Heat and Humidy

[adhamm]

I recently purchased the Exo Terra Large/XtraTall Terrarium (36" W x 18" D x 36"H). I am trying to find a way to get the humidity and temperature I need for my 3 1/2 ball Python. I have used Foil to seal off the screen at top. I have installed Heat Wave Rain Forrest heat pad size large on the right side under tank and I have a 7" light dome sitting on top of the top screen. I am suppose to keep the tank in the 80's with the hotspot reaching 90 degrees and the humidity above 50%. At this point my humidity is like 28% and the I can barely keep the temp at 70 degrees. I am contacting you to see if you can recommend something else that I can do to get the temperature up and the humidity up for a ball python.

I can't really get another Tank as I got this all setup and on a cabinet. I am prepared to alter it or what I need to do to make it work. I have consider hanging the light from the inside and replacing the screen up top with treated wood. What I am unsure of is if this is what I should do or not, and if I should use infrared or ceramic heating bulb? I also have ordered a large water bowl that I will place under the heat dome. I have considered a mister to keep moister in there or even a moving fountain.

Any advice or recommendations to help me get my tank setup correctly I would greatly appreciate it.


Thanks in advance,
AH

[Dahliasmom]

how and where are you measuring the temp on the hot spot?

[adhamm]

I use a digital thermometer that I put a probe next to the hide..

[adhamm]

keep in mind this is a new setup for my snake. I have not moved her over there yet. I am trying to get it setup correctly and move once everything is right. I don't have a problem in my smaller tank but she is outgrowing it so I started putting this one together.

[BPGator]

Didn't see a mention of a thermostat controlling your UTH. You should have a temp reading from the inside of your tank directly against the glass next to your UTH.

As for humidity, what's the humidity in your house? 28% seems really low for the tank. What substrate do you use?


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[Mangiapane85]

You need to put the probe for your thermostat (you DO have one of those right) directly on to the under tank pad. Foil tape works well.

And there are many threads around here that talk about ways to cover the screen top tanks to increase the humidity. I don't use tanks myself (this being a big reason why), so I'm of not much help. Though I do know some people will use foil, plastic wrap, stuff like that..

But under NO circumstances should you put a heat lamp INSIDE of the cage. Never ever.


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[HVN_4AG]

Ahhh, the pleasures of getting a tank setup right...

Here are a couple of suggestions for each issue:

Humidity: Using foil is a cheap and good way to cover a screen top. It also won't be affected by a heat lamp. I would say however, don't cover the screen top completely.

Make sure to leave some portion open for air exchange.Perhaps you're already doing something such as misting sphagnum moss in the tank. This will definitely help, but you may end up needing to mist it every day (annoying). Something I do with my tank is to take pumice (a rock) and soak it in water in my sink. Then I put the stone in my enclosure. The porous nature of the stone allows it to retain a lot of moisture and let it out gradually. A few good sized pumice stones might help keep the humidity up.

Temperature: Good call on using a UTH, they also won't dry out the enclosure as much as a heat lamp. Question about your temperature probe; is it just to monitor temperature or does it control the UTH? You could get a temp controller (Inkbird is what I use, $30 on Amazon) that has the UTH plugged into it. I set mine to 93 during the day and 83 at night. This way, you're snake will always have at least one sufficiently warm area. My ambient air temp varies between 73-76, which is fine. I don't think that a ceramic heater is necessary, especially since they are notorious for drying out the air (which is an issue you're having). I use a 50w infra red heat lamp atop my tank on the hot side, which rests atop the screen. I use a timer for it where it runs from about 10am-midnight. It isn't too powerful, but I have sphagnum moss at the bottom of the tank below the light, which is misted and allows humidity to be generated. For a tank you're size, a 75w infra red heat lamp might be good.

Hope this helps!

[adhamm]

At this time I only have the UTH and the 100 watt Infrared plugged directly into the wall. How does a controller control the hear out of these? Also if you have a suggestion for a thermostat that would be great. I have googled a few that was mentioned but here are a lot of options. Not sure which one is being recommended.

My base layer is the Aspen mix by Zoo-Med. Should I use the Moss? I picked up the Repti Fogger during lunch that I will install tonight.

Is it OK to place the dome lamp directly on the screen or should I get the brace that holds it above the screen?


Again thanks for all the time and help.

AH

[redshepherd]

At this time I only have the UTH and the 100 watt Infrared plugged directly into the wall. How does a controller control the hear out of these? Also if you have a suggestion for a thermostat that would be great. I have googled a few that was mentioned but here are a lot of options. Not sure which one is being recommended.

My base layer is the Aspen mix by Zoo-Med. Should I use the Moss? I picked up the Repti Fogger during lunch that I will install tonight.

Is it OK to place the dome lamp directly on the screen or should I get the brace that holds it above the screen?


Again thanks for all the time and help.

AH

If you only have one snake and aren't planning on getting more anytime soon, the Herpstat 1 is the best in the hobby. It's a proportional thermostat, so it slowly controls how much power to let into the UTH to keep it at the exact temperature you set it at. Otherwise, the Vivarium Electronics VE-100 works great too, but it's an on-off type thermostat.

What does your setup look like so far? Adding in one of these long vines on amazon will help with maintaining humidity after misting/repti fogger, because the humidity settled on the leaves. More surface area to evaporate. This one is my favorite: https://www.amazon.com/Flukers-51015...479328011&sr=1

If you can't get your humidity to at least 50% after doing all of the suggestions, I honestly would just switch to a tub, at least over the winter dry season. Not all climates will work with glass tanks for ball pythons, and that's just an unfortunate fact.

The thermostat is 100% required equipment though, so can't skimp on that at all.

[Mangiapane85]

Even getting the jumpstart stat off of amazon would be better than the risk you're taking now. And make the substrate over the UTH no more than a 1/2 inch so the warmth doesn't get swallowed up.


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