Temperature issue with CHE.

[Avsha531]

Hey everyone, two weeks ago I purchased my first ball python and I could’t be happier (even though he’s a really defensive/nippy baby).

Anyway, for my set up I originally bought just an UTH and set up with a thermostat set to 92°. This worked perfectly for my hot spot which sits between 90° and 94° at any given time. However, this did almost nothing for my ambient tank temperature which remained at 73°. I know this is too low for a ball python, so I went out and purchased a CHE and a lamp which has a dimmer switch. I figured I could turn the lamp on with the lowest setting and gradually turn it up until the cool side reached the desired temp. This worked and I got the warm side ambient temp to 88° and the cool side ambient temp to 80°. My only issue now is that the temp (measured with a digital probe thermometer) about an inch below the CHE at the top of the tank is 98°. Do you think this is a problem? I read that NOWHERE in the tank should ever be above 96°. But it’s not like he spends any time in this area. He is able to reach this area if he crawls up against the side of the enclosure, but he has only done this once while he was first exploring his tank and hasn’t done so since. Thank you for any replies.

P.S. All of the fidgeting with the temperatures/heating methods was done before I brought him home. It just occurred to me to measure the temp right below the CHE tonight.

I went through the exact same experience in the past. What I have found with the CHE is that if the ambient temp is that high on the hot side (88), the "basking area" on the surface underneath it got like 108 degrees! You need to measure that directly with a TEMP GUN/IR THERMOMETER and dial it in from there. Using it now with my KSB I have a hot spot of about 92-94 under the CHE, and that gives me ambients of about 82-78 Hot/Cold. When I was using it with my BP I set the hotspot under the CHE at around 90, and for me (about 70 degree room) that kept ambients at 81-77