Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a fluorescent light which is not too bright because I know that balls do not prefer lots of lighting and for a heat source I have a ceramic bulb thingy (100 watt) for a 20 gallon long tank. Should this be kept on 24 hours a day. I do not have an under tank heater. This ceramic is the only source of heat. There is a screen on top and the room that the enclosures are in has its own thermostat set at 80 degrees. So I am assuming tha the enclosure should never reach under 80 degrees. Should I buy an under tank heater and shut the ceramic off at night? Please advise me. Thank you

get an undertank heater and throw that infrared heater away. those things are only good for cooking snake. a science teacher at a school did that with a snake that i loaned for display in the room, and now i don't have that snake. those things get way too hot!!!

>>I have a fluorescent light which is not too bright because I know that balls do not prefer lots of lighting and for a heat source I have a ceramic bulb thingy (100 watt) for a 20 gallon long tank. Should this be kept on 24 hours a day. I do not have an under tank heater. This ceramic is the only source of heat. There is a screen on top and the room that the enclosures are in has its own thermostat set at 80 degrees. So I am assuming tha the enclosure should never reach under 80 degrees. Should I buy an under tank heater and shut the ceramic off at night? Please advise me. Thank you

I will second RoyalKreations.....CHE get HOT. I have one that I have used for 4 years straight, day and night, for a savannah monitor enclosure (along with others) and the 60watt one gets hot enough to make a monitor's hot spot of 120-140 in a 3ft tall enclosure. Way too hot for a BP.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny

OK so consider the ceramic gone. Should I do lighted basking spot and do a 12/12 schedule? Should I purchase an under tank heater. Is the zoo med one any good? I am getting my first 2 balls on Saturday so don't worry, no cooked snakes. I am preparing the enclosure for them. Thanks P.S. If I am getting a basking spot light, what kind? The blue day light ones or regular basking lights? I have a 20 gallon long, so what wattage should I purchase? Thanks again.

get a ball python care book. balls do not need a basking spot. put the zoomed under tank heater (zoomed is a good brand, and i use their heat cabel on my vision rack) and set a plain plastic hiding spot on it. your bp will live a long happy life just like that. the only reason reptiles need a basking spot is to absorb the uv rays from the sun to aid in food diegestion and absorption of nutrients from that food. snakes of any knid do not need a basking spot. you will find that your snake will spend most of its time in the hide box on the heat, and would not use a basking spot in any way.

Thanks for the information. I will do what you advise. Now the question is which side of the tank do I put the under tank heater. I have one end with his hide box (which is an upside down log to aid in shedding. Figured it would be nice for him to have something to rub up on.) Then I have a nice sized water bowl in the middle. On the other end I HAD the ceramic heater or basking area, with a piece of driftwood for climbing. Which side should I put the UTH. Obviously not under the water. But would it be uncomfortable under the hide box constantly on? What do you advise? Thank you greatly.

You have to hook the UTH up to a thermostat and put the thermostat probe over the UTH, because the zoomed and most other UTH's get hot enough to crack the glass and/or cook the snake. Since the room temp is 80 degrees, you could just use a 50w red or purple reptile bulb with a dimmer to adjust the heat output. The bulb and dimmer would be cheaper than a UTH and a decent thermostat.
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MY COLLECTION:
1.0 '04 Columbian BCI
0.1 '05 Blood Python
0.0.1 Hypo Sonoran BCI
0.2 Ball Pythons

MY WISHLIST:
A Northern Blue-Tongue Skink
1.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boas
1.1 Hogg Island Boas
1.0 Salmon BCI
0.2 Columbian BCI
1.1 Sumatran Short-Tail Pythons
1.1 Borneo Short-Tail Pythons
1.1 Suriname BCC
1.2 Spotted Pythons
2.4 African House Snakes
2.4 Bearded Dragons
1.2 Rankins Dragons
2.6 Crested Geckos
2 ferrets

your ball python is not arboreal, so it doesn't need to climb. in the wild, ball pythons live mostly inside termite mounds. that is why you need a hide box such as those sold reptiletubs.com for about $4 for a small python. the snake doesn't need a lot of extra space inside the hide box because the tight spaces are what makes the snake feel secure. these snakes do not require play time or anything like that. they have three basic functions in life. those functions are to survive, eat, and reproduce. sankes do not need socialization or other things like that. these snakes do not move great distances in the wild. these facts are why ball pythons breed better, and grow bigger in rack systems. get a book and know about the animal you are buying. i have worked with everything from garter snakes to king cobras, and always read to learn more than i knew the day before. this has continued for 15 years and will continue as long as i own snakes. you should do the same so that your snake keeping experience will be the best that it can be. also, i am afraid if you don't do these things, in the near future, we will be answering other questions like why won't my snake eat?

I have purchased McCurleys book, but I rather get real life experiences from people to see what works and what doesnt work. If I ask questions here, please do not answer with "go buy a book." I still have not had my question answered though. I checked the book and it does not tell me what side of the enclosure I should keep an UTH. On the open end or under the hide spot?Thank you and again I have a book but I am on a forum for a reason. If everyone read the book and had nothing to ask we would not have a forum. Thank you and I do not mean to sound rude.

no offense taken. i did put in an earlier post to put the hid box on top of the uth. if your room is 80 then that should make the ambient temp on the other side of the enclosure good enough that your snake can thermoregulate itself.

i can say though that i would read that book by kevin mccurley. after all, he does have the largest and most diverse collection of ball pythons in captivity. i don't know how true it is, but i have heard that he even has a room that is under lock and key that he has mutations never before seen, and won't show them to anyone. i would love to be a fly on the wall in that room.

This isn't that complicated. Get rid of the CHE, and you don't need any kind of bulb for any reason. Get a UTH, hook it up to a reliable thermostat, place the thermostat probe underneath the warm side hide so that it reads that temp and maintains it at 90-92 degrees. Since the room itself is 80 degrees, place another hide on the other end of the enclosure so that the snake has two to choose from and can properly thermoregulate without being forced to choose between temperature and security. That's it.

I would also go with dark plastic hides, not those logs -- they have open ends which don't let the snake feel very secure/safe. If your humidity is correct, he won't need a rough surface for shedding.
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~* Jen *~

Pink Lady Constrictors

Get a uth as balls take heat better threw there ventral scales than threw there dorsal scales plus you need to have any heat sores hooked up to a thermostat or at the very least a rheostat for the safety of your reptile and if you have a problem keeping the temp. and humidity up were it needs to be try covering most of the screen top with cardboard or something of the like .and those ceramic type heaters are best for lizards and desert type reptiles .David of DS Reptile Rescue

A dimmer switch is the same as a rheostat and you can find them at Home Depot or similar stores for under $20. It has a place on the plug to plug in the UTH plug and either a dial or a slide to control the amount of current to your source. It is an inexpensive way to control the heat from the UTH. If you do not control the heat, your heat spot will be too hot and the snake will stay off heat altogether. Then you may end up with a resiratory problem!

Susan Sentman
SSNAKES Reptiles
www.ssnakes.com

I totally agree with most of the above posters...I think JenHarrison said it best! Just a few other facts that will save you a lot of time in the future:

1. Do not cohabitate unless it is breeding season and your animals are suitable for breeding. Yes, people will tell you can, but quite honestly, just because you can, doesn't mean that it is best for your animal. Snakes do not fall in love with each other, and they prefer a solitary life.

2. Provide your animal water 24/7, but do not keep the substrate wet...belly rot and RI's can develop this way!

3. If you feed live, do not leave the rodent in the cage with the snake for more than 10 minutes.

4. Do measure your temperature. My brother fried his baby JCP using a heat pad that went crazy. It got so hot it cracked his tank, and this all occured in a very short period of time.

5. When in doubt, seek an expert (in person)! There is no vet is not an excuse!

6. Read online posts, and online material but also more recent published materials to keep you up to date on the best care for your pet!
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Thanks,
Amy
www.myboids.4t.com
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1.14 Normal ball pythons
1.0 Pastel ball pythons
0.0.1 Sinaloan Milk Snake
0.0.1 Plains Garter
0.1 Normal Kenyan Sand Boa
2.0 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
1.0 Mid-Baja Rosy Boa
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
1.2 Dumeril's Boa
1.2 BCI
That's Just The Snakes!

All of your advise is greatly appreciated. I have ran out and ought all that is needed. One more question. Since I am not using pine or aspen, I will be using carpet. What is the best way to keep the humidity at the correct level? I bought a hygrometer and was told that between the UTH and the water bowl evaporating that this should create enough humidity, but not too much. What do you think?

Put a humid hide in the enclosure for the snake to go into if it chooses, or add a humidifier to the room you keep him in. I use plain unprinted newspaper as substrate for my snakes, which doesn't offer much for humidity. I put a whole-house humidifier in the snake room and keep it set to maintain the room at 60% humidity. Works perfectly.
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~* Jen *~

Pink Lady Constrictors

If you don’t use a controller for any type of heating device you will have a hot spot that will be to hot ,it’s not just U .T.H. es that can do that but any of them , that is why you need a thermostat or a rheostat it is self explanatory !! David