Question about heat

[Lancerlot109@aol.com]

i have my ball python in a 10 gallon tank with a terrarium mat. i have two hide boxes and i have seen my snake go in both on different occasions.

one hid box has cypress bedding inside to create a somewhat humid hiding place. humidity inside the enclosure is above 60 but below 70.

the hide box with cypress bedding is right over the corner of a zilla heat mat. i have a probe style digital temp reader that says its in the 80's when the probe is just next to the hide box. but if i put it under the hide box it goes over 90. and if i place the probe under everything including the terrarium mat the temp goes over 100. no matter how hot it gets the floor matting on that side of the cage feels nice and warm.

is this normal? should i worry about my ball getting burned? and what can i do to help maintain the temp?

[Lancerlot109@aol.com]

i also have a over head heat lamp that i keep on during the day

[kitedemon]

Do you have anything regulating the UTH? You need something, either a T-stat or Rheostat but something.

[Skittles1101]

If it feels "nice and warm" to you...it's probably too hot. Your average body temp is 98.6 degrees...so for something to feel warm to you it must be higher. Temps on the "hot" side should be between 88-92 degrees. Please look over the care sheet to see about adjusting your husbandry...
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

I also suggest getting rid of the heat lamp.

[Lancerlot109@aol.com]

thanks! ill invest in a Rheostat.

and i keep the light on the top of the cage just over half the water bowl and my humidity has not been a problem.

do i really need to worry about the light?

[Skittles1101]

In my experience the lights get too hot, they cause the ambient air temps to be too hot, and I've never heard of humidity <not> being a problem with a light. If a heat source is needed I suggest a CHE over a lamp any day. Also, keep in mind that rheostats do not account for fluctuations in temps during the day and at night, so you'll constantly be adjusting that as well.

[kitedemon]

How ever you regulate the temps and what you use are not important that you do is.

Rheostats do best in stable room temps. ON/Off T-stats do well with heavy massed enclosure and with out really low room temps. Things that have lots of thermal mass balance out the fluctuations that are typical to on/off style. Proportional T-stats will handle most if not all environments and ultimately are the most flexible.

Worry about HEATING and don't bother with humidity until the heat is sorted. Poor humidity is not life threatening. However you manage you heat as long as you can manage to get the hot and cool side temps correct (80 cool 90 hot) and can keep the ambient air temp between 80-85 you are fine how ever you accomplish this. It doesn't matter what works or does not work for some one else, every bodies houses have their own quirks that effect the enclosure.

[ogdentrece]

Like everyone has mentioned. But as far as your temperature goes, a higher temperature under everything and in the hides is perfectly normal, they all trap the heat and it gets lost as it goes through all these. Any surface that the ball python can touch should never exceed 95; I'm not sure how good your terrarium mat is at conducting heat and how secure it is, whether or not it is possible for the snake to dig out its corners and get under it. But if it is not that secure, then yes I would worry about him getting burnt.

But anyhow I would probably use a thermostat with its probe under the terrarium mat under the hide. Set to 95 maybe? Hopefully it wont lose too much heat through that mat. So it'll be warm enough on the hot side but just in case your snake gets under it, he won't get hurt. If it does drop to something like 85 or even less by the time it gets to the surface of the mat, I would think of changing bedding. You might think of raising the temperature setting of the thermostat since its below the mat and they probably wont get there anyway. And some might say well even if they do get under the mat they won't get burnt on 95-100, afterall when we handle them they experience about that kind of temperatures, but its not good for them to be exposed to that for any sustained period of time. I had a temperature spike to 97-98 just for a couple of hours once, my snake got all red on his belly, definitely was uncomfortable. Its a risk you shouldn't take, since there are many much simpler ways to get around this problem.

As for the lamp goes, I do have lamps but I have them on only when its absolutely necessary. In other words they are connected to thermostats which are set at 78F, just so the ambient temperature doesn't get too low. Mainly because it kills humidity really badly and I don't find them reliable for temperature control anyway. But temperature always takes precedence over humidity.

I do recommend thermostats over rheostats, they are much safer in the sense that they change with changing room temperatures, while a rheostat does not.

[kitedemon]

Just a quick comment set points of on off t-stats typically allow for a 1 degree up or down shift. The probe accuracy is low typically (as far as I know all) is with in 2ºF up or down which can increase the error to 3 degrees. If you are using a set point that will directly effect the snake this must be taken into account. It is way I always recommend 90º over higher temps it keeps a space of safe temps. Constant time over 95 but before the point where burns can occur the snake is not able to digest properly and will have issues related to the temps. It isn't a flaw just the way they work they allow spikes you must account for them. UTHs against glass protect against the gain while the t-stat is at full power but it cannot balance against probe error.

Hot spot temps should be set at a point keeping in mind the possible errors in correctly working instruments. Most digital thermometers used in the hobby have the same 2º up or down error. It might be or not but this is the range the manufacturers accept as accurate. Planning for this error is prudent. 90-91 is a good range unless you have a more accurate instrument (check the specs but generally speaking the price will let you know how accurate it is. There is a reason why the price range is very large and why a lab grade thermometer cost so much, accuracy.)

[musclebabe]

If it feels "nice and warm" to you...it's probably too hot. Your average body temp is 98.6 degrees...so for something to feel warm to you it must be higher. Temps on the "hot" side should be between 88-92 degrees. Please look over the care sheet to see about adjusting your husbandry...
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

I also suggest getting rid of the heat lamp.

agreed!