Quote Originally Posted by Plasma View Post
Im thinking about it now! They seem very nice and exactly the style I want but I have no clue how to set them up.. Like can I still use a heat pad? Is there a way I can put the probe to my thermostat inside and for my thermometers? Do you not use a lamp anymore and use something else? I'm clueless haha
I highly recommend the T-10 enclosure from animal plastics (or if you have the cash, a T11). The foot print (48" x 24") is, in my opinion, ideal for an adult ball python. As for height, it is not strict necessary, but it is helpful for two reasons: (1) If your snake is a climber, this gives you some room to play around with branches or other climbable furniture. (2) The height gives you more room to manipulative the snake and enclosure. I can't tell you how annoying I find it to try and clean out my one exo-terra low (24" x 18" x 12") for one of my geckos. There is so little room. A 24" deep enclosure further exaggerates this problem. It also gives you more room to decorate and set up a nice looking enclosure. Some people report shelves (typically used with carpet pythons) to be a nice addition.

You can use a UTH heat pad with animal plastics enclosures, but you may have to increase the temperature set point as the enclosures are usually thicker and the thermal conductivity of glass is higher. Usually people put the probe between the UTH and the cage, so it is underneath and then tailor it from there.

If you are game for it, you can also use something called a radiant heat panel. They are most expensive up front, but last forever and do a great job. I recommend Pro Products heat panels. You simply call in, a man named Bob will answer and walk your through the ordering process. Usually he'll ask you what enclosure and set up you have, then recommend a panel size. In this case, you can just dangle the probe on the back wall. There are several posts across the forums on how to set these up.

Generally, people don't recommend heat lamps, because while they heat well, they kill humidity. Radiant heat panels and UTH heal pads preserve it better. If you use a radiant heat panel, this the only heating element you will need. If you use a UTH, depending on your house ambient temperature, you can also use it exclusively. If your house if lower than ~75 F, then supplemental heat should be used in addition to the UTH. Generally, you can gauge how your snake is feeling based on how often he hugs his warm spot vs travels his enclosure.

Quote Originally Posted by Ss laser View Post
Oh I am sure the PVC is better if so many say so. But I will make a nice glass tank work well enough for me and for a baby python I hope. The black or white PVC ones will look real bad in my living room FYI. And that's where the boss says it goes for now.

So would anyone mind PM'ing me with what UTH watts/size was best on a 20 long. When I say lamp I thought a red bulb was fine? Also what Watt CHE was best between 50w to 100W? How did the percentage of humidity change with each 25 watt jump? I will try some engineering/science and good old redneck ability to one up the old glass tank. If I fail it will not be the first time. But I enjoy that type of stuff. And I learn new stuff! Extra part of the hobby to keep it interesting for me. And I can always throw in the towel and go PVC later for a larger habitat.
I actually think black plastic enclosures look nicer than glass enclosures, unless you have a well planted bio-active setup, then I might tend to agree. If you want a "furniture grade" plastic enclosure then several examples do exist. I don't like glass for ball pythons for several reasons: (1) the transparency of the enclosure seem to make snakes feel less secure than being surrounded on most sides by an opaque or translucent material. I was astonished to see how unhappy my kingsnake was in a 36" exo-terra. However, you can black out the sides. (2) You almost always have to modify the roof / top, which agitates me and almost always looks aesthetically poor. I have some custom tops on a few of my exo-terras (for frogs and geckos), but in hindsight, the shenanigans I had to do to modify them were not worth it. (3) Glass does not insulate as well as plastic given the aforementioned thermal conductivity. Plastic holds heat roughly 2-3x as well as glass. (4) I am of the opinion that 4' x 2' x 12-24" is the ideal size for adult ball pythons. A glass enclosure of this size is extremely heavy and far less robust than a plastic enclosure. Moving them would be a nightmare.

Regarding a UTH for a 20 long, the wattage is unlikely to matter as any commercial heat pad will give you a 88-93 F hot spot through glass and the size can be anything large enough that allows snake can coil itself on top of it. I have used reptile basics 6" x 11" pads for snakes up to maybe 800-1000g, as they get larger I might go for 11" x 11" or 11" x 17".

I would discourage the use of a CHE or heat bulb (especially as we near winter) unless your house ambient temperatures are quite low. I doubt the wattage of a CHE or heat bulb will scale linearly or otherwise with humidity drop. I used to use CHEs / heat bulbs of various wattages and none seemed to drop the humidity a reliable or predictable amount.