New to all of this.....LOTS OF QUESTIONS

[ziggy7]

I'm hoping I can get some help here....we purchased a baby ball python two days ago from what we thought was a good store....seemed knowledgable, etc. We read alot on the net prior to making the purchase so we thought we kinda knew what we were doing. We were told that the python is approximately 6 months old. We purchased a 10 gallon aquarium, screen, 8 watt under the tank heating pad thing, hiding logs, water dish, and I believe cypress bark (the dark stuff), a crappy temp gauge - actually have two now....one of those strip things and one is a dial looking one. We were told at the time of purchase that we did not need a humidity gauge or a heat lamp...that the heat pad would work just fine. Got the snake home...set up the tank....realized that the pad was not working very well....is that normal? First night...it was approx. 73 degrees on the warm side and God only knows on the cool side. SOOOO...went to another store to purchase a heat lamp....the person there told us that the heat pads really don't work well so we're getting even more confused. Got the heat lamp and two bulbs - both 75 watts - one is a infrared and the other just regular lighting. We were able to heat up the warm side to approx. 92 degrees but the cool side remains at approx. 76 degrees or so. And now after reading the forums....I'm becoming concerned and really don't know where to go for answers since we've lost some faith in the place where we bought it. The snake seems to be doing okay....still hiding the majority of the time but seems 100% happier since we got the light. Any advice you all could give us would be great....
1. How can we get the temps up to what they need to be based on the tank we have, etc
2. What additional supplies should we buy if necessary?
3. Do we need a humidity gauge? Do we need to mist the tank due to the lamp?
We are looking for some sort of direction here....we want our snake to be happy so any advice, tips, secrets, etc. you may have for a new snake owner would be GREATLY APPRECIATED.

Thanks in advance

[Shelby]

Ok.. go to mgreptiles.com (or send Matt who is justcage here on the forums a message) and get two pieces of flexwatt that are wired. You will need something to control these under tank heaters, so you'll need two thermostats. The zoomed ones are the cheapest.. you can get away with them, but I recommend the johnson or ranco thermostats.

The problem with lamps is that they remove too much humidity. YES, you need a humidity gauge! Go to walmart and get an accurite (this is the most popular brand among herp keepers) indoor/outdoor thermometer/hygrometer.

Temps should be 92-94 warm side 82-84 cool and humidity should be 50-60%.

[Adam_Wysocki]

A couple of thoughts ...

1. It is EXTREMELY difficult to provide a proper heat gradient in a 10 gallon tank ... the dimensions don't leave much room for creating multiple "zones" of temperatures. Also, since heat rises, glass tanks with screen tops don't hold heat well at all.

2. The stick on thermometer and plastic dial are basically worthless. They have no reliable accuracy and your snake needs precision when it comes to temps.

3. Pet store employees have to be knowledgable about A LOT of different species of animals ... usually they know "just enough" about each one to skate by even in good pet stores ... a well versed, expert pet store staff is rare, but they are out there.

OK, now on to what you can do.

1. Most important ... get yourself a digital thermometer from Walmart, Target, Home Depot, etc ... it will be the best money you've ever spent on your snake ... anywere from $9 - $30.

2. If the UTH isn't working right, I would set the 10 gallon up with 2 heat lamps for now ... You'll have to play around with different wattage red bulbs, but if the 75 watt bulb is getting the one side to 92, then maybe a 25 watt red bulb can get the other side into the low 80's.

3. Keep asking questions ... you'll get there.

In the long term, you might want to research other caging options that are easier to heat as well as look into investing in a quality thermostat to hook your heating devices to, that will maintain the temperatures your snake needs automatically.

-adam

[tigerlily]

First off throw those dials and strip things away! They stink. (I was suckered into them too ) Go to Walmart/Target/Home Depot/whever and get a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer. You can even get one that measures two temps and the humidity. (Yes you need a humidity gauge)

You'll probably need to cover your lid with plastic wrap to help keep the humidity up, but you definitely need an under the tank heating pad.

You also need two hides, one for each side of the tank. I really don't like those hollow logs. Goto the dollar store and grab a couple rubbermaid containers. Make sure they are small hides. If they are too big, they're worthless. The idea is for them to be very snuggly in there.

You can also use a space heater to help with the room temps. You do not want any temps below 80! 92-94 on the hot side and 92-94 cool side is ideal.

Here's a link to the caresheet too...
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=52

[tigerlily]

How's that for a fountain of information! LOL!

Oh, and welcome to the site!!

[justcage]

Is that 8 watt UTH a Zoomed?

[ivylea77]

I found this very helpful when I was getting my first BP...

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=40


Its under the caresheets link. It will will explain step by step how to use a plastic cage which seems to be prefered by many. Good Luck

[ziggy7]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.....I really appreciate this.....I'm off to the store right now....I have two hiding logs.....one smaller than the other...but you guys don't like those??? And should the UTH be working better? I mean there's little to no heat coming off of it.....

[ziggy7]

Is that 8 watt UTH a Zoomed?

No...it's an Exo Terra Heat Wave.....

[tigerlily]

Remember your body temp is ~98.6, so anything warm to you is probably pretty warm. Try not to have too thick of a layer of bedding. That will not allow good heat transfer. Get the thermometer before you worry too much about temps. You need to have an accurate reading before you can decide what you have to have.

For hides, anything that is completely enclosed and dark will work. (tissue boxes and cool whip containers depending on the size of the snake) Oh and small too. I prefer rubbermaid like containers with a hole melted into them, but that's just me. (I use a nice cheap soldering iron from Walmart to melt the holes - I love that thing!)