ya im a noob

[noob08]

ok so basicly i did some research after finding out how much i realy wanted to get a snake prefferably a ball python female seeing as a friend has a male and would want to breed in the future. so i went out and bought about a 2 foot female and moved it into my temporary 20 gallon tank (a friend said hed help build a tank but found out he cant till tommarrow). at the store the snake didnt seem to active and it seemed all of them (there were 3 in the cage all approximatly the same size) were a bit in the biting mood. the lady assured me she had just fed them yesterday (sunday) and they were about to shed witch i can tell because the eyes on the female i looked at and bought were blue. but basicly my question is should one heat lamp be enough to heat a 6ft by 29in tank or should i invest in buying two? my basic desing would be this... http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/tips.shtml ...a little over half way down on the right side the white cage

[xdeus]

Welcome to the site!

but basicly my question is should one heat lamp be enough to heat a 6ft by 29in tank or should i invest in buying two?

First off, I'd recommend that you read this caresheet. It will prevent a lot of future problems down the road.

Now about your questions... one lamp probably won't be enough. A 6 foot cage for a Ball Python is way overkill and will probably stress out your snake, but I'm sure if you put enough "furniture" in the cage it might be okay. However, I doubt if one lamp would be enough to heat it adequately. You will need to maintain a temperature gradient from the low 80s to the low 90s 24 hours a day. The best way to accomplish that is with an Under Tank Heater (UTH) and a thermostat, although you may need a protected heat lamp if you're going to try and heat a large environment like a 6 foot cage.

[noob08]

I relize its over kill but i plan on putting atleast two hides in the cage and a climbing tree and one of the large pond type watering bowls in the middle. Also i figured it would keep the snake happier with more room to move around and what not. If i got one of the UTH's would plexi glass melt if that was the bottom?

[xdeus]

I relize its over kill but i plan on putting atleast two hides in the cage and a climbing tree and one of the large pond type watering bowls in the middle. Also i figured it would keep the snake happier with more room to move around and what not. If i got one of the UTH's would plexi glass melt if that was the bottom?

No, they don't get warm enough to melt plastic unless an unregulated one malfunctions. This is one of the reasons why it's important to regulate it with a quality thermostat.

[noob08]

ok...even though i just got it since its about to shed once the blue on the eys go away should i still give it a warm soak? and would two cage moves in two day be to stressfull for the snake?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

ok...even though i just got it since its about to shed once the blue on the eys go away should i still give it a warm soak? and would two cage moves in two day be to stressfull for the snake?

No need to give him a soak, only consider giving your BP a soak after shed if there was shed stuck on him. Just make sure you have proper humidity at all time 50%-60% and you can eventually bump it to 70% during shedding if you want to.

Your BP is shedding right now which make him more vulnerable just let him go through the shedding process and only move him after that, not need for additional unnecessary stress.

[jeffjr464]

not sure but i think a 2 footer won't bother trying to climb a tree, correct me if im wrong anyone?