New BP owner questions!!

[tttaylorrr]

it's a regular heat bulb. i read that it's good to have a light on during the day so that they have a day/night cycle, and my room isnt super bright so I just bought a heat bulb (60 Watt). my issue right now is that when I turn the bulb off at night, the tank cools down. should I buy a ceramic bulb to run at night? I don't have a regulation on the heat lamp, I just have the two thermometers on either side so I can make sure it doesnt get too hot in the tank. what would you recommend for heat lamp regulation?

the temp at the substrate on the hot side is at 90. what I have been doing is turning up the temp on my heat mat slightly at night when I have the bulb off, but I feel like there has to be a better way!!

ball pythons do not require a light cycle, and the benefits of offering a light cycle are still debated.

you might need to up the wattage of the bulb due to the height of the enclosure. in my 20gal (long) i run a 100 W CHE on a rheostat which keep the ambient temp at ~80° F. honestly i'd ditch the bulb and get a CHE that you can run all the time which will also allow you to keep the thermostat setting for the UTH consistant. no temp drops, no adjusting, just 24/7 ball python comfort.

for bulb regulation you can use either a thermostat, or a rheostat (lamp dimmer). i use rheostats for both my lamps and they work well and are also more affordable. it takes some time to learn the dial but you'll get the hang of it within an hour or two.