Tank setup in the tropics

[afterglow]

I live in the Philippines and have a 5-month old male BP I'm currently raising in a sweater box (20''x14"x6"). He's always been happy and healthy and has never refused his meals. His current enclosure is getting beat up and the BP's adventures outside his enclosure are getting too frequent so I'm thinking of building a secure wood/glass enclosure around 30"x16"x12".

The room where I keep the BP is pretty constant at 86 year-round. It may go up 4-5 degrees during the hottest summer days and may dip 4-5 degrees on the coolest nights but 86 degrees is pretty much the average.

The breeder I got my BP from has never needed any heat in his enclosures (hence no heat gradient) and I've never used one since I got my BP. With the new enclosure coming up, I'm wondering whether I should be a stickler and actually try to create a heat gradient in the new enclosure. How should I go about doing it?

[littleindiangirl]

Well, if the heat is always that constant, I don't see any reason for it. If you wanted to add a basking spot just for him to use perhaps after he eats, you can always just add a ceramic heater to one end and use on particularly cool days, or after he's eaten. Just make sure there is no way the snake can come into contact with the light. It should not be inside the enclosure, because trust me, he will find a way to wrap himself around it and get some nasty burns. If you don't want to use a ceramic bulb, get a piece of 3" flexwatt to put either on the side of the tank, or for belly heat. That also should not be in direct contact with the snake, and on a thermostat to avoid it overheating and melting. Hope that helps ya!

[JLC]

I'd say if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

The Barkers (Dave & Tracy Barker of VPI) keep all their ball pythons at a constant, single temp and don't offer a gradient or basking spot, except in rare circumstances. This has worked quite well for them.

I see this as a prime example of how there is more than one way to do things right. Personally, I prefer to offer a gradient...and I think that a snake raised with a gradient would need to be slowly acclimatized to a single temp environment to decrease the chances of it getting sick. But your ball python is already used to just such an environment...so I think that's fine.

EDIT: OH! And welcome to BP.net!!

[Sunny1]

Hello and welcome!!

If your BP has been eating and shedding fine, then I would say that the temps are good and you may not need a gradient (besides what is created from the slightly differentiating temps from day to night). Just make sure that you are able to accurately keep track of them as well as the humidity. But if everything has been fine so far then I would just keep it as is, although you may want to keep an extra close eye on temps, etc. once you get the new enclosure done.

Off topic.... what part of the Phillipines do you live in? My mom is filipina and I am mestiza. When my dad was in the US NAVY, we were stationed in San Miguel as well as in Subic Bay, Olongapo..... until Mt Pinatubo errupted and they shipped out all of the dependents. I don't think that either of those bases are still there...
Unfortunately, while we were there there were very strict regulations as to where military could go off base. Mainly spent time in Olongapo although we did take a couple of trips to Manila. My mom is from one of the smaller southern islands (sorry I can't think of the name) where she is currently building a house and is wanting to take us all back there so that we can see a lot of the beautiful places that we had missed while we were stationed there. I have tons of family there that I have still never met, although I had met many many of my aunts and cousins while I was there. I would love to go back, although I may never come back home if I do . Very beautiful country, and some of the best beaches I had ever been to, although I think all the jelly fish there hated me and made it a point to get me everytime!! LOL
Okay enough of my reminiscing and ranting.....Welcome to the site!!!

[afterglow]

Thanks for the welcome guys. I guess I got kinda antsy waiting for a reply so I went ahead and ordered an 11"x11" Ultratherm and a thermometer from ReptileBasics. I'm planning to hook the Ultratherm to a dimmer and see how the BP likes it. There's no major temperature swings around here so I figure I don't really need a thermostat and a dimmer should be enough.

Sunny1: I live in Quezon City which is in Metro Manila. Subic Bay is still there although it's a mixed industrial/resort area now. And the jellyfish are a seasonal/regional thing. If you tell me when you're coming, I can point you to a kickass beach with no jellyfish.