Heating trouble

[Jeffrow]

I'm going to be getting my first ball python in a week and a half and i need some help with heating.
I have a 10 gallon tank with a zoo med 10-20 gallon UTH, but i can only get the hot spot up to 80-85 and the cool side is only 75.
My main question is wheather i should get a bigger heat mat or add a ceramic heat emitter?

[brettfong]

If youre getting it as a baby a 10 gallon tank is fine, but it will grow quite fast and you will need to look into probably a 20 gallon (long). I suggest a ceramic heat emitter or a red or purple bulb to provide a bit more heat for the hot side of the tank, and to raise the ambient temperature to around 75-80.

[youbeyouibei]

You might try putting a piece of styrofoam insulation (1/2" to 3/4" inch thick) between the table/cabinet/whatever the tank is sitting on and the heat mat. By that I mean: table top - styrofoam - heat mat - bottom glass of enclosure/tank. That helps direct more of the heat into the enclosure rather than letting it go into the tabletop or whatever your tank is sitting on. UTH's are hit or miss; I had really good luck with Cobra T-Rex heat mats when I used them, if you can find them. A ceramic heat emitter will zap your humidity but will raise the ambient temps, so it's a trade-off with the two. You can also wrap the exterior of the tank in foil insulation and tape it in place with metal tape. Do NOT use the fiberglass stuff! I've used the foil wrap stuff and it helped hold the heat in better than just the plain glass. I struggled with heating when I had tanks too, so I feel your pain, lol!

Here's a link for the foil wrap I'm talking about:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_13353-56291-...ion&facetInfo=

Or you could avoid the headache of the above and switch to the dark side: tubs and racks, lol! Couldn't resist, sorry! The tub/tank debate and all...hope that helps and good luck!

[isanta666]

what i did was use insulation on all sides of the tank. I then used a 75 watt light on dimmer, covered half the lid with a towel with tin foil underneath. this allowed me to keep ambient temp at 81. i also used a heat pad. only problem with using a light during winter is it saps the humidty in the tank.

[Jeffrow]

thanks for the advice. I think i'm gonna switch to a tub.

One more question about the heat mat. Can I buy a larger one and only put half of it under the tub or would it be better to just keep the small one and buy the bigger one when I upgrade to a bigger cage?

[youbeyouibei]

It's not necessarily about the size of the UTH but about the output wattage. You could have a small mat that's rated to put out 200w versus a huge mat that's only rated to 60w. You could buy a larger mat and just put the tank/tub on part of it, there's nothing wrong with doing that, so long as you still have a warm side and a cool side to the tank. Here are a few links of set-ups from the site for how to set up a glass tank. Don't know if they'll help any or not, but might be worth a look.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...p-w-pics-*DUW*

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...Basics...*DUW*

As to getting a tub, DOOOOOOOOOO ITTTTTTTTTT, DOOOOOOOOOO ITTTTTTTTTT! HAHAHAHAHA! Just kidding, just kidding. Do what works best for you and your snake.

[Inknsteel]

How and where are you measuring your temperatures? (digital or analog thermometers? Where are they placed in relation to the UTH?) Does the floor of the tank directly above the UTH feel warm or hot to the touch?

[Jeffrow]

How and where are you measuring your temperatures? (digital or analog thermometers? Where are they placed in relation to the UTH?) Does the floor of the tank directly above the UTH feel warm or hot to the touch?

I'm using analog thermometers right now but i should have this in a few days
http://www.amazon.com/Chaney-Instrum...9050069&sr=8-4
There's one in each corner of the tank and a third inside the warm side hide.
I'm using paper towel and it feels warm to the touch

[Salab10]

I originally started out with pretty much the exact situation as you (10 gallon tank with uth couldnt get the heat up etc) I switched to a tub and newspaper with a uth underneath and a hide inside with water (basically verrry simple) and my bp is doing fantastic in it. Switch to the tub. so much easier and your bp will be much happier (plus you dont have to worry about them escaping if you get a latch tub)