just got a baby ball python, did i do something wrong......

[Simple Man]

looked up that acu-rite digital thermo/hygro, do i just velcro that inside the tank like i would the zoo med dual?

That should work great if you want to secure it in there! I just set mine in my tubs. That probably wouldn't look as good in a tank so you can velcro it in and then run your probe where you want so you can hide it better.

Regards,

B

[Annie]

But yeh, he was stressed out as hell after that, it did not help that when i was putting him back in the cage the screen top fell and so did the heat lamp and made all this noise, the snake damn near ran into his cave.

Aarhhh! You're SO funny! I was laughing just picturing the snake jumping and taking off! You sure have got talent for writing!

BTW, if you have trouble keeping your enclosure warm enough, you could find something to close up the top of your aquarium. A scren top will let all the heat AND humidity escape as quick as you generate it.
When shedding time comes,you'll appreciate to be able to keep a higher level of humidity without too much trouble.

Personally, I have a piece of Coroplast onto my screen top, with 2 shutter like flaps at one end, so I can regulate the humidity level, but anything sightier would do even better, like a piece of plastic film cut to size.


If that blue light is set on top of your screen, you might have to cut a hole in the plastic sheet and keep a 1in gap between the edge of the plastic film and the hot lamp. Or, if you close almost all your top screen, just leaving maybe 5% open for ventilation, you might find out that your UTH provides enough heat to maintain a proper T° level. And you wouldn't need to worry about the light stressing out your snake either. That's the option I'd try, personally.

[loonunit]

Get a nice point and click IR thermometer. Mine is really the best $10 I spent on my collection, after the lamp dimmers for the UTH. Stuff it under his hide where he hangs out and get a temperature reading where his belly is. His tummy temps should be around 90, no higher than 95.

Breeders keep their cool temps around 80F, but he's really okay as long as he has a nice warm spot your indoor temps aren't dipping way below 70F. You really don't need the blue light--he doesn't need UV. I use red lights for a little extra heat in winter.

(What I really think he needs, though, is more hiding spots. At least a cool hide and warm hide. And clutter up his tank--crinkle up paper and fill the bottom with that for week or two. But some poster packing tubes and FedEx or OfficeMax, cut them into 10" lengths, and give him some tunnels. Ball pythons LOVE tubes. Sometimes babies take a while to settle in, and lots of clutter to explore and hide in helps.)

[dryates]

As for the light get an infrared bulb, easy on the eyes and the snake can't even see it, no stressing, also aluminum foil folded over a few times on the screen works too. As far as feeding goes, not sure how feeding outside the enclosure is easier, at best,

>open lid
>insert mice
>close lid

Is easier than

>open lid
>pick up snake (risk getting bit if u smell like food)
>move snake to unfamiliar place
>insert mice
>wait
>wait some more
>pick up snake after feeding( risk getting bit or regurgitation)
>put snake back in cage
>close lid

[Skittles1101]

What do you have to control the UTH? The UTHs get far too hot and need a dimmer or a thermostat (thermostat being better and safer, dimmer being cheaper) to control the temps. Mine read over 130* before I set up my thermostat....

[FrankieCarbone]

What do you have to control the UTH? The UTHs get far too hot and need a dimmer or a thermostat (thermostat being better and safer, dimmer being cheaper) to control the temps. Mine read over 130* before I set up my thermostat....

none, i picked up the smallest version of the zoo met Repti Therm under tank heaters, it did not come with any type of control (i found that weird too) the instructions just mentions the different ways to prevent any sort of burn for example, if you room temp can exceed 80 degrees (obviously not gonna happen now in NYC) do not us, always have a thick coat of bedding where the UTH is to prevent the snake from being directly on the UTH and the glass (which i do), and monitor the temp of the cage to make sure its not heating it too much, also no water on it as it can cause cracks, etc etc I do put my finger on it once in a while and it dosent seem like its that hot, its pretty much just warm at the most...

should i be using a different type of UTH? And now im not sure on wether to get a infrared heater bulb, or a ceramic, which works best? and how many watts for a tall 15 gallon tank?

[Skittles1101]

Well of course they don't come with a thermostat, you have to buy those separately. I touched the 130* UTH and it doesn't feel hot to our hands....

I have a dimmer ($10.00 from Home Depot) and a temp gun ($35.00 from tempguns.com) to read my temps. Far too often I've seen burns on snakes that could have been prevented. You have to know the temps in your tank, not guess. The kind of UTH doesn't matter as long as you have something to control it. I use those digital thermometers to monitor the ambient temps, but I live by my temp gun for the UTH, under the substrate, and above the substrate. It's MUCH more accurate, you KNOW you temps, and it PREVENTS burns. If you don't want to have to test your temps all the time then you can find a decent thermostat for around $60.00, but the dimmer does just as well as long as it is checked about 3 times a day.

[rperry03]

I have a 10 gal tank with half the cage covered (cool side), half the bottom covered with the UTH (warm side), a 60 watt ceramic heat emitter, and a thermostat that regualates everything really well.

My thermostat is not a digital but a dial so it took a little bit to nail down the temps.

[Nektu]

I actually worry more when mine's out too long.

Agreed. One of the bp's I bought at the beginning of the month only goes into her hide when she sleeps. The rest of the time she's out and about exploring. For this simple reason I pretty much leave her well alone and only go into her enclosure to spot clean and feed her. I never take her out of the enclosure and place her someplace else to feed her. The first few days she would wrap around her water bowl and hiss at me whenever I just passed by. But it was only a few times.

Let your snake get used to the change. Ditch the light as suggested above. But keep an eye on her. Log it's eating pattern. If mine aren't eating on their schedule I keep a better watch on them to make sure nothing is wrong.

[Homegrownscales]

Well if it feels warm to your touch it's already too warm. Our temps are 97.f and the temp the uth needs to be at is 90-92 tops. So it wouldn't feel warm to the touch. A snake likes to keep their body temp at 88 that's why they feel cold to us. I would go get a dimmer. Home depot sells the plug in lamp dimmers that will work for the time being. Like I said earlier put the thermom probe on the glass and secure it there with hotglue. Then you will have to fiddle with the dimmer starting in on all The way low and adjust up until you reach 92.f and make sure it stays there.