20 gal. tank, etc.

[Skittles1101]

Hi Jason, welcome to the site. Look over this caresheet to make sure you house your new ball python to the at least the bare minimum requirements.

I suggest using a UTH, you will need a thermostat to regulate the UTH. You can find them mostly on the web, depending on your budget. They vary from $26 on Amazon.com to over $100 for a Herpstat by Spyder Robotics, the most expensive obviously being the most reliable and safe one. I do, however, use hydrofarm from Amazon.com for 3 of my enclosures until I can save up money for better ones. If you do not get a thermostat, the temps of the UTH can exceed 130 degrees, which is more than enough to cause severe burns on your snake.

Depending on how cold your house gets in the winter, you can use a lamp or ceramic heat emitter (CHE) to help with ambient temps. I do suggest, if you decide to get either, to pick up a plug-in lamp dimmer from Home Depot for only $10 to make it less intense. Just be aware that if you use a lamp or CHE, the humidity will be effected negatively. If your humidity is not correct it can cause bad sheds that are a pain to remove. You can either mist the tank, being sure you do not soak the substrate, or provide a humid hide. If you use the search function on this site "humid hide" should come up with many results.

Again, welcome to the site, I hope I helped some. If you have any other questions feel free to ask