First Ball Python, Help!

[Glassnake]

Hello there i'm new to the site and the hobby of snake keeping! I recently bought a PVC enclosure with only a locking glass door on the front and 2 vents on the back. The measurements of the enclosure are 24x24x12 and I plan on buying a male super pastel when the enclosure is ready! I just have some questions/concerns that I would like to resolve before I actually purchase the animal!

My first question is about heating. I purchased a strip of flex watt that measures around I'm guessing 16 inches long by 3 inches deep, I hooked this up to a zoomed rheostat and placed it under the enclosure however the temperature began to climb very quickly despite the setting on the rheostat being the lowest setting possible! I read online that I could simply raise the enclosure and this would allow for more ventilation of the heat tape and the temperatures would lower dramatically. I have done so and the temperatures went from around 104 degrees fahrenheit to roughly 94 degrees at the hottest point I can find. The hottest temperature right now is still around that 94 degree mark so I am wondering if this is too hot? This temperature is also below the substrate and I am unsure if the temp below it is important or if the temperature on top is the only one that matters!

My next issue is my heat gradient and the ambient heat temperature, The temperature on top of the substrate where the heat tape is ranges from 83-89 degrees whereas every other location in the tank ranges from 74-76 degrees... Is this much too cold for a snake to thrive? The air temperature is roughly 74.5 degrees.. How do I increase the cooler areas?

I will post pictures if it will help out with advice!

[The Serpent Merchant]

Zoo med Rheostats are junk. What you want is a thermostat.

Budget: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NZZG3S

Mid-range: http://www.reptilebasics.com/ranco-etc-111000-pre-wired

Best: http://spyderrobotics.com/home/products.html

Unlike rheostats thermostats automatically adjust the power going to the flexwatt keeping it at the right temperature.

I would suggest that you keep the substrate layer as thin as possible 1/2" or less. Otherwise the flexwatt won't be able to do its job properly.
BP's will dig into their substrate from time to time. If the floor of the cage is too hot (above 95) they can burn themselves.
Does your cage have a fluorescent light in it? If not I would add one. It will raise the air temperature a few degrees (you want it to be 78-80 degrees 75 at the lowest)

[hitman3303]

Your cage heat should be around 80 degrees, 75 the lowest at night. I've never used flexwatt on an aquarium, but I am figuring that it might get a little hot. Flexwatt transfers heat much fater than the heat pads. As you expand, just a word of advice, snake racks with bins are a much better bet then tanks or enclosures in my opinion. Throw on a herpstat and you pretty much have a perfect environment for basking, ambient heat and humidity. I did the glass aquarium and it was just too much work getting everything right.

Good luck,

[The Serpent Merchant]

Your cage heat should be around 80 degrees, 75 the lowest at night. I've never used flexwatt on an aquarium, but I am figuring that it might get a little hot. Flexwatt transfers heat much fater than the heat pads. As you expand, just a word of advice, snake racks with bins are a much better bet then tanks or enclosures in my opinion. Throw on a herpstat and you pretty much have a perfect environment for basking, ambient heat and humidity. I did the glass aquarium and it was just too much work getting everything right.

Good luck,

Flexwatt doesn't transfer heat any better, it simply gets way hotter. Any under tank heat source needs to be regulated by a thermostat so it really doesn't matter.

[Glassnake]

Thank you all for your help! I will definitely be purchasing a spyderrobotics thermostat! want to make the animal as comfortable as possible, might as well pay a little extra!

[Glassnake]

The issue with the enclosure is that it is a PVC so the only glass is on the front so I'm not sure how i would add any lighting! I'm considering putting in a LED light strip but I'm guessing this will not help with the temperature? its black PVC on the bottom, sides, back, and top so it makes adding lighting difficult! Should i just get a space heater and keep the room at 75?

[robert242245]

im not an expert or anything, but i keep the room my snake is in at about 78-83 all the time, it saves some heating expenses, if you can live with 80 (its pretty much liek that all the time where i live anyway) than i would heat it to 80, and keep it at that, saves money, and still gets the job done (for ambient heating anyway)

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also, buy a thermometer so you can keep track of the cage heat, so ambient is at the right temp, and if you need to adjust your heating of the room to be around 80

[arialmt]

You could try industrial strength Velcro. It stinks for a couple days though. You can also use screws, nuts and bolts for a back mount light fixture. I personally use an LED from home depot but it does little to add heat to the enclosure like a florescent would.

[ewaldrep]

LED would be perfect for a PVC cage. If you can find one with a switch on the cord it would probably work optimally because you won't have to open the enclosure to turn the light on. I have read other peoples posts where they cut the end of the cord off and drilled a small hole in the enclosure for the wire and then attached a new plug to the wire. Best of luck!