Thermostat turning heat lamp on/off. Problem at night?

[Kyle S.]

My UTH and 24-hr red lens heat lamp are plugged into a thermostat which obviously regulates the temp to where I want it. When the tank becomes the desired, temperature, the thermostat turns off the heat lamp. Normally this isn't really a problem since I still give my BP 12 hours of day and 12 of night with the room light anyway.

Is the heat lamp turning on and off during the night going to bother or otherwise be a problem for my ball python?

[dr del]

Hi,

It really depends on the snake but it probably won't bother them too much.

What the turning on and off will do , however, is to drastically reduce the life of the bulb.

It also drove me nuts when I tried it.

The suggested alternatives are either a proportional thermostat or a ceramic bulb that doesn't produce any light.

I would make the guard slightly larger for a ceramic though as their surface temps can get a lot higher.


dr del

[Kyle S.]

Hi,

It really depends on the snake but it probably won't bother them too much.

What the turning on and off will do , however, is to drastically reduce the life of the bulb.

It also drove me nuts when I tried it.

The suggested alternatives are either a proportional thermostat or a ceramic bulb that doesn't produce any light.

I would make the guard slightly larger for a ceramic though as their surface temps can get a lot higher.


dr del

Thanks. I have an adjuster switch on the heat lamp, so I turned it down a little bit so that it doesn't go on and off as often. I'm just glad it won't bother my BP!