Okay, I sort of Jumped the Ball on this one..

[luvepriscilla]

Thanks, will def. turn that down :]

[PitOnTheProwl]

A heads up on your basking spot....95 is way too hot....

No its not, you just want to make sure it doesnt get over 95 for an extended period of time. If you are still on the dimmer you will want to run hotter temps because it will not bump up if the room cools during the winter months.

[luvepriscilla]

No its not, you just want to make sure it doesnt get over 95 for an extended period of time. If you are still on the dimmer you will want to run hotter temps because it will not bump up if the room cools during the winter months.

Okay...wait- so its not? From what I'm reading in me BP Book (The Ball Python Manual and the care sheet they provide on this site for BPs) it seems that the basking temp. should be 90-95 (care sheet states around 90).
So should I still lower it or should I keep it around 90-95 like I've had it at?
BTW I am still on the dimmer.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Wait a minute.. Are you using a 28 qt plastic container?? You can't use a CHE with that.. That's just plain dangerous. For a plastic tub you need an under tank heater on a proper thermostat like a herpstat. In your first post you mentioned a 28 qt container.. You could melt the plastic.

[luvepriscilla]

I do have a UTH on one side of the tub (yes, its the 28 qt plastic container) but I was having issues keeping the ambient temp. up, so I got a CHE for it and it worked great. Have had it up for over a week without issues. I was keeping an eye out to make sure it wouldn't be a problem and I haven't seen one so far. Its currently about 1/2" away from the actual tub.

[TheSnakeGuy]

If it was melting his tub that problem would've been fixed in that day. And we would've heard about it, lol. I'm glad you decided to return the snake. For your next purchase go through a breeder. Even small hobby breeders are better and the prices are better since breeders don't try to make real profit from normals.
It's typically better all around because they can usually tell you the sex of the animal, how many times it's fed/shed, and you'll be more sure of it's general health.

[PitOnTheProwl]

So should I still lower it or should I keep it around 90-95 like I've had it at?

Yes.
Also, a CHE that close to a tub may turn into a problem.

[snakesRkewl]

CHE's are dangerous when used with plastic tubs, I hope you have no cats, dogs, or children

A 28 qt tub will hold good humidity without spraying, I bet your hygrometer is not reading the humidity well.
95 degree hot spot is a touch high but do-able, I try for 92ish but 95 won't hurt.

The least you want to use is a thermostat like this...http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR.../dp/B000NZZG3S

[kitedemon]

There is clearly lots of debate on temps the problem I see with the top end is what if your thermometer is not accurate most inexpensive digital units have specs that claim it will be at least 2º of accurate over or under 95+2=97 and everybody will agree this is too warm. My suggestion is most say 90º so not hotter than 92º if you do not have a known accurate thermometer. I personally use 90º. The CHEs get very hot you should insure it cannot get the tub too hot of fall. Tubs suck in cool rooms for this reason.

[luvepriscilla]

*Whoa*
Didn't expect to get so much feedback! XD

So to get back to everyone:
@TheSnakeGuy: LOL yes, you already know me. Aand thanks for the info. buut... well I actually ended up going to Petco (okay, don't hate me for that one) when they had them on sale for like $40 on black friday. Though this time I made sure to pay more attention to which I got and he/she seems very healthy :]

@PitOnTheProwl: Yeah, I figured that much but I've had it on there for a over a week and I haven't had any issues yet. I do check on it daily of course. If I run into any issues, I am def. going to see what I can do.

@snakesRkewl: I have the snake in my room so its safe there (no children, dogs and no cats in the house/room either). I have since lowered the high temp. to 90-93°'s. Since the rheostat works, Ill probably be using it longer. Thanks for the link though! Will be looking into those.

@kitedemon: Makes sense about it [possibly] being off. Decided to take the advice given, and lowered the temp down. The highest its gotten since then is 93°'s :] As mentioned, I have been keeping on eye on it and check the tub daily to make sure it doesn't cause problems. Since aquariums are harder to keep hot in general, it would really not be an option for me seeing as to how my room gets so cold at night. Since I've set up the CHE, the temps. seem to be almost perfect.


Had another question for you:
I was looking at me snake through the tub and it was (or seemed like) it was trying to get out. Feel like it might be hungry. Should I try to feed it 2x/week? Or just keep it to its 1/week schedule?