Gracin stays in cold hide and basking light question?

[crepers86]

my tub for grasin is basic setup, newspaper for substrate. two hides the same they are two bowls that are the same type of bowls. On over the heat pad and one in the cool side and a water dish in the middle. The warm side is 95f and the cool side is 78f, the ambient temps are around 85f. Humidity stays at 55% when not in shed then up to 75 during shed. He does not refuse a meal (eats two adult mice and would pound 5 or 6 or 10 more if I offered them), and his poops are really good about 5 days after feeding. He is active at night and stays cooped up in the day, with a occasion day time for a few minutes to let me know he wants to visit. However when I pick him up he is always cold, because he stays in the cool hide will not use the warm hide at all. WHY IS THIS? should I or should I not be worried. I use digital meters a probe for checking floor temps, and one in the cage in the middle for ambien temps and a digital hydrometer for humidity.

Also another question. my room does not have heat or AC, so right now with 95 to 100 degree temps out side and two fans going in my room it stays at around 85 degrees, there was a day our electric went off this week and my room got up into the 90s quick, so I can imagine how winter is going to be (even though in Houston we are a ways off. I am getting ready to get basking lights (my domes have dimmers) or CHEs where would I place these for basking (over the heat pad or over the cool side or in between.

[meowmeowkazoo]

Are both your hides exactly the same? Sometimes ball pythons will prefer one hide over another because they don't feel secure in the other hide.

[crepers86]

Are both your hides exactly the same? Sometimes ball pythons will prefer one hide over another because they don't feel secure in the other hide.

yes they are, they where bowls purchased at family dollar that came two to a sit and I cut the openings the same on both. same dark green and size and everything

I thought about that two because I had one bowl in there and then a box, and all he would hide under is the bowl and I just wanted to see it would make a difference because the box was kinda big so I switched and he went straight to the box which was on the cool side.

[Vypyrz]

Normally, the ambient temp and the cool side temp are the same. If your ambient temp is 85F, then that may be comfortable for your snake and it won't use the warm side. Now, as the seasons change, and the temps start dropping, it will probably start using the warm side more often. Heat lamps can be used with tubs to maintain ambient temps, but you must make sure that it is securely mounted above the tub so that it won't come into contact with the plastic. Some people, instead of a heat lamp, will opt for a dual Under Tank Heater set-up, but this will also require 2 thermostats...

[crepers86]

What I always measured for the cool side was the floor temp, which is about 78f. that is what the probe is touching at the time I checked it in his hide, but then again it could of been touching Gracin and reading his temp... I don't know I thought I had it on the floor. but any who.

on the heat lamp I have a holder to kinda hold it about the tube. here a while back I bought a like ten 64 qrt and ten 106 qrt sterilite tubs because they where on sell for $5 a piece and with each on I got 2 extra lids so I can work with placements of lighting I cut holes in the lid and tapped a good sturdy screening material over the lids, and on the lids. that way the animal cant push up I also used duct tape to tape it (sticks to the plastic stronger) but the lids are cut to the size of the dome lamp fixture. One lid with no hole, one with hole on the side, and one in the middle, I have also figured out how to mount like the tube light fixtures safely on the tubs lid if I ever have to go that direction though I wish I had of gone with 4 lids because now I can't find the lids I need. and I could of done a whole on those for tube lights.

I do have a thermostat but i have never taken it out of the package because my temps never change. how ever for winter this year I probably figure out how to use it and sit it up, this past winter I wasn't aware of them, and I think my Poor candy suffered a little bit in that glass Zilla cage. But thats why I researched care and housing on a daily basis and learned new stuff and technices

[Skittles1101]

95-100 degree temps are far too hot. Should be between 88-92 in the hottest part of the cage. Do you use a thermostat? If you do not you can potentially burn your snake.

UTHs can get well over 130 degrees....according to my temp gun. I don't really trust most digital thermometers.

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

[crepers86]

95-100 degree temps are far too hot. Should be between 88-92 in the hottest part of the cage. Do you use a thermostat? If you do not you can potentially burn your snake.

I do not use a thermostat I have one just never took it out of the package because my temps stay the same. when I mean I measure the floor temps, I place the the probe under the substrate (news paper). directly over the heating pad a put a thick layer of news paper so the temps are a bit lower directly on

UTHs can get well over 130 degrees....according to my temp gun. I don't really trust most digital thermometers.

my digital probe is accurate (I get all my thermometers tested once a month, because as the batteries ware out they loose accuracy). How ever I have been searching for temp guns and I couldn't find one (I tried Lowes, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, and a few other hard ware and pet stores with no luck). I found a nice one for about $25 on Amazon that also reads in a matter of seconds, It does humidity, berimatric, and temps (with a laser). It does take my digital therms about five minutes to register completely so It takes me nearly an hour to check all my temps for three snakes, and I check it on a daily to every other day basis.

For Gracin though I have a human heating pad under his tank. It had the control on the cord and cut off after an hour and played around with it and took the control off and spliced the cord back together. It got hot but not hotter then 95 I ended up having to use towels for insalation under it to get the temps to stay. Then at first the temp on it shot up to about 120. I figured out the extra padding when I had a Candy in a glass tank she had borrowed in the aspen right on top of the heating pad (this was before I knew about thermostats) and it read at 130 degrees. I mean I actually got a little burn from touching the glass, and figured if a heat rock isn't safe neither is that hot glass.

[Skittles1101]

IMO, she's using the cold hide because the warm side is too hot. A thermostat should be used regardless of how steady your temps stay. Good luck

[RestlessRobie]

Well I type to slow yet again but yes You need a tstat and bring your hot side temps down a bit. I keep mine at 91.5 and everyone seems to love it there. But you will need to expirement a little each snake is a bit different

[JChristine23]

My girl always stays on the cool side of her tank too. It's about 84 on the cool side and 90-92 on the warm side. There are two different hides in the tank. (didn't know they should be the same.) On hide is the plastic rock looking thing. It's actually a bit big for her. The other one looks like some kind of desert thing. It feels like it's covered in sand or something. It's the perfect size for her. She never get's in it, but sometimes she gets on it. I think today I will switch the hide and see what she does. But I also wonder if she just likes things cooler. Her previous owners keep the temps much cooler.