A Few Questions

[Jay_Bunny]

We are in the process of setting up the rack for our little ball pythons. We have the thermostat ready and the probe taped to the heat tape. A few questions.

It says the hot side should be 88-94. What is a good temperature, given that range of temps. 92? Ambient temps in the room are around 80.

The thermostat probe is taped to the second shelf heat tape. We used black electrical tape. Its vinyl. Is this safe? The thermostat is not operational at the time, so if its not safe, we can remove it and use something else. If electrical tape is not safe to use, what kind of tape is?

I think that is it for now. Oh! How long should we wait after setting up the rack with the right temps to move the ball pythons in? How long does it take the flexwatt to heat up.

[xdeus]

I'd give it a full day to warm up before moving the snakes in. Also, the electrical tape will probably be safe, but it's not very practical. The heat will cause the adhesive to get very gummy and it will probably slide around or become unstuck eventually. I would suggest getting aluminum tape that you can find at HD or Lowes. It's designed for higher temps and won't become unglued over time.

Oh, and 92 should be perfect for the warm side.

Good luck!!

[Jay_Bunny]

We can't wait to get them into thier new home. I just know they are going to like it better than the glass tanks.

Oh another question. I was reading over the information that came with the rack and it said that normally the small space between the tub and the bottom of the shelf is sufficient for ventilation but sometimes ventilation holes are required. Thats a pretty small space and I'm worried about there not being enough ventilation. Should I put some holes in the front/sides of the tub to give the snakes more air? If so, how many?

[xdeus]

The number of holes seems to vary depending on the humidity and temp of the room. I'd start out with about 20 on each side (soldering iron sized) and then add more if necessary. You can always add more to decrease the humidity or tape them up (I use the blue masking tape) to increase humidity during shed.

[Jay_Bunny]

Thanks for the help. We set the thermostat up using the Electrical tape for now. The aluminum tape at Home Depot was $20 and since we are not using the tub that has the probe under it, we won't really have to worry about it moving around until we use it later. We will be doing the ventilation holes tomorrow afternoon and adding the thermometers to make sure temps are right. If everything goes according to plan Xefaud and Sadis will be moving into their new home.

Once again, thanks a million!