thermostat, heat pad, temp gun, need some validation, OH MY.

[Scribbles]

Hello Folks,

Santa came by for my son this past year thanks to my father in law and decided his love for reptiles at the age of 6 should be accompanied by a BP. The ball python was actually provided by a breeder. Long story short the snake got handed to me without no advance notice. I had planned on one for him but within the year where I can spend more time researching their needs through a forum and get what I needed.

Ended up getting a Zilla 20L deluxe kit which resulted in 3/4 of the items not being required due to the rush and lack of time for me to review the true needs. I have acquired more items that are essential to help this little guy thrive.

My present setup list below

BP is about 15" long(Still very young) housed in a 20L tank. Used black foam board to seal the sides and rear of the tank.
Substrate: Reptibark
UTH: Zoo med for 10-20 gallon tanks (6" x 8")
Themrostat: Helix DBS-1000
Thermometer: Accurite
Zilla Night bulb I leave on all day long to keep cool side measuring at 79-80 degrees all day long.


Current Scenario: My helix is tape under the tank with the uth attached over it on the exterior. I used foil tape over the adhesive paper and sealed it under the tank....(No prob)

Accurite thermometer is inside on the cool side with foil tape inside over the accurite probe sitting directly above the helix probe.

For me to achieve a heat of 91°F on the inside of tank on the glass requires a setting of the helix at 98°F. On the surface of my reptibark is measuring low to mid 80's at best. (Ended up removing 2 handfuls of reptibark to reduce the surface penetration for the heat and so 100° set on the HELIX helps achieve 92° of surface heat on the top side of the substrate within his hide
Out of the hide in the surrounding coverage area of the uth I am measuring between 84-88°F through the aid of a thermo gun purchased at Lowes which has a +/- 4°accuracy F per the specs sheet.

My ambient temps range between 76-81degrees in the middle mostly.

So I have quickly dropped a bit of cash so I know I'm doing the right thing for my snakes care. The $300+ is fairly inexpensive in comparison to when I managed 3 saltwater reef tanks which was in the low thousands just to get started the "right way".

I need some help here for peace of mind to ensure the health of this new comer in my house.

A) How accurate is the probe from the HELIX unit? IS the foil tape possibly skewing these numbers and should I take a different approach? IS the differential temperature that great between the 3 devices? Who should I trust...
B) Should I add a 50W Infrared bulb over the middle of the tank to increase ambient temps?
c) Should I face the temp probe from accurite arched side facing down, facing up or remove the adhesive tape and tape it down right to the tanks bottom over the helix probe of course both probes being on opposing sides of the bottom glass.

Any picture would help please if you think its necessary or relevant to my present setup?. Sorry for the long post but I want to do things right and believe I have the right tools but need to ensure I'm applying them to this setup correctly.

TIA everyone!

-Nick

[k8nkane]

How is your humidity?

I was using bulbs originally as I had my BP dropped on me suddenly as well and someone mentioned using a Ceramic Heat Emitter or CHE instead, which gives off heat but no light. I like it a lot better; I leave it on all day and there's enough ambient light where my room is located to give a day/night cycle.

edit: I also started out with the reptibark as that was what came in the tank kit I bought, too. I switched to expandable coconut fiber and that stuff is amazing. It totally wiped out my humidity problems and it just looks a lot better than the bark.

[Scribbles]

Humidity has been between 48-50%. I have misted twice daily to bring things up to about 58% which drops pretty slow back to the 48-50%

I'm considering to switch to aspen since it seems the heat can possibly penetrate it much better in comparison to the thick reptibark pieces.

[k8nkane]

Yeah, reptibark is pretty horrible for keeping humidity up. I don't know where you live, but I'm in Michigan in the middle of a cold snap and I haven't had to mist since early last week after putting in my coconut fiber. Compared to the twice a day with the reptibark.

If you're having problems with heat, too, you can wrap the screen 3/4s of the way in foil. Leave about 5 inches open for air circulation on one side and cut a hole on the other side for your heat lamp. That's worked really well for me as well.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Cover the screen top completely leaving just an opening big enough for the bulb. This will hold in more heat and humidity.

Lose the bark. It's too dry and it will mold very fast if you try to mist it down for humidity.

The best substrates are newspaper, paper towels, cypress mulch, or Aspen.

Aspen will also mold quickly if misted for humidity but if kept clean and changed this should not be a problem.

*edit*
You can use foil taped down to cover the screen top. You can also get a thin sheet of pink insulation, paint it whatever color you'd like, cut it to fit the sides and back of the tank, and put it on the outside of the tank. This is decorative, will help keep the snake calm as it cuts out reflection and glare, and it adds a lot of extra insulation

You can get creative!

Make sure you have at least one (preferably two) tight fitting hide boxes for the BP.

[Scribbles]

Thanks for the help...I live in Miami, FL. I was considering to cover the top side after reading some posts i found in the past stating the same thing.

My biggest pet peeve is what temp reading should I trust from my present setup and who is giving false readings based on supporting factors such as hide, foil tape usage, etc. Thanks again for the reccomendation as I'm definitely going to consider a different substrate.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Humidity has been between 48-50%. I have misted twice daily to bring things up to about 58% which drops pretty slow back to the 48-50%

I'm considering to switch to aspen since it seems the heat can possibly penetrate it much better in comparison to the thick reptibark pieces.

Aspen won't be much better. I have had great results with corrugated wrap. Not as nice looking but it works great.

You should not use foil tape on any probe or inside the of the cage (or any other tape inside the cage). I use hot glue to attach my thermostat probes. I completely remove the tape from the acu-rite probe, then hot glue it. For both proves, don't put hot glue on the probe itself, but on the wire. The probe from your Helix should be your most accurate temperature sensor, it will be at least + or - 1 degree if not even more accurate than that. Trust your helix above all else. It cost the most... There is a reason for that. I don't think you need a 50watt bulb unless you find the the ambiant temps are below 78 most of the time. This is how I have my Acurite probe attached in my Animal Plastics PVC enclosure.

[Evenstar]

Cover the screen top completely leaving just an opening big enough for the bulb. This will hold in more heat and humidity.

Lose the bark. It's too dry and it will mold very fast if you try to mist it down for humidity.

The best substrates are newspaper, paper towels, cypress mulch, or Aspen.

Aspen will also mold quickly if misted for humidity but if kept clean and changed this should not be a problem.

*edit*
You can use foil taped down to cover the screen top. You can also get a thin sheet of pink insulation, paint it whatever color you'd like, cut it to fit the sides and back of the tank, and put it on the outside of the tank. This is decorative, will help keep the snake calm as it cuts out reflection and glare, and it adds a lot of extra insulation

You can get creative!

Make sure you have at least one (preferably two) tight fitting hide boxes for the BP.

x2! The bulbs will suck the humidity out really quickly. I know you need the bulb to bump up the ambient temps - I need to as well on my baby boa's tank - so you need to do something to the screen top to help hold in the humidity. I like to use wax paper sealed along the edges with duct or foil tape - it lets in light but closes the top really well.

I recommend cypress mulch or coco fiber for substrate - this will help with the humidity too. And you won't need a thick layer - no more than 1/2 an inch. Too thick and heat can build up and actually make the hotspot too hot. Less is better.

To answer your specific questions:

A) How accurate is the probe from the HELIX unit? IS the foil tape possibly skewing these numbers and should I take a different approach? IS the differential temperature that great between the 3 devices? Who should I trust...
Your temps actually sound pretty decent and as long as they're stable, you should be all set. HELIX are actually pretty darn reliable. The foil tape should not be skewing the reading enough to be worried about. The differential temp between the 3 units aren't an issue. First, they probably aren't that far off from each other and second, absolute precise temperature to the single degree is not necessary as long as the temps are STABLE. If your ambient temp is consistant between 76-80 and your hotspot between 90-93, your snake will be fine.
B) Should I add a 50W Infrared bulb over the middle of the tank to increase ambient temps?
I wouldn't add any other bulbs. The more bulbs, the less humidity and that is more important since your temps are more or less fine.
c) Should I face the temp probe from accurite arched side facing down, facing up or remove the adhesive tape and tape it down right to the tanks bottom over the helix probe of course both probes being on opposing sides of the bottom glass.
The Serpent Merchant answered this for you with his pic. The flat side of the probe faces down.

Hope this helps you! Can't wait to see pics of the little guy!

[Scribbles]

Thank you all for the quick replies...and specifics to my inquiries. I'm a bit anal to the preciseness simply because when I had my reef tanks going it was truly about precise levels to maintain corals which got to be a pita after 2 kids, 3 dogs, a leopard gecko, and a wife, and so a downsize was in order!

It really sucks my wife had to be let go of.

Seriously thank you all again.

-Nick

[RestlessRobie]

Covering 3 sides of the tank will help with holding in the heat I used cardboard with foil tape facing in on my tanks. As for Humidity and the top I cut a peice of Plexi from Homedepot (I am sure lowes would have it as well) to fit inside the slider screen and cut a few holes for ventilation and the CHU lamp does wonders for humidity and stabilizing the temps. Hope this helps you out and ask if you have any other questions. See pic below for what my Plexi looks like