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I have just moved (33 inch) "Fluffy" to a 10 gallon tank and I have a heat lamp over the left side of the enclosure going on and off through the day and off at night. He seems to never go on the side with the heat - why is that? Is it too hot? How many hours should the heat lamp be on during the day - and at what times? Thanks.
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Thanks,
Dan from Long Island
well this is from a pet owner but my guess is he is getting use to the new tank for one and you didn't say what the temps are. could be to hot under lights. i have a 7 foot JCP in a big 80 gallon tank with 100 wt basking light for day and 100 wt red light for night. his temp is around 90 on that side. BUT that is in a hugh tank. i have a 10 gallon now housing a little king snake and that gets to around 85 with a little 25 wt bulb. also is there hiding spots on both sides? could be he favores the cooler side with hiding spot?? other then that i don't have much to offer. 
He does have hiding spots on both sides. I turned off the heating lamp and turned on the heating pad. I think that he is liking this more. The humidity also rose a lot, to about 70 percent.
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Thanks,
Dan from Long Island
is he just might not like a light shining at him all day and is trying to stay away from it?
Go out this weekend to a flee market, pet store or what ever and get a bigger tank at least 30 GL. Then put a under tank heating pad under one end and a 100 watt bulb on the same end (you’re hot end). For best results, run your heating element threw a thermostat or at least a rheostat and monitor the temp. On the cool side put the water. Be sure to hove hiding places on both the hot and the cold sides so Fluffy doesn’t chose safety for comfort. You can cover most of the top with something like clear vinyl, to help you retain heat and humidity.
For one of the best guides to carpets, go to: http://www.acreptiles.com/carpet_python_care.htm
Good luck with Fluffy! I’m glad you were able to talk your girlfriend into a snake. I once gave you a little advice about that as “Sac-snake man”, Life’s too short not to enjoy snakes. Enjoy!
That's not a bad idea with the temperature and heating lamps. I'm just shocked at the thought of a 30 gallon tank. He's not even a year-old, yet.
(I remember you well.)
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Thanks,
Dan from Long Island
I know a lot of people say you can keep a carpet in a 10gl for the first year but I think size is a more important factor than age. If Fluffy is 33” he/she’s going to be 40”+ in no time! If you use the rule of 1 square foot of floor space per one foot of snake, Fluffy is already a bit big for a 10gl.
It is also harder to maintain an adequate heat gradient in a 10gl. I have a small corn in a 10gl, and it takes a 25w bulb and a small under- tank to keep it just right.
If you get a 30gl to 40gl show tank, you can put some nice climbing branches and give Fluffy an arboreal experience (it also looks cool).
If you put a rheostat/ thermostat on the under-tank heater and a simple dimmer switch on your light, you can maintain the hot side with out having to turn your light on an off many times a day. It’s also easer to pick up a $5 timer so you don’t have to even be home to shut it off.
Last bit of advice is to get Fluffy on rats as soon as you can. My IJ and JCP are 48”+ and are still on mice…lots and lots of mice! It’s a pain to feed them multiple mice. It’s hard to convert them later! My brother’s JCP was about 24” when we converted his from ft hoper mice to rat fuzzies. His appetite has improved 100% and he is growing like a weed!
P.S.
I am far from being an expert but the above stuff seems to work for me and roughly follows the collective school of thought.
I have attached some old bad pictures of a set up I had when they were just under 40” in a 40gl. I had hide boxes but they didn’t use them.
That's great advice! I am not that great with the heating, lighting, wattage, etc. I might keep him in this enclosure for a bit longer. I would get a 40 gallon tank and see how that goes. If he didn't like it, I'd put him back in the 10 gallon tank.
I only have a heating pad on now and he still won't go to that side...
I have 73 mice left and I will just feed him those until they are done. Then I will move him on to something bigger. These are way big enough for now.
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Thanks,
Dan from Long Island
I just visited Fluffy’s page, and I have a couple of questions:
Have you put a thermometer on the paper towels on the hot side? If so what’s the temp? Paper towels don’t insulate that well and if you don’t have a way (rheostat) to turn down the temp, you could burn the snake (pads can get over 100deg, and kill your snake). Use a cheep peel and stick thermometer (don’t peel the backing and place it on the hot side and then on the cool side and check it against the recommended heat. The correct heat is sooo important for digestion.
Paper towels or aspen shavings? Aspen is what I use for my corn snake but not for carpets. I have found that Aspen is not good for retaining water for humidity. At the moment I’m trying out coconut husk chips…not bad.
I would recommend not using the hairdryer to thaw your mice. You can unintentionally cook parts of the mouse, REAL BAD for Fluffy’s digestion! Try warm water in a bole and dry them off with a paper towel. Make sure it is completely thawed!
Switching over to rats (pinkies or pups) is not a size issue but a timing issue. I can’t tell you how hard (if not impossible) it is to switch the over when they get older. I learned my lesson and luckily I took some good advice with my brothers JCP. I know it’s hard after getting 73 mice, but in the long run it’s so much easer and cheaper. Maybe you can keep them for x-mass and string them on your tree
I just saw a JCP on TV that ate a welder’s glove and had to be removed surgically. The snake wasn’t that big! Watch out with your snake’s decorations!
I know this has seemed long-winded but I had very little help in the 80s not too far north from you. Not too many reptile shops in Goshen, NY. Plus, Fluffy is one fine snake!
If you need any help with heating set up I can post diagrams and suggested parts you will need. It’s so easy when you have every thing set up correctly.
Thanks for the tips!
I have paper towels on the bottom. It's not hot enough, by far, to burn him. I also have aspen, but I don't use it much.
I use the hair dryer on low, none of it is cooking due to extremely hot temps.
Thanks for your comments and thanks for your kind words about how "Fluffy" looks...
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Thanks,
Dan from Long Island
Ok, this is the last time I will bug you on the subject. Have you put a thermometer on the floor of the tank, over the pad and taken the temp. It might feel fine to the touch but it still might be to hot. It should not exceed 95f! Again, a cheep aquarium peel and stick is a fast way to check. It’s sooo important to get this right!
Good luck
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