BP Heating: I made a rookie mistake!!

[Serpensortia]

Hi all!

I'm new to the site/new BP owner. I made a rookie mistake! I bought the snake before all my supplies came in (I'm waiting on a Hydrofarm Tstat and a ZooMed UTH), but there were problems and now they are going to be a week late! She has a heat lamp, but I'm terrified of starting a fire while I am at work so I only have it on when I am here and just keep the heat in my room up to 70. I few times I've come home to find it's dropped to 65 but mostly it stays around 70-75. She has gone a week with this set-up and seems fine (bright eyes, tongue flicking, really adventurous, and she ate once), but I'm worried. Do you think this set-up would be alright for another three days?

Furthermore, I let PetSmart convince me that a 10 gallon glass tank was large enough. She is 3mo's old and as long as the tank so she looks cramped. Any thoughts on when I should upgrade her? I'd prefer to only upgrade once to a permanent 30-40 gallon tank. As far as heating goes I wanted to wait for the bigger tank before buying a pro-heat panel, but in the meantime I want to only use the UTH and occasionally the heat lamp. Do you think that is sufficient for heating until she gets bigger and I get the heat panel? I live in New England so it gets pretty cold here.

More stats if it helps: the tank has a screen top w/foil over half of it (the heat lamp sucks up all the humidity). She has aspen bedding, a half log hide, a fake leafy plant for climbing/hiding, a water bowl, and I regularly spritz everything with water to try and maintain 50-60% humidity (again, this has been a challenge with the lamp).

I love her so much and the stress of my mistake potentially making her sick is keeping me up at night!!

Thanks in advance for your advice!

[Eru_Iluvatar]

So, not very conscious but nevertheless we are here to help eachother out!
Be calm, your ball python can still resist 3 days, but don't let it be in that kind of situation for the good of you both. 65 as room temperature is not the best, it will surtantly not kill the snake but it will do it no good either. If it ate then there is no major problem, just make sure she doesn't escape and she doesn't burn herself, as soon as you get the rest, set everything up and enjoy your ball python.

[Serpensortia]

Thank you, I think I just needed to hear that everything will be OK!

[the_rotten1]

What are you using to check the temps? If it's an analog thermometer it would be better to get a digital one, or even better yet, get a temp gun. If the temp is really at 70-75 then it should be okay to leave the lamp on, but lamps tend to get really hot and I'd suspect the temp is actually higher than that.

If in doubt, turn all heating off until you have a reliable way of measuring and regulating it. I don't suppose the people at Petsmart told you that you'd need a thermostat? Pretty much any heating device you can buy can overheat if you don't have a thermostat to regulate the temperature.

A 10 gal is fine for a baby. When you can upgrade depends on the snake. A lot of people don't realize that ball pythons feel safe in dark, enclosed spaces, so more room isn't necessarily better. An insecure hatchling may go off feed if put in too large a tank with too little cover. If you want to buy a larger tank you can, but be aware that you'll have to clutter it up with hides and decorations, and even then the snake may very well refuse to eat unless you put it back in a smaller enclosure.

I can't really say for sure because most of it depends on the personality of the snake. Some of mine do fine in wide open spaces, others won't eat unless they have a nice, cozy tub to chill in.

[Serpensortia]

What are you using to check the temps? If it's an analog thermometer it would be better to get a digital one, or even better yet, get a temp gun. If the temp is really at 70-75 then it should be okay to leave the lamp on, but lamps tend to get really hot and I'd suspect the temp is actually higher than that.

Yes I am using an analog thermometer, but I will look for a digital one. Thanks for the tip! I am also getting a Hydrofarm Tstat to regulate the UTH, but I don't currently have anything for the lamp.

Good to know that a bigger tank might actually stress her out. I hadn't considered that. She will stay in her 10 gal. until she gets bigger It sounds like I have some time before I have to start thinking about the upgrade.