Got my cage neeed some help

[exoticz]

I got my cage 20L and I got this snake cave thing and a branch and a water dish. Also got a heat pad and a thermometer and hygrometer. The humidity is 55% and the temp in the Basking Zone is only 75 degress I have a heating pad it is the Exo terra desert medium heat pad. The substrate is aspen and Im getting the BP in a month or as soon as the pet store gets babies in from teh breeder. But my question is how do i boost the heat on the basking side the temp in the room is 68 degres.

Im also going to feed frozen mice in a rubbermaid container.

[ZEKESMOM]

I'm no expert but will do what I can to help...
First your room temp is WAY to cold....the ambient air temp in the tank needs to be atleast 80 degrees.....I keep mine at 82 degrees.
If your room temp is higher I think the warm side temp would come up also but I could be wrong about that.
what kind of tank do you have? Is it a screen top? If it is you can go to the cage forum and find the thread on covering most of the screen top with plastic wrap and aluminum foil to help retain some heat.
also you really need two identical hides...one for the warm side and one for the cool side of the tank so that your snake can thermoregulate.
Hope this helps a little bit
I'm sure someone with more experience will jump in and help.

[lord jackel]

To help figure out where the issue lies...where do you have the thermometer placed? It should be down near the substrate as that is where the temp matters...if it is way up high then move it down.

Also, you didn't mention a thermostat to control the heatpad or light? Do you have one...if not you need one so that you can regulate the temps and not end up burning your snake.

Zeke's points are right on too...especially about covering the top if you are using a screen topper (which my guess is you are since you are using a tank)

Make these adjustments and then let the tank sit for a few hours to normalize and then let us know where we stand.

Also, there is no need to feed in a seperate container this will just cause your snake more stress then is needed.

[exoticz]

Yes I do have a screen top and I checked my room temp and it is at 72 now and i moved my thermometer down to the substrate area should i put it right in the substrate?

[exoticz]

Yes I do have a screen top and I checked my room temp and it is at 72 now and i moved my thermometer down to the substrate area should i put it right in the substrate? Also how much and where do i get a thermostat?

[Flagg]

You shoul dhave a digital thermometer with a probe, with the probe right on top of the glass where the UTH is placed.

As for a thermostat, low end you can get a ZooMed 500R for $19.99 plus shipping at reptilesupply.com. It's an inexpensive on/off thermostat but works fine and reliably. I've had several of them going on my corn snake tanks for over a year.

If you want to spend more, there are Ranco or Johnson Controls on/off thermostats for around $75, and proportional thermostats start at around $109 for a herpstat.

[exoticz]

I dont think that i will buy a digital thermometer because the there is a guy at the pet store and he owns bp's and he said that youu dont need a digital thermometer. the screen top for the cage hasnt come in yet would that make a difference for the tempeture?

[dr del]

I'd have to say I disagree with the guy who says you don't need one - if you can't tell the temperatures and humidity with a decent accuracy how do you expect to know if the snakes needs are being met adequately?


Lack of a top might make a slight diference but less so if it is an open screen (you will probably want to block most of that screen anyway to help with humidity if it proves to be a problem).



dr del

[sg1trogdor]

I got my cage 20L and I got this snake cave thing and a branch and a water dish. Also got a heat pad and a thermometer and hygrometer. The humidity is 55% and the temp in the Basking Zone is only 75 degress I have a heating pad it is the Exo terra desert medium heat pad. The substrate is aspen and Im getting the BP in a month or as soon as the pet store gets babies in from teh breeder. But my question is how do i boost the heat on the basking side the temp in the room is 68 degres.

Im also going to feed frozen mice in a rubbermaid container.

you can set up your 20g like this mine is a 65g though but everything i have in my 65 came outta my 20 with the exception of the real plants (they are all small though and i would not recomend for a smaller tank its a pain to keep your humidity right with the waterings and all.



u can see my ghetto side with the black trashbags on top of the tank i ran outta duct tape half way through. lol

[Sausage]

That half log hide is WAY too big for your BP.