Am I doing good so far ?

[Melluns07]

Hello everyone,

I just purchased my first BP after years of waiting. I have been reading and reading and reading and one thing I have learned so far is that no two snake people can seem to agree on anything. Here is my situation, I live in central Texas, very hot , very humid. I have a juvenile male a little over 12" in length and about 1" width at his largest part. Currently I have him in a 10 gallon tank with the back and sides covered in a jungle scene. I have a digital thermometer probe about half way under the substrate on his hot side. Currently I am only using a UTH with no thermostat. So far the readings I am getting have been anywhere from 91.2-96.8 degrees Fahrenheit. My analog temp and humidity gauges are reading about 79-82 degrees ambient air temp and about 60-70% humidity. I know 70% is too high unless he is shedding and I have got that down to about 60%. My question is do I need a thermostat for the UTD? I know many people in colder states do need it but so far (depending on how deep the probe is) the temps have been fairly stable in the mid to low 90's. What concerned me is at first I had the probe all the way underneath between the substrate and the glass and it was saying it was a whopping 102 !!! Now I moved the probe closer to the surface (1/4" below surface) and the temps are perfect. I currently have about 1 1/2" of substrate on his hot side, and am using aspen bedding to help keep humidity down. Do I really need a thermostat for the UTH? I am such a worry wart when it comes to my pets, I want everything to be as close to perfect as I can get. I also am not having any problem keeping heat and humidity in the tank even with the full screen top, as I said it is very humid here and I unlike most am having to find a way to LOWER the humidity. I would like to it stay around 55-60% and bump it up to 70 when he sheds. I have been reading forum after forum freaking out thinking I am hurting my poor snake...can someone tell me if I am doing ok so far ?

Other notes..he has a rock hide on his hot side and a more natural log and plant hide on his cold side. Also, since I got him he has been VERY active. He seems to LOVE climbing and has been spending most of his time either in the middle of the tank or on the cold side up in the fake fern I got for him. He did spend his first night under his hot side rock hide after I covered his tank with a towel (he is in my office and I stay up late gaming and didnt want the light to disturb him) He does not have any burns or anything...but the temp reading I got when the probe was against the bottom side glass scared the hell out of me. I have another digital thermometer/hydrometer coming in the mail for his cold side. As of now I have the digital thermometer on his hot side and the analog thermometer/hydrometer in the middle of the tank. What suggestions do you fine people have for me ?

One other quick question is I do vape, should I not vape in the room I keep him in, out of good practice I have not been because as you know they really produce a lot of vapor and there is nicotine in the vapor.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Hello everyone,

I just purchased my first BP after years of waiting. I have been reading and reading and reading and one thing I have learned so far is that no two snake people can seem to agree on anything. Here is my situation, I live in central Texas, very hot , very humid. I have a juvenile male a little over 12" in length and about 1" width at his largest part. Currently I have him in a 10 gallon tank with the back and sides covered in a jungle scene. I have a digital thermometer probe about half way under the substrate on his hot side. Currently I am only using a UTH with no thermostat. So far the readings I am getting have been anywhere from 91.2-96.8 degrees Fahrenheit. My analog temp and humidity gauges are reading about 79-82 degrees ambient air temp and about 60-70% humidity. I know 70% is too high unless he is shedding and I have got that down to about 60%. My question is do I need a thermostat for the UTD? I know many people in colder states do need it but so far (depending on how deep the probe is) the temps have been fairly stable in the mid to low 90's. What concerned me is at first I had the probe all the way underneath between the substrate and the glass and it was saying it was a whopping 102 !!! Now I moved the probe closer to the surface (1/4" below surface) and the temps are perfect. I currently have about 1 1/2" of substrate on his hot side, and am using aspen bedding to help keep humidity down. Do I really need a thermostat for the UTH? I am such a worry wart when it comes to my pets, I want everything to be as close to perfect as I can get. I also am not having any problem keeping heat and humidity in the tank even with the full screen top, as I said it is very humid here and I unlike most am having to find a way to LOWER the humidity. I would like to it stay around 55-60% and bump it up to 70 when he sheds. I have been reading forum after forum freaking out thinking I am hurting my poor snake...can someone tell me if I am doing ok so far ?

Other notes..he has a rock hide on his hot side and a more natural log and plant hide on his cold side. Also, since I got him he has been VERY active. He seems to LOVE climbing and has been spending most of his time either in the middle of the tank or on the cold side up in the fake fern I got for him. He did spend his first night under his hot side rock hide after I covered his tank with a towel (he is in my office and I stay up late gaming and didnt want the light to disturb him) He does not have any burns or anything...but the temp reading I got when the probe was against the bottom side glass scared the hell out of me. I have another digital thermometer/hydrometer coming in the mail for his cold side. As of now I have the digital thermometer on his hot side and the analog thermometer/hydrometer in the middle of the tank. What suggestions do you fine people have for me ?

One other quick question is I do vape, should I not vape in the room I keep him in, out of good practice I have not been because as you know they really produce a lot of vapor and there is nicotine in the vapor.

I will answer to what is in bold

Here is what happen when you do not use a thermostat https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...highlight=burn - https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ght=belly+burn - https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ght=belly+burn (those are only a few example of what we see every year on this forum) , a thermostat is not a optional gadget it is something you MUST have no matter where you live. If you have a UTH you MUST have a thermostat and a reliable one.

Analog gauges are completely unreliable so discard those and use a temp gun.

If your BP is very active during the day then something tells me that your husbandry is off, whether it's the hides not providing enough security, the enclosure be to big or your temps.

[Melluns07]

Thanks for the quick reply,

Are the Zoomed brand thermostats any good ? Currently if I want to get one today that is my only option. I have checked him for burns and do not see any, his belly is a little pink but I am pretty sure he is about to start a shed as his eyes are also a little cloudy. I guess I should not say he is super active. He kind of just goes back and forth and hangs out in each side for about 5-10 mins.

[Craiga 01453]

I'll just start with the most important part....YES you REALLY need a thermostat! Unless of course you want a burned, injured or dead snake....
Unplug your heat sources and run ambient Texas temps until you get a thermostat.

As Deborah said, if your snake is active during the day you probably need to make some husbandry changes. A BP should spend the vast majority of the day in one of his/her hides, and occasionally coming out to explore a bit at night. That being said, you will notice a bit more activity when it is close to feeding day, since your snake will be hungry and on the lookout for a meal.

I also vape, and I just err on the side of caution and go to another room or go outside. Not sure about whether or not a bit of vapor in the air would be an issue, even in my fairly large animal room, but why risk it? I at least have the ability to choose whether or not I inhale the vapor, they don't have the option if you're blowing it into the air they breathe.

[Craiga 01453]

Thanks for the quick reply,

Are the Zoomed brand thermostats any good ? Currently if I want to get one today that is my only option. I have checked him for burns and do not see any, his belly is a little pink but I am pretty sure he is about to start a shed as his eyes are also a little cloudy. I guess I should not say he is super active. He kind of just goes back and forth and hangs out in each side for about 5-10 mins.

Ok, so if you're seeing a pink belly and cloudy eyes, your snake is going into shed. A snake going through the shedding process will feel extremely vulnerable during this time and want to stay hidden and safe. My snakes don't leave their hides while in shed. You want yours to find a place where he feels safe and secure. So, if your snake is still active during a shed cycle, then you most certainly need to make some adjustments.

[Melluns07]

Thanks everyone,

I have already shifted his stuff around on the cold side and made a more effective natural hide with plants and a log, he has since gone back there and not moved. I am trying to go find a thermostat today but for whatever reason petsmart does not keep them in stock. I am worried about unplugging the pad as my gf keeps the house COLD, we normally keep the a/c around 74-76 and down to 71 at night. Are the rest of my temps and humidity good ? Again my ambient temp is about 78-81 and humidity bounces from 55-70%

[Craiga 01453]

Your UTH isn't there for ambient temps, it is there to provide a hot spot, primarily used for digestion. If your ambient temps in the room don't remain 82-86 you will need an additional heat source.

And YES you should unplug the UTH. No question, no debate. Unless of course you want to risk serious injury or worse to your snake.

Your snake can handle mid 70s a lot better short term than it can a heat spike and or/burns

[Melluns07]

I understand that, but again right now those are the ambient temps in the tank . And define short term, 2 days 3 days? The ambient temp in my room is usually 76-78. Again with the inconsistency I see you say I need another heat source yet I have read in dozens of places heat lamps should not be used on balls...so tell what my other option is.

[Craiga 01453]

Is your UTH unplugged????

Your options are heat bulbs, Ceramic Heat Emitters (CHE) or Radiant Heat Panels (RHP)

Bulbs and CHEs do drain humidity, but in your case that won't be a problem.

[Melluns07]

Ok the UTH has been unplugged and I have ordered the Zilla 500 watt thermostat it will be here on the 3rd. There was not a single store around me that had it or I would have gone there. Thank you for telling me to do that I noticed he has now gone to his hot side and has not come from it since, he is only half way in his hide with his head laying up on the top of the hide. I guess I didnt realize burns are more likely than the snake getting hypothermia. I am going to keep my A/C set to 76 and keep the door to my office closed, I also have my gaming PC in here so that helps put some heat out into the room, the actual temp in my office is 78.6. The tank analog (I know is inaccurate) is reading 79. Should he be ok for the next 2 days or should I let the UTH run for an hour of so if his hot side drops below 86 or so? He was just fed Thursday at the pet store, so feeding should not be an issue until next week.