Single Ball Python in tub, having temperature problems.

[dylhynesdisabled]

So I'm renting an apartment for college with 2 friends and I want to keep a single ball python as a pet. I have a tub with a exo terra UTH and am picking out a thermostat (side question: pet store has reptitemp 500r, should i order a hydrofarm instead?). I don't have a rack or anything, I was just going to lay the tub on my dresser.

My room is pretty cold, due to where I live and sharing a power bill with other people. My average room temp is between 70 and 75. I tried running my UTH for a day without a thermostat just to get an idea of what the cold side would do, and it barely went above 75.

I realize I could just go and crank the heat in the room but that's expensive for a 3rd year college student like me and I find the heat hard to sleep in.

Does anyone know of any other way to create a suitable thermal gradient in my tub, short of buying a second uth and thermostat ? (also expensive). Any ideas would be great. I'm thinking it might be possible to insulate the tub with styrofoam.

Thanks.

[Albert Clark]

So I'm renting an apartment for college with 2 friends and I want to keep a single ball python as a pet. I have a tub with a exo terra UTH and am picking out a thermostat (side question: pet store has reptitemp 500r, should i order a hydrofarm instead?). I don't have a rack or anything, I was just going to lay the tub on my dresser.

My room is pretty cold, due to where I live and sharing a power bill with other people. My average room temp is between 70 and 75. I tried running my UTH for a day without a thermostat just to get an idea of what the cold side would do, and it barely went above 75.

I realize I could just go and crank the heat in the room but that's expensive for a 3rd year college student like me and I find the heat hard to sleep in.

Does anyone know of any other way to create a suitable thermal gradient in my tub, short of buying a second uth and thermostat ? (also expensive). Any ideas would be great. I'm thinking it might be possible to insulate the tub with styrofoam.

Thanks.

What material is this tub made of because a uth cannot be placed onto plastic or rubber. A glass enclosure is more appropriate. You can line the sides of the glass enclosure with aluminum foil to help fight the heat loss. Only have the front visible to the inside. There are some artificial foliage background you can buy to line the foil covered sides of the enclosure. A versa top to fit the top of the enclosure will increase the interior temps by 6 to 10 degrees and also will solve the humidity requirement. The foil will also decrease outside disturbances to your python thus decreasing the stress level in the animal. Styrofoam is a good idea also and couple that with a clamp lamp for overall top heat source. Keep uth and lamp on the same side. You can always move the clamp lamp when you are using the versa top. Thermometer and hygrometer are a must!! Good luck. Stay in peace and not pieces. A.C.

[dylhynesdisabled]

What material is this tub made of because a uth cannot be placed onto plastic or rubber. A glass enclosure is more appropriate. You can line the sides of the glass enclosure with aluminum foil to help fight the heat loss. Only have the front visible to the inside. There are some artificial foliage background you can buy to line the foil covered sides of the enclosure. A versa top to fit the top of the enclosure will increase the interior temps by 6 to 10 degrees and also will solve the humidity requirement. The foil will also decrease outside disturbances to your python thus decreasing the stress level in the animal. Styrofoam is a good idea also and couple that with a clamp lamp for overall top heat source. Keep uth and lamp on the same side. You can always move the clamp lamp when you are using the versa top. Thermometer and hygrometer are a must!! Good luck. Stay in peace and not pieces. A.C.

Why can't I use a UTH on a plastic tub ? I have 3 or 4 friends who do it without problems and have talked to many others who do it as well. I'm not sure what the actual type of plastic is but for the full day I ran the UTH on it there was no negative effects. Maybe there is something I'm missing but is it any different than a breeder using flexwatt ? I figured I would cut out all of that work with the foil and lamps and just use a tub.

[Albert Clark]

Why can't I use a UTH on a plastic tub ? I have 3 or 4 friends who do it without problems and have talked to many others who do it as well. I'm not sure what the actual type of plastic is but for the full day I ran the UTH on it there was no negative effects. Maybe there is something I'm missing but is it any different than a breeder using flexwatt ? I figured I would cut out all of that work with the foil and lamps and just use a tub.

Well, I personally would be concerned about the fire hazard. Uth's packaging when you buy them are printed with a caution; do not apply to plastic or rubber. That may be what happened after 1 day but just be careful. Next time you have a chance, read the warnings on the uth packaging. Actually just google it for the warnings. Be safe. Good luck.

[Deluge]

Temps have been dropping here, as well. I just bought a mini space heater from BestBuy for like $20. As for the thermostat, I went with an STC-1000. It's not plug-n-play, though. You have to do some wiring. It's very accurate, it has a probe, an LCD display and you can calibrate if you need to. It's an on/off type of therm, but you can adjust how steady it holds the temp, I have mine set to half a degree. So if it drops more than that, it kicks on. I looked at the 500r and I passed on it because there's no actual temp read out on it. You have to get something like an IR temp gun to see how warm the UTH is getting, and adjust the dial from there. Kind of a hassle. Hope this helps.

Also, I'm using Flex Watt on a plastic tub without issues. Basically the same thing as a heat mat. So you're good.

[dylhynesdisabled]

Temps have been dropping here, as well. I just bought a mini space heater from BestBuy for like $20. As for the thermostat, I went with an STC-1000. It's not plug-n-play, though. You have to do some wiring. It's very accurate, it has a probe, an LCD display and you can calibrate if you need to. It's an on/off type of therm, but you can adjust how steady it holds the temp, I have mine set to half a degree. So if it drops more than that, it kicks on. I looked at the 500r and I passed on it because there's no actual temp read out on it. You have to get something like an IR temp gun to see how warm the UTH is getting, and adjust the dial from there. Kind of a hassle. Hope this helps.

Also, I'm using Flex Watt on a plastic tub without issues. Basically the same thing as a heat mat. So you're good.

Yeah, if I had a separate room to keep the snake in I would buy a space heater but our shared apartment is too small for that. Probably going to have to build a shelf and line it with styrofoam, I can't think of anything else for my situation. How much did you pay for an STC-1000 ? I would have no clue how to wire and that would probably end up costing me extra to pay someone else. The only reason I'm actually considering the reptitemp is because I already have 2 thermometers to dial it in with, and I can just walk in the store and buy it. I hate waiting for shipping where I live in Canada, haha. Thanks.

[Deluge]

The thermostat was like $15 shipped on Ebay, plus $8 for an extension cord to wire it up. So it was about $23 for the whole setup. The space heater I have isn't huge, it's actually designed for use on desktops. It's basically the size of a desktop pc speaker. Much smaller than a shelf, for sure.

Here's a vid on how to wire up the thermostat. It's actually super easy.

[PitOnTheProwl]

Okay FIRST off, YES you can use then on a tub.
You want to make sure you a properly regulating it.

Second an UTH is not meant to heat ambient temperature and I would bet you are not properly measuring your temps.
You need to measure the temperature on the inside flood of the enclosure above the UTH. the surface temperature is what you are regulating and if you are running wide open then it is well over 110 to 120 degrees. This is a fire hazard.

[PitOnTheProwl]

Well, I personally would be concerned about the fire hazard. Uth's packaging when you buy them are printed with a caution; do not apply to plastic or rubber. That may be what happened after 1 day but just be careful. Next time you have a chance, read the warnings on the uth packaging. Actually just google it for the warnings. Be safe. Good luck.

They also DONT mention a thermostat

[kitedemon]

hey Pit, I might be back...

Hey I am with pit on this one, Uth are fine on plastic tubs as long as they are regulated. I would go further to suggest that an on off stat is not good enough for a UTH on a plastic tub. It runs full power and then no power. This means while it is on the temp can spike to max heat. Plastic tubs have no thermal mass, nothing to slow the transfer of heat. They often will get hot faster than the stat can register the heat change and generate overly hot interior temps.

I would firstly recommend a modern UTH one that is a low density element that max temp is always below 100ºF. An ultratherm for example. This prevents massive heat build up and the fire hazard is reduced. With the plastic thin walled tub (rubbermaid or similar) I would suggest a proportional stat. (herpstat, helix, eco, herpkeeper) Tubs never perform well in cool rooms they as you have discovered need warm ones. Yes you can build some sort of insulated box to make a mirco room to solve this problem. The cost savings in a single tub in a cool room if you have been paying attention is getting quite high, stat, contrived box arrangement, room heater. I would suggest a PVCx enclosure, it has a wide ability to have flexible heat sources some of which heat ambients. The stat you have will work better and safer on it, and it will hold more heat that you have generated inside. The best of all worlds in a cool room.
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