heating questions

[snakevet121]

k im getting a ball soon and my house temp is 75 degrees and doesnt drop that much at night do i only need a heating pad or do i need more heat sources?

and what size of heat pad would i need for a 20 gallon long tank

[new2BP]

i started out with a 20 g tank. after messing around with heat lights ( waste of time ), i bought 2 exo terra heat pads. One was the rain forest pad, that gave me temps in the low 80's. i think its the medium one but i do know it was about 8" x 8". then for the hot side i bought a desert exo terra which was a higher wattage and gave me temps in the low 90's. If u find the heat is too high, just use a thermostat or too get u going, u can start off with a dimmer. good luck.

[jglass38]

I would always suggest a tstat or at the least a dimmer. UTHs can reach in excess of 120 degrees. Enough to burn your snake.

[snakevet121]

o so should i get a desert one or should i get the rain forest one and a rheostat so it brings up the temp because i need huminity. so should i have that and a bulb or just that and a rheostat?

[jglass38]

o so should i get a desert one or should i get the rain forest one and a rheostat so it brings up the temp because i need huminity. so should i have that and a bulb or just that and a rheostat?

First off, I would go with a plastic enclosure over a glass tank. It holds heat and humidity better. Since your room temp is pretty stable, you should be fine with an under tank heating pad on one side of the enclosure set at 92-94. I suggest a thermostat to control the heat but a rheostat should work ok (with more temperature swings). Get yourself a digital thermometer from Walmart or Target that has a probe. Put the probe on the hot end and the unit itself on the cool end so you get readings from both ends. You should get a good temperature gradient with the 92-94 on the hot side (about 1/3 to 1/2 of the enclosure) and 82-84 on the cool side. Good luck!

[snakevet121]

someone said that the heat wave tropical heat pad only brought there setup to about the low 80's but it holds in the huminity if my temp is like that do you think it will bring it up to 92-94 or is my best bet with another heat mat?

[jglass38]

someone said that the heat wave tropical heat pad only brought there setup to about the low 80's but it holds in the huminity if my temp is like that do you think it will bring it up to 92-94 or is my best bet with another heat mat?

I don't know that brand, but you could give it a try and return it if it doesnt do the job.

[snakevet121]

do you think they would even let me return it i dont think they would be that thing

[snakevet121]

what brand would u suggest to me that works great lol

[jglass38]

Depends what store. Petsmart and Petco allow returns but your local small reptile store might not. The Cobra heat mats and the Zoomeds work fine.