unnecessary for a ball python. It can harbor bacteria and mold, and is heck to clean! Just use aspen or twice-milled cypress, maybe with a sheet of newsprint paper underneath, and save a lot of headache.

The thing is i just bought that eco-earth and forest bedding, so i dont really want to waste it. So what should i do with it, i still want to use it, can i mix alittle in with aspen or what????

[Argentra]

For the substrate, I would try selling what you have left on CL or something similar. You really shouldn't have it in a BP enclosure at all. Sorry you bought so much...

Probes - The thermoSTAT probe always goes outside the enclosure taped to the heat source (UTH, flexwatt, etc). The thermoMETER probes, which read temps, are best placed inside the enclosure directly on the glass over the heat source. This way, you are reading the hottest temp the snake can come in contact with. The temp on the substrate should be about 1-3 degrees cooler. For example, if your temp on the glass is 95 (and it shouldn't be higher), then you want to aim for 92-93 on the substrate by adding more or less substrate and measuring with the temp gun.

Hope that was clear enough. It can be complicated to explain.

[tjones]

so you think that i should switch to aspen??

[Argentra]

Definitely. Aspen or twice-milled cypress with no sharp pieces. or, you could just go newsprint paper if your humidity is good after treating the screen top.

[DrEwTiMe]

I found that having the probe in the tank to be a lot more annoying as far as keeping it where i place it. I have secured them down but it seems that BP's are good at beating my attempts to keep the probe on the UTH. And if it gets lose in the substrate that could cause some potential health problems for your snake so i just keep it taped to the UTH under the tank.

Humidity- I had a huge problem with this at first( i had my setup running for about a month before ihad my snake).
All i did was put some saran sandwhich wrap over about 90% of the top of the cage and i have a humidifier running into the tank which keeps my humidity at the needed levels.

[Argentra]

Foil treating a screen top is the best method I've found for humidity. I tried plastic wrap and glass on the screen, but foil works best and is cheap.

Thermometer probes should be placed inside under all the substrate, and if you have problems keeping them in one place, try a dab of hot glue over the probe. I use hot glue to keep probes and plants in place with my more active snakes. And it's easy to remove and replace.