Hey, I'd like to introduce myself and ask a few questions.

[JamesMX39]

Hey everyone, cool site you have goin' on here. My name is James and I'm from Chicago. I have a young ball python named Duane that I got a few weeks ago. It is not my first, I've had a few ball pythons and a corn snake here and there, but I have not had one for many years due to my family not wanting them around. Now that I am living on my own for college, I have decided to get another snake.

Here he is...


He has been really great so far, very well tempered and has given me no problems with feeding. I have had snakes in the past only want to eat live mice, but he has always taken a thawed mouse.

I am having a few issues though, mainly regarding setting up his tank. For starters, I have been having alot of trouble keeping the humidty right, especially now that he is shedding. I mist several times a day but that really only helps for an hour or so before I have to do it again. Also, I covered part of the top of the tank to try to keep some of the humidity in, but I don't want to restrict the air flow too much. What are some things I can do to help keep the humidity up? I noticed that when my heat lamp is turned off, the humitidy will stay higher for longer, but my apartment usually is rather cold, so I need to have the heat lamp on pretty much 24/7.

This leads me to my next issue. I have been (trying) to use a Red Heat lamp so that I can keep the tank at the proper temperature at all times of the day while still providing a good light cycle for him. However, they keep burning out after only a couple days, and I can't figure out why. I don't think it has anything to do with the fixture, because I have been using regular bulbs in it out of necessity and they have not had any problems. This has happened twice now, and I can't afford to keep going out and buying new bulbs. The bulbs are the 50 Watt "ESU Reptile" brand Red Basking Heat lamps. So far as I can tell the reason the bulbs aren't working is because they have gotten a hole in the base of them, as shown below. Both bulbs have gotten this hole in exactly the same spot. I doubt that I have gotten two defective bulbs in a row, and I want to figure out why this keeps happening before I go and drop more money on another bulb just to have it happen again. These things aren't cheap, and I'm not exactly rolling in the dough.

The problem with the bulb:


My last question isn't really an issue, just something I was wondering about. I have Tinnitus (a constant ringing in my ears) and need to have a fan on in my room to drown out the ringing for me to be able to fall asleep, and I generally prefer to just keep the fan on all the time. It isn't a loud fan, but I was wondering if this is something that might stress my snake out at all. This is probably a dumb question, but if it is something that might bother him, then I will at least turn the fan off when I am trying to sleep.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

-James

[rabernet]

Hi James! Welcome to the forum! What a lovely little guy you have!


I will let others answer the best way to keep humidity up in glass vivs, as I have finally given up. All of mine are now in tub set-ups or in a rack.

As to the fan, three of my "kids" are in my bedroom and I run a ceiling fan all the time. They can't hear the fan, and as long as temps are good, there shouldn't be any problem. All three of them are fabulous eaters and shedders (my indicator of healthy, thriving babies).

Welcome again! We're so glad you found us!

[rabernet]

Oh, about the bulbs - when I did have a glass tank, I used an ExoTerra IR bulb and didn't have problems with it going bad after a few days. Mine lasted about 3 or 4 months before needing to be replaced.

[Crow]

Hi James and welcome! You'll find lots of great people and info here. The heat lamps tend to kill humidity in my experience. An under tank heater will give your snake a warm side to go to and in the long run is a lot cheaper than having to keep buying bulbs. Check out the forums and use the search feature too....there's LOTS of helpful stuff there. Oh, and that's a beautiful BP!

Once again,

Oh yeah, and I don't think the fan is really anything to worry about but someone with more info than myself can probably tell you for sure....

[cassandra]

Welcome! Duane is a cutie. =)

You might think about switching your heat bulb for a ceramic heat emitter; while CHE's are a bit more expensive, they last much longer and while they still provide heat, they seem to suck out less humidity.

I definitely would think about adding one or two under tank heaters with thermostats...and to not repeat, feel free to have a look at the guide my fiance Rick wrote for setting up glass vivs with proper husbandry. It's a bit overkill (that's my honey!) but may give you some ideas - link is in my sig. =)

[JLC]

Welcome aboard, James! : Duane is a handsome little guy!!


About the bulbs, if they are blowing within days of you buying them, the store you got them from should be willing to replace them at no cost to you...just take back the broken one. (If you have your reciept its even easier.)

[MedusasOwl]

What a little cutie you have there! I second or third or whatever an under the tank heater, just seems like less of a hassle to me!

[JamesMX39]

Thank you everyone for you warm welcomes and replies.

I think I am going to throw down the extra money for the Ceramic Heat Emitter. I'm sick of these bulb problems. I do like being able to watch him at night when he is most active, though. As for the Under tank heater, I already have one under half of my tank, but it just doesn't cut it. The ambient temperature in my room is fairly low, I get uncomfortable in a warm room. With the bulb in addition to the heating pad, I am able to keep a good temperature in the tank with a hot spot and a cool spot. How does a CHE compare to a bulb in terms of heat output?

Once again, thanks for your help and kindness. I see that you have a great community here, and I will certainly stick around.

[jglass38]

Welcome! Cute snake!!

[cassandra]

For watching at night, you can try a blue moonlight bulb...it's not as hot as a heat bulb and brighter than a red night time bulb (we tried a red bulb and it hardly provided any light).

We have both daylight (with a daylight bulb) and moonlight lamps on our girls cages.