Tank setup

[NH93]

Interesting! Nice looking snake
What kind of substrate is that?
You will want to get that tank off the floor, or at least have it raised a bit somehow so there is proper air flow for the UTH - it is a firehazard otherwise!!

I think you meant thermostat, not hygrometer hygrometers measure humidity levels, thermostats control heat output (ex. of UTHes). How are the temps looking?

I suggest swapping that heat bulb for a heat emitting bulb (or, if you want to see your snake at night and don't mind the glow) a red or black bulb. That way you don't have to turn it off at night, as red does not bother ball pythons (they can't see it on its own). You don't want temps dropping at night, you want it to remain around 80F ambient all the time

I love the idea of carboard hides. They are great when snakes aren't done growing! Or if you just don't want to invest in super expensive store bought hides!
One last comment. THE WATER IS SO BLUE. WHAT'S WITH THE BLUE?? LOL!

Best of luck

[Stark5050]

Interesting! Nice looking snake

I think you meant thermostat, not hygrometer hygrometers measure humidity levels, thermostats control heat output (ex. of UTHes). How are the temps looking?

I suggest swapping that heat bulb for a heat emitting bulb (or, if you want to see your snake at night and don't mind the glow) a red or black bulb. That way you don't have to turn it off at night, as red does not bother ball pythons (they can't see it on its own). You don't want temps dropping at night, you want it to remain around 80F ambient all the time

THE WATER IS SO BLUE. WHAT'S WITH THE BLUE?? LOL!

Best of luck

It it is a hygrometer and thermostat together, it runs the mini fogger and UTH. I will have it off the ground, I have it there for cleaning since he shed last night. The water looks blue because the bottom of the bowl is painted blue. I have no idea why it just came with the tank. In the last pic you can see the waterbowl I made, but I didn't cure it completely and it cracked lol. When I tried to do a quick fix, it shattered lol. So I will be making a new bowl soon. Thanks for the info! Ohh and the bedding is Zilla bedding, not sure exact makeup of it, but it's made for snakes and other reptiles. I do have a blue and white light, I have been running the white light because it's been fairly cold lately and it helps keep the ambient temps up. I use the blue at night to do the same and also to see him.

[PitOnTheProwl]

It it is a hygrometer and thermostat together, it runs the mini fogger and UTH. I will have it off the ground, I have it there for cleaning since he shed last night..

Still amazes me how many did not read that

The water looks blue because the bottom of the bowl is painted blue. I have no idea why it just came with the tank. In the last pic you can see the waterbowl I made, but I didn't cure it completely and it cracked lol. When I tried to do a quick fix, it shattered lol. So I will be making a new bowl soon.

Save the trouble unless you just want to make one............. Walmart ceramic dog bowls are about $7 each and can take a good beating

[Stark5050]

Save the trouble unless you just want to make one............. Walmart ceramic dog bowls are about $7 each and can take a good beating

Thanks PitOnTheProwl, I probably will just purchase a new waterbowl once he outgrows this one. I do enjoy making most of my own stuff, but at the same time I have failed epically at the clay stuff. I did try to mill out one of the flat stones I have in there, and it worked great for a hide. However, when I tried to seal it so I could use it for a waterbowl, again it failed. Although it stayed together I could never get it to seal completely and it looked horrible with the sealant on it. I know I could seal it with a stronger automotive grade sealant used in fuel tanks, but I don't think I want to expose my BP to that kind of chemicals, so I will probably stick with a store bought bowl from here on out. Maybe I can modify a store bought bowl and camo it up to look more appealing.

Thanks ks again folks for all y'all's input!!

[patientz3ro]

It it is a hygrometer and thermostat together, it runs the mini fogger and UTH.

I can't believe I didn't catch this before, but are you talking about the ZooMed HygroTherm?

The reason I ask is that I really don't think that's the best Tstat for controlling a UTH. Don't get me wrong, it's a great controller, and I use one myself, but the size of the probe coupled with the fact that it can't be used directly on the bottom of the cage (inside or out) means it's really best for ambient air temp.

If you're using something else, just disregard all of that.

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[The Serpent Merchant]

You will want to get that tank off the floor, or at least have it raised a bit somehow so there is proper air flow for the UTH - it is a firehazard otherwise!!

I love the idea of carboard hides. They are great when snakes aren't done growing! Or if you just don't want to invest in super expensive store bought hides!!

When controlled by a thermostat there is no need for an air gap for the UTH. The thermostat will prevent any heat build up from happening.

Cardboard hides are fine but they will need to be changed regularly to prevent bacteria/mold growth.

[NH93]

When controlled by a thermostat there is no need for an air gap for the UTH. The thermostat will prevent any heat build up from happening.

Cardboard hides are fine but they will need to be changed regularly to prevent bacteria/mold growth.

Good point about the cardboard hides.

However, I have to respectfully disagree with your first comment. If the probe is not under the tank but inside the tank (ex. on the bottom of the glass) the temperature will be different from the outside, underneath the tank. Also, with a heavy tank and a thick carpet, it would be touching the UTH - not a good idea.
There is a reason UTHs come with those little stickies to raise the tank.
Even if it were possible that a thermostat could prevent heat build up, which I don't agree with, it is much better to have air flow than risk it otherwise. Also not a smart idea to tell someone new to the hobby not to provide an air gap, when it could indeed be a fire hazard. At least that is my opinion.

[Stark5050]

To both of you, THANK YOU very much for your input. I greatly appreciate it both. As for the UTH, thank you I had not thought about the heat! fortunately that isn't where I keep the tank! I just had to down there to make cleaning it easier. Also, no I had not thought about the cardboard collecting bacteria and mold, but fortunately I am trying my make some more hides out of clay and by milling out some other large rocks. So, again to both of you, THANKS for the input. Both of you had great ideas.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Good point about the cardboard hides.

However, I have to respectfully disagree with your first comment. If the probe is not under the tank but inside the tank (ex. on the bottom of the glass) the temperature will be different from the outside, underneath the tank. Also, with a heavy tank and a thick carpet, it would be touching the UTH - not a good idea.
There is a reason UTHs come with those little stickies to raise the tank.
Even if it were possible that a thermostat could prevent heat build up, which I don't agree with, it is much better to have air flow than risk it otherwise. Also not a smart idea to tell someone new to the hobby not to provide an air gap, when it could indeed be a fire hazard. At least that is my opinion.

Thermostat probes are supposed to be attached directly to the UTH on the outside of the cage, and will therefor keep the UTH at the temperature the thermostat is set to and not a degree higher. I agree with you that a cage shouldn't be placed on carpet regardless, but there really isn't any need for an air gap. Even at full power a UTH usually won't get above 150 F which is still well below the point of catching anything on fire. The only time a UTH is really at risk of setting something on fire is if it actually shorts out, and an air gap isn't going to change anything if that happens. Further do you really think a small air gap is going to make a huge difference? It will lower the UTH temp by 10-15 degrees max. It is just something they say to protect themselves in case of a lawsuit. According to Zoo-Med their UTH's don't require a thermostat to stay in safe ranges. I can tell you from first hand experience that they are straight up lying about that. I have seen them get up to 130+ much quicker than you would expect, but level off after that.

I wholeheartedly agree with you that it is smart to play it safe with people who are newer to the hobby. I have written many posts stating so, but this is one of those things that I can say 100% for sure that I know to be true. I have 8 cages currently running with no air gaps between them and those cages have 12" THG heat tape which can get a lot hotter than a pet store UTH. My thermostat keeps them all at 98.0 F (+/- 0.9 F as that is the accuracy of my thermostat) Even without that first hand experience I have done the math that shows that a small air gap has very little effect on UTH temperature.

Even with the thermostat probe placed inside the cage (which isn't advised as it isn't nearly as safe) the thermostat will still be turning the UTH on and off or reduce it's heat output regularly preventing any meaningful heat buildup under the cat ego occur. Do you really think the surface under the cage could get hot enough to start a fire without the inside of the cage getting hotter than 95 F and the thermostat cutting/reducing power to the UTH?

All in all if you want to have an air gap for your UTH go ahead, it won't cause any issues, but it won't save you from a catastrophe in the extremely rare case that it happens.