New Snake Owner

[pigfat]

Just ordered my first snake, (BP), and I have a few more questions so instead of asking them one by one I'll try to get as many in here as I can.

1) I'm making a terrarium with an african theme and have a wooden hide. I have stained it and coated it several times with sealant so it wont mold/rot. Is this okay?

2) Do I HAVE to get a thermostat? I have a 10g aquarium and bought a zoo-med 10-20g uth. Will it get hot enough to hurt the snake?

3) Do I need both my uth and a heat lamp? My room temp is about 75 but it will drop at night and as it gets colder here...I'm guessing this is just something I'll have to monitor with a thermometer.

Thanks everyone and please be patient with me!

[meowmeowkazoo]

1) That should be fine as long as the hide isn't going to be giving off any harmful fumes.
2) Yes, you HAVE to get a thermostat. Zoo Med pads can easily reach temperatures that can burn your snake.
3) No, you don't need a heat lamp. The UTH will be fine, and the heat lamp can actually damage your humidity levels.

Here's a cheap thermostat that I adore:

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...7237511&sr=8-2

You HAVE to post pictures once you get your new snake! Forum rules.

[pigfat]

Oh I fully plan to! He will be here next Tuesday !!! He's a normal but hes 100% het albino...so maybe in the future I'll be able to breeed him!

[meowmeowkazoo]

Oh I fully plan to! He will be here next Tuesday !!! He's a normal but hes 100% het albino...so maybe in the future I'll be able to breeed him!

Ah, I love albinos. Good choice!

[RestlessRobie]

Yes Get the Thermostat we had the same UTH and luckily we were checking temps it got to almost 135F so tstat is a must. A dimmer at the very least but would recomend a good Tstat for sure the Ranco I am using there it working great

[Evenstar]

Agreed - you HAVE to get a thermostat. Those ZooMed UTH's in particular get extremely hot. Even a small one will get beyond 120 and that is plenty hot enough to cause your snake severe burns. Agree with everthing else too - including posting pics once you get him. Congrats on your first snake!