pet store (please read)

[chrispouliot55]

well i went to the petstore to get a heatpad for my new tank. well they didnt have the size i needed. but she said not to use one for a ball python. that they like to burrow to get warm or cold. she said to use nothing but lights. i use a light just for the day. she said it helps them shed better with the lights. i think that she is full of crap!!!!!!! i have always used a heat pad. what do yall think?

[flynn]

...i think that she is full of crap...

I agree. Although you can easily make heat-lamps work, they deffinately do not help with sheds.

[chrispouliot55]

yeah. she said they like to go under bedding? i was like uhhhhh? nooo? mine dont. she said well thats my experience. but its just a local pet store. i really just get rats from them anyway

[Freaky_Ferret]

I think that my balls have NEVER burrowed, that's more a corn snake thing...but that being said, I've had both UTH and Light heat sources and haven't noticed a difference one way or another. My first ball is still in an all light heated tank and my female is in a Sterlite container with a UTH, both are happy and healthy, though controlling humidity is a lot harder with light heat sources and they break. So for aesthetics, I prefer light, for function, UTHs seem to work better.

[chrispouliot55]

yeah i use both. i run the uth 24/7 and the light just during the day. its a blacklight though. i have to run it at night cause they didnt have the size uth i needed. the blacklight works just fine during the day though. she gets light from my window. so its all good

[Neal]

I've honestly never seen a bp burrow. The lady that told you that was ignorant, and whoever told her what she knows was ignorant before that. Think about it this way ok? BP's are noctournal, they really don't see much light, and I would assume because they don't fancy it all too much which is the reason they stay hidden during the day, so technical a light is against their natural habitat. I wouldn't even use a light for just the day, especially if you get the temperatures good, and you can do that with a UTH.

[chrispouliot55]

yeah. i use a blacklight. so it doesnt do much at all. its just a heat source. but i do need the light cause the uth i get dont have temp control. so i use both to get the temp right. she seems to like the light to. when she wants to get real warm she lays on top of her hide closer to it.

[Neal]

You can get a dimmer switch from lowe's or home depot, so you can control how hot it gets.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_242008-207-4...roduct_price|1

It looks something similiar to that, but it has a little knob, you just have to make sure it has a male & female hookup, so you can plug your UTH into the female side.

[thegoalie22]

Actually, to have a good shed, having lamps is the worse thing you could do.

[chrispouliot55]

yup. thats true. but i keep the humidity up. she sheds pefectly and thanks for the help yall!