Proper Mature BP Habitat?

[Ed Chisholm]

I originally posted the following on a thread dealing with a trip my BP had to the Vet. Out of that dialog it became obvious that I needed to make some changes to my BP's habitat. I made the changes and posted the following:

"Hello all. I followed the advice that you all provided, and I made some changes to my BP's habitat. I took a new picture, located here @ http://www.ball-pythons.net/gallery/...2/habitat.jpg:
I now have two identical hides, one on the cool side, one on the warm side. I have a accu-rite thermometer & hydrometer. I mounted the temperature probe next to the heat control probe on the hot side on the tank floor (under substrate). The tree is gone, but I left her branch for help shedding (have seen her using in in the past). I am in the process of tweaking the settings, but so far after one night I have the following readings. Hot side is averaging 89 degrees (86 - 92) depending on the heating element going off and on. The cold side stays right about 72 degrees. The humidity started high around 70%, but I am getting it lower. This morning it was at 66%.

I purchased the accu-rite at Lowe's, it was only $12.00.

Still looking for advice to ensure our snake is happy & healthy."

I continue to have a minor problem with my "hot" side being in the right temperature zone, but my "cold" side being slightly too cold.

[Ed Chisholm]

[QUOTE=Ed Chisholm;1023440]I originally posted the following on a thread dealing with a trip my BP had to the Vet. Out of that dialog it became obvious that I needed to make some changes to my BP's habitat. I made the changes and posted the following:

"Hello all. I followed the advice that you all provided, and I made some changes to my BP's habitat. I took a new picture, located here @ http://www.ball-pythons.net/gallery/.../2/habitat.jpg
I now have two identical hides, one on the cool side, one on the warm side. I have a accu-rite thermometer & hydrometer. I mounted the temperature probe next to the heat control probe on the hot side on the tank floor (under substrate). The tree is gone, but I left her branch for help shedding (have seen her using in in the past). I am in the process of tweaking the settings, but so far after one night I have the following readings. Hot side is averaging 89 degrees (86 - 92) depending on the heating element going off and on. The cold side stays right about 72 degrees. The humidity started high around 70%, but I am getting it lower. This morning it was at 66%.

I purchased the accu-rite at Lowe's, it was only $12.00.

Still looking for advice to ensure our snake is happy & healthy."

I continue to have a minor problem with my "hot" side being in the right temperature zone, but my "cold" side being slightly too cold.

I guess you can click on my images since I only have two, and see the before & after on the habitat. I am not very skilled at this, please be patient with me.

[Jombolo]

your picture link does not work.

Never mind. second link works, first one does not.

[Ed Chisholm]

I am not very good at the posting thing. Hopefully I will improve.

[BeastMaster]

What type of enclosure are you using? I can't tell from the pic. Thanks.

[Ed Chisholm]

The enclosure is Black Plastic, PVC I believe with two sliding glass front "doors." It has two covered vent holes in the back, one with a exhaust fan that is on a timer to come on several times a day to keep air fresh and humidity controlled.

[Kaorte]

For the hot side, if it is too low, just turn up the t-stat. I wouldn't go hotter than 94*.

As for keeping your ambient temps up (or cool side) Maybe you could get another UTH or a RHP and mount it to the back of your enclosure?

Or you could get a CHE, but those eat humidity.

[Ed Chisholm]

Great advice, but leads to more questions. My enclosure is pretty large, but even so, if I add another UTH I don't think there would be a "cool" side, it would be abot 70% warm underneath (if I used the same thermostat).

Or, maybe that would be good, just get another thermostat control for the second UTH?

Since the RHP can go on the side, which side would be best (hot side side, hot side-back, cool side-side? I assume the "cool" side-side since that is the area that just isn't quite warm enough, but don't want to make a mistake. Also, can it be plugged in to the same thermostat temperature controller, or would I need a different one to run each?

Probably a lot of experimenting would solve this, but I would really appreciate the advice from all of you experienced people out there so I do not spend more money for something that might not work.

[frankykeno]

While the Acu-Rite is going to be a big help to you Ed, with an enclosure that large I'd think about investing in a decent temp gun. There's just a lot of space there to monitor and the Acu-Rite can only do so much.

What kind of temps are you looking at in the room this enclosure is in. That does affect the enclosure somewhat. Sometimes moving it out of a draft or into a naturally warmer room will give you the extra few degrees you need. The other option is two heat sources, one for each end, set at specific temps. It's a bit of a hassle but that does come with choosing a larger, display type enclosure for these snakes.

I'd suggest if you continue to have issues with reaching and stabilizing temps that you contact Rich at www.reptilebasics.com Tell him exactly what kind of enclosure you have (dimensions and construction), the temp of the room it's in, substrate depth, etc. He's an expert in this field and very likely can offer you a solution at a very reasonable cost.

[Ed Chisholm]

I followed your advice and sent Rich a message. My enclosure is made from Black PVC with two sliding glass doors in the front. It is 36" wide, 18" tall & 18" deep. I use Cyrpress Bedding, and I would estimate it is about 1/2" thick. The "cool" side remains around 70 degrees, and the room temperature is around 68 degrees (the warmest room in the house). The room temperature will gradually be going up now that we are in spring and the days are getting warmer. I expect the cage temperature will raise as well soon since we keep our house around 78 - 80 degrees in the summer. The great news is that she had a great feeding response last night, she hit the rat as soon as it was presented. After she ate it she was looking for more!!!