Heating questions

[KalonjiBP]

Can some one explain to me the best way to heat a 20 gal. long encloser?
THe problem is that my undertank heater seams to not do as good as a job that i thought it would when heating the entire enclosure. Only the tank bottom where the heater is gets heat. I thought of buying a lamp so that would heat the enclosure at a whole and use the heating pad for a basking spot. Can this be done? Any suggestions?

I want to get my bp within the next two weeks and any help would greatly be apricciated. thanks.

[PrincessErica]

I use a combo of heating pad/ceramic heater/basking bulb depending on the need for temp boosts. Right now during the summer it's warm enough that a UTH does the trick, but when it's not, I use the bulb during the daytime, and the heater at night (and the UTH stays on 24/7). You just need to be careful when using overhead heating because it zaps humidity out of the air like you wouldn't believe. I find more than a 20% difference in humidity when I'm using the overhead heating vs. just the UTH. A lot of people swear by heating tape, but I've never used this so can't offer much advice, but I'm sure they'd be more than willing to share their experiences with you.

Just remember that belly temp is the most important one, since that's where the snake is.

[SatanicIntention]

That's wonderful that you are setting the enclosure up BEFORE getting the snake. Very smart on your part

The lamp would do well, or you can get a ceramic heat emitter since it doesn't emit any light, and you wouldn't have to worry about finding a suitable red reptile bulb. You could put the lamp in the center, and cover the rest of the screen top with Con-Tac paper or saranwrap duct taped to the screen. Both work well to keep humidity in. You could also get a 2 small pieces of plexiglass from Home Depot/Lowe's the size of the screen insert on the lid(leaving room for the lamp), and just lay it on top of the screen. Drilling holes in the plexiglass will help with ventilation. The ConTac paper(cabinet shelf liner) Glad Press N' Seal or Saran Wrap all work well in keeping humidity in. Lamps dry out the air and these are good ways to help counteract that.

How are you measuring temps and humidity now? A good digital thermometer that measures two temps(warm and cool sides) and humidity can be found at WalMart for $15. The brand is Acu-Rite, and it is found in the outdoor thermometer section, which is by the light bulbs/switches and behind the paint section. Digital is the best way to go when keeping ball pythons and any cold-blooded animal. If you already have a good digital thermo. then wonderful

What are you planning on using for bedding? Just a suggestion, but when you first get the snake, for the first month or so, I would keep it on paper towels or newspaper as those make it much easier to spot abnormal feces, external parasites such as mites, and are easier to keep clean. After that you can use cypress mulch(found at Home Depot in HUGE bags- get double-milled or shredded- costs around $3-bake it first to dry it completely and get rid of bugs), or you can use aspen shavings(molds easily with higher humidity-adequate ventilation is a must), newspaper/newsprint(easy to clean, can still look nice), ReptiBark(expensive, but works-can harbor parasites), Bed-A-Beast is OK if it is kept dry(pretty inexpensive and expands alot-needs to be thoroughly dried before use with these guys). Beddings I wouldn't use are pine or cedar ANYTHING, carpet(harbors bacteria very easily and is a pain to clean-very expensive at pet store-cheap at Home Depot/Lowe's), anything else that retains too much moisture such as soil, sand(gets in betwen scales and in heat pits/nostrils), gravel(bacteria factory, impossible to spot clean, requires everything be washed when snake has a BM).

What are you thinking about using for hides? Any other "furniture" you want to use? Ceramic pot bottoms/saucers work great for hides. They are low to the ground, heavy and dark. Ball pythons love them. The plastic ones work great also. You can find great looking silk plants/vines at WalMart/Michael's/Hobby Lobby. Those make great cover areas for the snake, making it feel secure.

I don't know what else I need to cover, LoL. If you have any other questions, just ask, I or someone else will be along to write another book, heh.

Good luck getting it all set up

[KalonjiBP]

Thanks 4 the tips u guys. I plan on purchasing a thermometer some time 2 night so that i can get an accurate read out of temps. But i know that im gonna need to get a lamp beacuse everyone in my home is addicted 2 air conditioning. i know that besides the where the uth is the rest of the encloser is to cool. YOu can just feel it. As far as substrate, newspaper is what i plan to use untill old age, cause i get one delivered everyday so its an endless supply.I already have my water bowl and 2 hides(may get some more), and i will get some kind of branch/tree into the enclosure. IVE BIN PLANNING (opps caps lock) to get a bp since about december< and since my birthday is THIS MONTH im finnally gonna get one. THANKS 4 THE INFO, KEEP IT COMMING.

[frankykeno]

Having just set up a 2-3 month old baby of our own all I'd add is this....Home Depot, Wal-Mart or Lowe's are your best friends LOL.


If the pet store managed to convince you that you just HAVE to have one of those plug-in heat rocks for your snake...do what we did (had one bought well before I read this forum and learned better)....take some snips to the cord and use it for a lovely cage decoration instead or return it if you can. Everyone here has advised they are just not good for anything and can cause burns.

We use the Accu-Rite as well from Wal-Mart ($14.88) and it's been just great! For a cool and warm hides we use terra-cotta saucers (meant for under terracotta plant pots). Wal-Mart sells them seperate from the pot for under $2.00 each and with some light tapping with a small hammer and a bit of sandpaper to smooth it out, you have a perfect hide with a nice sized entrace. If the snake wants to they can also curl up quite nicely on the "roof" of their hide as it's lovely and flat. You can get them in tons of sizes as the snake grows bigger.

We have a low heavy dish (not deep) for a water bowl so the snake can't tip it over and with a wide surface area it evaporates quite nicely to help with keeping the humidity at the right levels. Think it cost me all of a buck for that LOL!

As Becky suggested, we use a few layers of paper towels as a substrate for now until our new ball feeds and poops a couple of times. Then we will go with cypress bedding (Lowe's and Home Depot have it)...just treat it as Becky suggested). We found a new paper towel out...sorry I forgot the brand name...but it feels almost clothlike.

Best advice we got here was to set up the housing first, get your temps/humidity steady, provide clean water and then pop in the new snake and leave it the heck alone for a week other than to change it's water every other day. Hardest darn thing to do let me tell you, it's so tempting to want to handle a new pet.

Good luck with your new snake.


~~Joanna~~

[Linda]

Hi,

Good luck with your ball! I just got my second one. I think they are addicting like all snakes are.

One thing I wanted to mention is substrate. I have used newspaper, paper towels and EcoEarth (the one you wet and it swells up) and they all were fine.
But I am using something called EsuReptile Desert Blend. It is ground up walnut shells. Ground up into tiny little balls...not as small as sand though so they don't get caught in scales, etc.
It says it can be used for snakes, lizards, turtles, tortoises and arachnids.

My snakes love it. They burrow all around in it and stick their heads up like seals. At least the corns do. Camille loves it and burrows also but prefers her hides. Sudan hasn't told me what he thinks yet.

I just wanted to mention it as I really like it and you can clean poop, etc. with a scoop that they sell...kind of like kitty litter type cleaning.

[justcage]

Thermostat?