Rank novice needs advice before making mistakes!

[JRLongton]

I've been thinking about getting a BP for years and in recent months those thoughts have coalesced into a firm intention. I have a great deal of respect for what I plan to embark on and want to do it right. A twenty plus year commitment is not to be entered lightly. The internet contains vast information, some contradictory, so I wanted to make myself and my intentions known and get some advice.

Brief background; I had a BCI when I was 13 (terrible experience), and am now 38, have a house, a steady comfortable income, and have cats. Their safety is paramount. Finally, I live in South Eastern Massachusetts, so you have a sense of my climate.

I want to get a baby ball python, as young as possible. I am thinking about a 24" x 18" x 12" glass terrarium with side doors (the kind of thing you buy at Petsmart). Heating would be regulated by an as of yet obtained proportional thermostat (thinking a Herpstat) and provided by a heating pad, and a .... Well here we go.

I've looked at ceramic heating elements and incandescent bulbs. I don't want to do incandescent because I would hate to have a bright light shining on me all the time. If I shut it off at night that would cause problems with heating and it isn't natural to have a glaring light on 24/7. Ceramic might be better, but I understand that they are inefficient. That brings me to heating panels.

My research indicates that heating panels are generally used in plastic terrariums such as those from Reptile Basics or Boaphile. I haven't seen anyone using heating panels in a glass terrarium and suspect that there might be a reason for that, a good reason of which I am ignorant.

I'm sure that I'll eventually need a larger terrarium anyway, so maybe I should just start off with that, outfit it with a dim LED (on a timer), UTH and heat panel. But I've heard that baby pythons feel "stressed" if they have too much room, which is why I'm opting for the 24x18x12. Logic would suggest that more space is always better, but logic and common sense don't always hold with reptiles.

Finally, I plan to keep the python in my semi-finished basement. Don't get the wrong idea! This isn't some dank pit filled with oily rags and such. It's a clean and finished space with walls and a door that I can close to keep the cats out. I spend a lot of time down there watching TV, listening to music, and generally escaping from the family. It's humid (about 50% with a dehumidifier running), which is to the better, but in the winter it is cool, about 55 degrees or so (it has limited heating). With a thermostat and sufficient heating it shouldn't matter what the temperature outside the terrarium is, but does it? I'll also be using a battery back up to keep the terrarium heated in the event of a power outage.

So there you have it. I think you get the idea that I'm a novice who's willing to learn and commit the resources necessary to do this the right way. I won't be getting the python until I have a complete set up am ready to go.

Thank you for reading all this and for any advice or insight you can offer.