Hi,

I'm new to the forum and in the process of figuring out how to set up a CHE for my BP. I'm a first time owner and want to make sure I've done the appropriate research before messing around with installing very hot heating elements.

Right now the ambient temp in the room happens to be 75-85 degrees F throughout the day/night so I haven't installed the CHE I have yet, (I set up everything else first and my snake has been living in the enclosure for 2 days so far) but I need to get on with the installation this week. I have a dome and a basic CHE but not sure how to check the wattage. This equipment was bought used. It works but I'm not sure of the specs.

General setup:

I have an adult male BP in a 40 gal Exo Terra enclosure. He's got 2 hides, warm and cool and a habba hut in between them. (along with other clutter) I'm planning on buying a third hide that is identical to the on the hot side to be the new cold side hide, and keeping the current cold side one as a humid hide near the middle. Humidity has been fluctuating between 50-80 % as I work on the enclosure modifications but will stick around 65% at night when things aren't moving about and the door stays closed. I've heard some things about high humidity being fine for BPs and some things about it growing mold so I'm not sure I want to vary from the care sheet in that area but I'm interested what people's opinions on this would be.

The Exo Terra has been fitted with 3 glass panels on the top to help keep in the humidity. The quadrant over the uncovered mesh panel has enough space for the CHE to lie flat on the top of the mesh.

Temperatures:

I've got a UTE mat on the hot side that has a probe attached underneath it taking a consistent temp. The hotspot surface temp (temp taken on the glass) is consistently 91-93. I foolishly thought I could keep the probe stable in the enclosure underneath a hide but the snake moved it around immediately and the thermostat went bananas. According to my temp gun it reached over least 100 deg. I'm glad I caught that before the he spent any time sitting on top of it. The probe taking the temp under the mat works great to calibrate and the surface temp has been a nice 92 deg F for 24 hrs.

The room I'm in will probably get about 10 deg colder after a few days so I'll need to get the ambient heat source in the enclosure set up by then.

Questions:

Here are the temps I have written down as an optimal goal for cool and hot sides: Cool side should be no colder than 75 deg F, optimal is 76-82. Hot side should be no hotter than 90 deg, optimal is 83-88. Are these temps correct?

How do I check the specs/wattage on my CHE? What sort of thermostat should I plug my CHE into? I know dimmers are an option but I would feel safer with a thermostat regulating the lamp temp at all times. Where does the probe for the CHE thermostat need to be in the cage? How far away from the CHE does the cave decor need to be? I've been referencing this: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...f56a096c36.jpg for general setup for the CHE.

Would the snake prefer the CHE to be 'shining' directly over his hide and UTE hotspot -OR- installed 5 inches over (still well within in the hot side of the enclosure) NOT shining directly onto the hide?

That's all the questions I have right now! I'm sure I'll have many more later as I encounter more challenges in caring for my BP. (Though hopefully all goes well all the time lol)