Setup Question

[starmom]

My only question is with the temp probe on the substrate, the glass beneath can become too hot for the snakes and they can wind up with a belly burn. I would suggest that you place the probes on the glass under the substrate.
I think it's really terrific that you have taken the time to really research and model your environment on what has worked for countless others! Great job!!

[starmom]

Jon has a great point regarding the height of your cage. A lot of the heat and humidity will be rising to the top where the ball python will seldom be. How tall is your tank? Male royals tend to climb more frequently than females though they are not arboreal by any stretch. Jon is correct in wondering if the climbing branch is too high.

[YvesA]

Thanks for the quick replies!

nevohraalnavnoj,
- I lowered the plants to half the cage. I defiantly don't want my BP to hurt itself. I had it the way it was to make sure it could get close enough to the heat lamp to get enough heat if it wanted it.
- I only have those 2 digital thermostats. I don't have a way to lower the UTH right now. I should have a chance to go tomorrow and get something for that, no one at the pet store mentioned it but I've been reading lots of posts here and it seems like it's the way to go.

starmom,
-I put the probe right on the glass over the glass where the UTH is, the temp was 100F.
But I have ~1.5 inches of reptile bark. I was told that they don't borrow with this as substrate, should I be worried?
-The cage is 18"x18"x18".

Shouldn't the humidity be around 50%-60% though?

[missi182]

I have that exact terrarium and let me tell you, it turned into a nightmare!! I did have everything about right along the lines of temps and humidity but I was CONSTANTLY misting, adjusting temps, and my bp fell HARD a few times. He does not need anything to climb on to fall, he can simply creep up the sides (which he will) and will fall backward and bonk his head when he gets too far up. I enjoy the look of terrariums but eventually gave up on this exo-terra.

Don't get me wrong, this tank will work but it takes a lot of tweaking. Also, the Under Tank Heater you have plugged in without a control will get higher than 100 degrees, guaranteed. Unfortunately your best bet is to unplug it until you purchase something to control it. It is very easy for your bp to burrow to the hot glass and you do not want to risk a sever burn.

And in regards to your humidity, yes 50-60 is correct, but with the height of the tank, don't be surprised if it does drop. That is when you will need to cover the screen. If you need any tips on controlling that terrarium I would be happy to share my experience with it further.

[starmom]

1.5 inches is, in my opinion, a lot. But, to answer your question: Yes, I would be concerned that the python will burrow and burn. These snakes do burrow and I have no idea why they would not burrow into your substrate. I would decrease the amount of substrate and decrease the temps.
Also, I would strongly suggest that you get a thermostat right away to control the temps of your UTH. Popular brands include Helix, Herpstat and Ranco (?). I use both Helix and Herpstat and have found them both to be reliable and easy to use.
Humidity should be between 50-60% per most members on this forum. I use to bump humidity to 72% for shedding until one of my snakes surprised me with a shed (didn't even know she had been in blue!) Her humidity had been 56% the entire time! So, I am now keeping my humidity at around 55% and bumping to 60% for sheds. I have 2 more in blue right now so we'll see how that works; I am expecting successful and perfect sheds!
Anyway, there you go. There are lots of ways to keep these snakes but the true basics are proper temps (thermostat), proper humidity, and proper hides. After that, your snake will let you know what he likes specific to his own personality~ and this just takes time and observation!

[YvesA]

Ok, I unplugged my UTH, it shouldn't be a problem it being unplugged until tomorrow morning?

missi182, can I ask what you are using now?

Thanks for all the help!

[missi182]

Ok, I unplugged my UTH, it shouldn't be a problem it being unplugged until tomorrow morning?

missi182, can I ask what you are using now?

Thanks for all the help!

I switched him to a 15 gallon tank, and it looks better than my exo if you ask me and everything is much easier to control with more ground space and less height

He should be O.K with the UTH unplugged until tomorrow as long as his temps don't drop below 80. But as soon as you can, get a lamp dimmer or rheostat (same thing really, except a rheostat from a pet store costs more, and the zoomed rheostats reallllly suck from my use with them) The thermostats suggested (helix, ranco or herpstat) can be bought online so if you get one it may be a few weeks before you actually can use it.

[starmom]

Hey Missi~ your set-up looks awesome!!
Yves~ If you live close to the west coast you can get a helix in about 2 days ordering from the Helix web site. If you live close to the east coast you can get one in about 2 days ordering from Reptile Basics. If you go with the Helix you can order from their web site (spyder robotics) and get it in about 3 days. Don't know about ranco.....

[Texas Dan]

Humidity should be between 50-60% per most members on this forum. I use to bump humidity to 72% for shedding until one of my snakes surprised me with a shed (didn't even know she had been in blue!) Her humidity had been 56% the entire time!

Yes! My spider, Jules was in shed, and I couldn't keep his humidity up past 55%-60, and he shed PERFECTLY, eye caps and all. I had Vincent's at 70% the whole time and had to manually remove his head skin.

It may be because I had to soak him during shed.. I dunno.

To the OP, Thermostat is not Thermometer. Those look like thermometers. My suggestion would be get a Herpstat. Dion is awesome... www.spyderrobotics.com

[nevohraalnavnoj]

Jon has a great point regarding the height of your cage. A lot of the heat and humidity will be rising to the top where the ball python will seldom be. How tall is your tank? Male royals tend to climb more frequently than females though they are not arboreal by any stretch. Jon is correct in wondering if the climbing branch is too high.

Thanks! The only reason I say so is because my first cage was 12" high and I had some of those Exo-terra plants with suction cups on the walls. My male spider would climb and ultimately fall with a reasonable thump MANY times each night. I figured it couldn't be good. It was probably more because of the plants though, they slant down and away from the walls and are pretty slippery as a result. A branch may not have been so bad.

JonV