How's my setup?

[Robonarc]

So I wanted to show you guys my setup and see what you think. I'm still fairly new to owning snakes so it would be great to get some advice and ideas for improvement.

When I got her she came with a 3'Lx18"Wx15"H tank, a lamp, and a UTH. She had some plants and a water bowl but not much in the way of hides. And just the cheap liquid crystal thermometers.

I then went out and got her some branches and made a hide with some rocks. I also got some better thermometers.

On the right is the hot side, there's a lamp and a UTH. But I don't feel much heat coming from the UTH when I touch the substrate. Water is in the middle and I'm getting about 75f on the cool side and about 80-85f on the hot side. I try to keep humitity to 55-65% by misting. Is this warm enough or should I get another UTH?

I'm also planning to get some better hides. Here's a pic.

[Jessica Loesch]

I had problems getting heat through that substrate so I took it out even though I really liked it.

Do you have a thermostat? Need that to control the UTH.

[Homegrownscales]

Your hotside Is a bit too cold. You need to up it to 92.f try thinning out the sub. Or getting a better uth and make sure you have a thermostat.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

[Robonarc]

Thanks guys. I figured it was a little too cool in there. I'm on my way to petsmart now to have a look.

[Skittles1101]

You need to look into a thermostat for the UTH. It may not feel warm to your 98.6 degree hand, anything over 98 degrees will feel warm to us, but it's way too hot for a hotspot. It needs to be regulated or your snake could burn. I'd thin out the substrate (I hate coco fiber...it holds in heat so it will never be warm enough on top of the substrate) but your snake will most likely burrow under it and lay directly on the glass anyways. Please, get a thermostat. Other than that it looks good. Take a look at the caresheet so you know the proper requirements for these guys...hot spot should be between 88-92.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

[Francesco]

I would cover the 3 sides of your tank as well. That would make her/him feel more secure

[Francesco]

Or maybe u did

[Robonarc]

I would cover the 3 sides of your tank as well. That would make her/him feel more secure

I put in a background on the back wall and there's lots of greenery and such on the sides. When I got her she had all 4 walls open.

Ok I went to Petsmart yesterday and they were out of thermostats and they only had the small UTH so I got another lamp with a dimmer to increase the heat for now. The first lamp I had has a 50w Exo-Terra sun glo bulb wich I just leave on all the time and I just put in a 60w incandescant in the other lamp. I have a timer as well.

What kind of bulbs or lighting schedule should I be using?

[kitedemon]

Royals do not need uv light so any source will work and 12 on 12 off is the norm for the region they come from.

[Jay_Bunny]

I think the sunglo bulb is a white light. If so, do not leave it on all the time. It would stress the snake out thinking it is day time all the time, especially when the snake is nocturnal. If you are going to use heat bulbs, get an infared bulb. They are red and the spectrum of light is one the snake can't see, so they think it is night. You can leave it on 24/7.

Also, I'm not sure if Petsmart actually carries thermostats. I know the store I work at doesn't. We carry something called a rheostat. You could use one of those for your UTH. With that thick bedding, you won't be feeling a lot of heat coming up from it. The snake would have to burrow down into it to get close to a UTH. Thin out the bedding a little and this should help. Also, our skin temperature is a lot different their our body temperature. It is several degrees cooler, so things will feel warm to us that are below our body temperature. I think it is somewhere in the 80s.

My advice would be to put a UTH on the tank, run it on a rheostat and bump the temperature up to 92. Try not to use any bulbs that are white light. Infared is best if using heat bulbs.