Hello everyone. I recently have came into some money with tax season and all and I can finally afford to get a ball python!!!! Wich is veary exciteing for me as ive wanted one for years ... I breed leopard geckos but a snake is in my veary near future. So I go out with my basic knowledge of snakes and reptiles in general to purchase some stuff for my new scaled friend. I buy as follow : U.T.H , Repti bark and eco earth type substrate for a good mix , half log for a hide , fake tree for plenty of climbing room and a appropriate sized water dish. Over to walmart for two accu-rite`s and some heat lamps, one with a 60 watt generic heat reptile bulb. And one the same but with a night bulb.So I go home with this to setup, at first I bought a 20 gallon but wasent satisfied and I dont think my bp would be later on either , so back to the store it was.. this time I arrived at home with a 40 gallon tank. I install the uth, substarte, hides, trees, and water bowl. Plug everything in and place the Accu-rites in. I come back abit later hopeing for some stable temps but to no avail.... it seems I cant get my temps above 75 degrees on the hot side and that just wont cut it..... would a ceramic heater be better or maybe higher wattage bulbs? I dont want to get the snake till the habitat is stable for atleast a day and I can record the highs and lows. Any help is greatly appreciated so I can get my soon to be snake home and get the "ball" rolling .


Best regards
Ryan