Quote Originally Posted by mr~python
im not talking about dropping the temps... just asking if they would need the basking area because they wouldnt get a basking area at 10:00 at night in the wild(right?).
Since the snake is being kept in a captive environment, I feel it's the owners duty to provide the snake with the entire range of temps it needs 24 hours a day. When it's in a cage it's not like it can go find something to bask on like it can in the wild if it needs to. No one is smart enough to know when and where a snake may want to bask ... captivity is NOT the wild ... so all you can do is give your snake the option and let it choose for itself. Also, with captive ball pythons being fed probably 10 - 20 times more often than they eat in the wild they are going to need to bask a lot more. I'm sure you could get away with cutting off the basking spot at night it you only fed 3 - 4 times a YEAR.

FWIW, field herping up and down the east coast, I've come across more snakes basking at night than during the day by an order of magnitude. To me, that's pretty significant.

Oh, and 75 is way too low for a ball python. Keep the temps above 80 and you won't have to worry about respiratory infections. I've seen ball pythons get slight URI's when kept at 77 - 78 degrees in drafty areas.

-adam