Newbie Issue.

[AJD140230]

I am new to ball pythons and this site and have enjoyed reading through this site. So now its time for questions of my own.

I recently purchased a ball python and have him/her mine for about 2 weeks now. I don't know the sex but plan to find out soon (one of the perks of my old lady being a vet tech cheaper bills). I purchased one of the generic zoo med 20 gallon reptile stater kit that came with the lights, bedding, a small UTH mat, etc... At first it didn't seem like the UTH was putting off much heat but, after a few days of he/she being on the cold side hide, I bought a digital thermometer and humidity gauge. The UTH was reading at temperatures of 105 F through the substrate and under the hide. I have an analog temperature/humidity that was reading the temperature at a steady 87-90 F. I unplugged the UTH this morning and and has been holding at 91 F and my ball python is back hanging out on the warm side ( I have heat lamps). I live in the Michigan and its pretty cold here now but the temperature inside his/hers tank seems to be holding. So my question is should I just leave the UTH unplugged? Also my digital humidity gauge is reading only at 23-30. I am using aspen bedding (waiting on a shipment of kritters crumbles to come) and have a damp towel on top. I mist a few times a day and it brings it up to around 50-60 for a little while then dissipates fast. Any suggestions?


Sorry for rambling just new to all this and looking for answers anything will help thank you.

[Pyrate81]

If you do not have a thermostat on that UTH, then yes you should leave it unplugged. Heat lamps will be fine if they are maintaining temperatures for you. I used heat lamps by themselves for the longest time. Also, analog temp gauges can be inaccurate, walmart sells a decent digital indoor/outdoor thermometer(brand accurite) which works well and is more accurate.

[Commandokev]

^^^ What he said about the Accurite!.

The optimal temps for BP's is to have the ambient temperature at or around 80F. They will need a warm spot at ~90F with a humidity of ~60%. You shouldn't have a problem keeping the ambient around 80F with you heat lamp as long as the room is around 73-75F. I recommend you get a thermostat to regulate the UTH. It will prevent the UTH from getting too hot and potentially burning your snake!

Thermostat:
http://spyderrobotics.com/home/products.html
It is a bit pricey but it is highly worth it when it comes to your snakes health.

[NH93]

You can also look into:

Thermostat: http://www.amazon.ca/Jumpstart-Digit...art+thermostat

I use them, they are pretty great - especially if you have a small number of reptiles.

I should get some sort of commission with all the times I post that Amazon link.

[AJD140230]

Thank you both I will look into the the accurite thermometer today since I have to return a beta tank to walmart. Any suggestion on how to keep my humidity up it does not stay at optimum levels at all maybe 10 mins before it falls back down to low 20s?

[Thalasuchus]

The kritter's crumble coco husk substrate you ordered will help with humidity a LOT. Just keep it moist so it doesn't get dusty, but not too wet that it molds. I haven't tried the wet towel method, but covering up to 90% of the screen top with aluminum foil, seran wrap or plexiglass will help keep moisture in the tank. Unfortunately glass tanks need a lot of modifications to work for reptiles.

The others answered your other questions, but I'll echo the importance of a thermostat: an unregulated heat mat can easily burn your snake's belly. Thankfully your little guy stayed off of it!

[Commandokev]

I'm guessing you loose all of the humidity so quickly because you have a screen top? I dealt with the same problem when I had cages like that. The best way I found to keep up the humidity is to lay a damp washcloth over the top. Try to cover like 70-80% of the top of the cage if you can. It will make a big difference.

[NH93]

I actually really liked having glass tanks the best method I found for humidity (even though I used foil to cover the top) was simply having a shed box. My humidity never quite reached 50%, even with the cyprus mulch and all that, but I always had a shed box. Just a plastic container with a hole in the lid, filled with damp moss. Every shed came off perfectly, no issues.

[BumbleB]

I actually really liked having glass tanks the best method I found for humidity (even though I used foil to cover the top) was simply having a shed box. My humidity never quite reached 50%, even with the cyprus mulch and all that, but I always had a shed box. Just a plastic container with a hole in the lid, filled with damp moss. Every shed came off perfectly, no issues.

I agree with this. Although I don't have a glass tank anymore using damp sphagnum moss in a hide box worked out the best for me. I even moved some mulch over to expose the glass, filled up the empty space with moss, and then added a hide above it. It created sort of a sauna effect being that It was underneath the heat lamp. As long as you keep it damp and not really moist you shouldn't have a problem and the sheds will be perfect. During the winter misting and covering almost the whole top still wasn't working to get my humidity up until I added moss.

[PitOnTheProwl]

Seems everyone here is getting you on the right track.
Cardboard wrapped in aluminum foil can help a lot with the humidity issue to cover the top on the tank.
Get a thermostat for the UTH and then you should be all set IF that is the only one you are going to get.