Help with Ambient Temps/No Hotspot...

[purple python]

Hey everyone!

For those of you that heat the room, I'd like some advice.

I have been really looking into heating the overall room vs hotspots in each tub. Each room in my apartment has independent thermostat control, and I haven't noticed too much of a difference in the electric bill. However I am interested in purchasing a space heater and I'd like to know what kinds some of you recommend. I'm looking into ordering an oil heater...

A few of my snakes don't ever seem to use their hotspots (which I keep at 90F) while maintaining a room temperature of 80F. Recently, I bumped it up to 82-84F (86F midday and 80F evenings) ambient temps and I'm wondering if this range will work or if I should adjust it or go back to heat pats entirely.

And what are some pros/cons of heating my snakes this way?

I haven't been trying this method more than a few days at a time and haven't really noticed any differences in my snakes. They have eaten, pooped, and shed without a problem. My blood seems to be really enjoying the removed hot spot.

Presently I am keeping a hot spot for my hatchling and pregnant female. Would these two be okay without a hotspot as well? I plan to maternally incubate - will this endeavor be successful with just higher ambient temps?

Would love to hear advice and personal experiences about what worked and didn't work for you.

Thanks a bunch!

[Expensive hobby]

I personally only use ambient heat and so far have had a lot of success with it.

I use a switchable 1250/1500watt ceramic space heater controlled by a Ranco ETC 111000 set at 87° and circulate warm air via a ceiling fan to push warm air downward.

Everything in my room eats, poops and sheds without issue. All are active (except my balls obviously) and everything seems content.

Given a large enough water bowl even with ambient heat they can thermoregulate via soaking and evaporation. I have temp'd snakes as cool as 73° in a room that is 87°. Some of my species are more temperate than others so that is actually an acceptable temp for some of them.

Also naturally cooler weather species get the bottom tubs/enclosures and warmer species get higher up. The room stays pretty consistent from top to bottom but there is a 2-3° difference from the ceiling to the floor in the corners of the room.

The pros are:
-Less equipment to buy/setup/monitor/maintain
-less chance for a failure to go unnoticed
-as a whole it is safer(no direct heat sources immediately touching a tub/enclosure in case of a failure
-changes are as simple as setting one t-stat
-if you have an escape in a sealed heated room you don't have far to look and you know they will be alive and warm
-if you have to repair an enclosure it's as simple as placing the snake in any tub with no equipment to setup

Cons:
-Two pieces of equipment are responsible for keeping your entire collection alive
-harder to drop temps for breeding of individual pairs
-if there is a failure it happens to everything in your collection not just one tub/rack
-larger than normal water bowls "should" be used for the snakes comfort


Maternal incubation should be just fine as long as your ambient temps aren't too high. They can heat up a clutch through twitching but cannot cool them down.

Hope this helps a bit

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 3

[purple python]

Thanks a lot! Great info and really in depth!

What general temp should I be going for? 87F seems on the high to me, but maybe I'm wrong? Would 82-84F also be suitable? Especially for a maternally incubating female?

[steve_r34]

Check this thread .. someone on here does maternal inc .. w/o hotspots

- - - Updated - - -

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?208383-maternal-incubation

Would of helped if I put the thread lol

[purple python]

Very helpful, thank you :-)