A Soon To-Be BP Owner Has Some Questions

[bcr229]

I was under the impression you need to create a day/night cycle hence the need for a lights, and as for the heating I was under the assumption that the heat lamp is this red lamp that snakes can't see. I am wondering if one of those is good ( I am going to buy an adult BP so he'll happily settle into a 3 foot by 1.5 foot vivarium ) for keeping the enclosure hot and I was also wondering if that heat lamp should be switched off at night and switched back on in the morning.

The ambient light entering the enclosure from your room is plenty. Ball pythons are nocturnal animals, in the wild during the day they hide underground and they come out at night to hunt.

I hope you have a true reptile vivarium and not a fish tank with a screen top. Otherwise maintaining heat and humidity is a major pain in the patookus as the warm, moist air floats right out the top of the enclosure.

I've never used orchid bark. A lot of folks who want to use a natural substrate have started using PLANT!T Coco Planting Chips and swear it can't be beat for the price:
http://www.horticulturesource.com/pr...ducts_id=19891

For heat ball pythons seem to do best with an under-tank heater regulated by a thermostat.