1st time BP owner heating and humidity issues

[coley]

I just got my first snake, a Firefly Python, 3 days ago. I bought him at a reptile show and he's 2 months old. The seller recommended a heating pad like most ppl. I got him a 20 gallon reptile tank and the heating pad that is for that size. The temp wouldn't raise above 70 degrees in whole cage. I have thermometers on both sides and hygrometer in the middle. I thought it was just slow to heat but after 9 hrs still at 70. I went and got the 100 watt day light and a 60 watt night bulb. I can keep the hot side 87-90 but then the cold side sits at 77 or 78. I have to spray maybe 5 times throughout the day to keep humidity between 50 and 60 percent. At night it's 80ish under light and 73-75 on other side. He seems healthy. He stays under hide on warm side most of the day and once night bulb goes in he cums out for a while. Today was the first time he's come out During the day and went to the cool side hide. I really wanna make sure this sounds normal and I'm doing this right. I want to use uth like everyone else but 70 just seems sooo low. Obviously with the light it's not easy to keep humidity in. I can literally watch it drop. I put a damp towel over the lid which helps a little. I still have to spray 5 times a day almost. Realistically I can't stay home everyday spraying his cage so any suggestions for stabilizing the humidity would really be appreciated. Any feedback in any way would be greatly appreciated.

[George1994]

You seem to be doing the best you can to make everything perfect. Possibly purchase a humidifier for the room, you won't notice too much difference, but it will benefit the snake and prevent you from having to mist so often.

[thejennabird]

I'm gonna ask you a few specifics to help pin down the issue:

I got him a 20 gallon reptile tank and the heating pad that is for that size.

How big is the heating pad? (Ie. how much coverage does it provide?). I ask because I've heard some of those "store brand" UTHs are technically too small and don't have enough wattage.

The temp wouldn't raise above 70 degrees in whole cage. I have thermometers on both sides and hygrometer in the middle.

Where are the thermometers located? Above/in the substrate or on the glass wall of the tank?

I put a damp towel over the lid which helps a little.

Have you seen this tank set-up tutorial? Tin foil and/or plastic wrap will do a better job of retaining humidity inside the tank compared to a towel because they aren't absorbent.

Now, very important: do you have a thermostat for your UTH? 70 does seem low, but how are you monitoring the temperature of the UTH itself (not the temp of the tank, the temp of the UTH itself?)

[coley]

I don't have a thermostat for it. I didn't see one at petsmart and the ppl didn't mention it. I'm not sure on wattage but the pad is prolly 6 inches wide. I do think my aspen was too thick and directions said add reptile carpet so I did that too. The thermometers are the dial ones you stick to cage. I have a pick of setup I just posted to gallery

[bcr229]

A UTH will not heat the air in the tank. Its purpose is to heat the glass on the tank floor so your snake can have belly heat.

If you don't have a thermostat to regulate the UTH then go unplug it before your snake gets hurt. Unregulated then can get hot enough to cause severe burns.

The people at PetSmart are freaking twits. They will sell UTH's all day but don't carry the thermstats to regulate them.

[coley]

I'm afraid of frying him if i turn it on w/ no thermastat now that I've read more and thinned out substrate on that side. I left carpet cause I didn't wanna disturb him. It's like 76 or 77 on cool side according to these dial thermometers and that's where he's at now. I'm afraid of him being too cold over there. Especially if I turn off light and just do uth. Should I just wait till I get thermostat to turn it on. Will carpet keep it from getting too hot? And finally should I be using a light and heating pad like the 20 g long setup tutorial video?

[coley]

My bad didn't see it b4 my post. I didn't have on and I'm bout to just look up nearest reptile store. Eff petsmart.

[albinos_rule]

As already mentioned the UTH is for belly heat only, not really intended to raise the ambient temps. I use a red 25 watt bulb on some of mine to raise the ambient temps a bit if needed. I personally don't worry to much about humidity unless they are in a shed cycle, then I mist the tanks 2-3 times per day.

[Velrys]

Yes you should wait until you get a thermoSTAT attached to the UTH to turn it back on.

The set up tutorial in Thejennabird's post is what you need to look at.

In it you will see that you need:

1) UTH, which should cover 1/4 to 1/3 of the tank

2) The thermoSTAT, petsmart does carry a lame zilla thermostat (they just don't know what it's used for) but it's better than nothing

3) A digital thermometer with probe

Again you will see how to attach all of this stuff in the set up tutorial.


As a personal suggestion: remove the carpet, they get nasty and don't provide anything other than a delightful odor.

[thejennabird]

Yeah, in addition/support to what everyone else has mentioned. In the simplest and most helpful terms possible:
1) Your best bet is to follow the tank set-up tutorial exactly.
2) Dial thermometers on the glass do not tell you the temperature on the substrate where your snake is sitting. (Your UTH is probably much hotter under the substrate) You need thermometers measuring the ground level temperature. I strongly recommend this model, and it's only $15 at most Walmarts.
3) You don't need carpet AND aspen. As suggested, remove the carpet. This should help get more heat into the tank.
4) I highly recommend this reliable, $35 thermostat. Install it as instructed in the tutorial above.

Once you know the actual temperature of the UTH under the substrate, you can adjust your lamps and humidity accordingly. You may try cypress mulch or cocohusk to improve humidity through the substrate. Good luck!