Keeping Snakey Warm!

[rosedeviant]

Hi everyone! I'm brand new to the forum and also to owning snakes. I've done my homework and my ball has been vet-checked and everything's dandy. Except I need to boost the heat in my terrarium. It's liveable but should be warmer.

My setup pertaining to heating:
Exo-Terra's 18"x18"x24" glass terrarium, with the medium Desert heat pad underneath in one corner. I also have the small compact top with two Sun Glo bulbs in it at the max. wattage the top takes.
I have 2 temperature/humidity monitors: one of these mounted on the glass on the "cool" side (hygrometer, too), and a digital therm/hygro I've got just above the floor over the outer edge of the heating pad on the inside. So, middle of the terrarium in the back. Interestingly, they both tend to read about the same.

The heating pad is plugged in 24/7 and I never bothered with a thermostat so it should be at its maximum output, whatever that may be. I also have the heat up in my room all the time with the door closed. On warm days (15-20 Celcius outside) it's easy to keep the heat up around 85-87 Fahrenheit, where the vet said it ought to be, and I don't need to turn the compact top on. It often drops to around 80 or so at night (unless it's still really warm) and on cooler days, which have been the norm lately (and generally are, though more warm days are expected soon!)

The vet recommended the temperature increase to around 87 F because he suspects it may play a part in why he hasn't been eating since I brought him home a month ago. Warmer temperature would equal higher metabolic activity so my guy might actually be hungry. (There's other food-related stuff but I think I've got it covered.)

What do you suggest I do to help raise the heat and keep it stable? Switch up the bulbs in the compact top? Add another heat lamp? I have a desk lamp that takes up to a 60-watt bulb that could easily be placed to beam into the terrarium. Add another small heat pad? Maybe change the substrate to something better at heat conduction? I'm using plantation soil right now but have some coco husk that I thought I'd use when I change the substrate in a day or two. (I think it may be inappropriate for such a little guy but I'm not sure.)

Thanks in advance!

[thomasK]

Hello rosedeviant!
First of all welcome to the addictive hobby of keeping snakes !
Hope you enjoy your first buddy!

Very good you did your homework already!! And a really good idea to take him to a vet for a first check up!

A ball python not eating is really nothing to be worried about. My 2010 female just started eating again after a 2,5 month hunger strike... They just tend to do that...
Your BP is also new so he just may be a bit stressed out about his new home because moving can be a really stressfull situation for BP's! Just check up on your temps/ cleaning/ clean water/ etc. And try feeding him once a week or so. As long as he isn't loosing a lot of weight there is no need to be worried!


As for your temps:

- most of the analog thermometers are (from my own experience) not so reliable... you can use them to get an idea but not to work with... Maybe thats why that one gives about the same temp as your digital one.

- you can tape the heatpad on to the bottom of your tank so it works best

Since you are using a heatpad it is normal for the ambient temps to be a bit lower but you keep the temp in the room up so that doesn't seem like a big problem to me...
You can alway's add the heat of youre light bulbs if needed but they do swallow alot of you're humidity...

Hope i already helped you out a bit...
Sure there will be other people around here who can give you more tips! It's a great forum, just hang around a little bit and read some of the threads and you'll get wiser every 5 mins

[Keyboard Warrior]

First off, Never operate a UTH without a thermometer...those things can get up to 120 degree's, which will cook your snake alive. BUT with exo terra's heating pads, I noticed they don't get hot enough for the most part. They get warm. However, they can occasionally get too hot. I would get rid of it. Buy a zoo med heating pad, or something, then go out and buy a thermometer.

Second off, I suggest buying a temp gun, because you don't really know how hot your surface temps are getting, when you're operating everything. Some will say the temp monitoring equipment you have is fine, but certain spots vary alot, that they simply don't catch. I went a month without one, and thought I was doing fine. I was way off, when I first got it. That being said, its likely your heating lamps are making everything too hot, when they are being run full blast like that. Anything about 60 watts for me, made surface temps too hot. It maybe different for you. But I would suggest buying a temp gun first, see how hot things get when the heat lamps are on. If they are too hot, go buy a dimmer, and you can alter how hot things get, till its down perfectly.

[rperry03]

My thoughts from my experiences....

Themostat for sure! I once seen the mat get up to 136F after bypassing the thermostat by accident.
Get rid of the lights, use ceramic heat emmiter/s instead. They heat way better and the snake could care less about the light. Unless your house is air tight or you keep it in the 80's when those canadian winter kick in he will appreciate the che....EH!

[Juliemay13]

Welcome and congrats on your new snake

[ogdentrece]

With the heating pad, please use a thermostat. And use a thermometer with a probe or temperature gun to measure the temperature of the bottom surface of the enclosure, BELOW the substrate. The ambient temperature may not increase as much, but put a hide over the heat pad and the air inside there will definitely heat up and stay warm. Ensure your substrate layer isnt too thick, mines at most half an inch. In the warm hide theres almost nothing. If you do want to increase ambient temperature, CHE's are an option but they are annoyingly disastrous for humidity, so do take note of that. You do need a hygrometer to measure humidity too.

Oh yes, welcome to the forum(: and congrats on your new pet.

[rosedeviant]

Got everything sorted. Thank you everyone!