Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My newly adopted (11/09/09) 5 year old BP, Fred, has a glass tank enclosure (I think it's a 40gal breeder). Any recommendations for heat emitters? What company/ brand makes the best bulbs? I'll also need a clamp lamp too. He currently has an overhead day/night light and UTH which keep temps reasonable, but I want to have a nice hot basking area.

Also, does anyone have suggestions for methods of further insulating a glass tank? Glass is really bad for losing heat from inside the tank and I'd like to try and insulate the enclosure I currently have until I build Fred a new home. Have lots of research to do before that happens as I want to make it the best possible for ease of cleaning and heating/energy efficiency!

Thanks!

For the insulation you can get those foam rock wall backings and put those around the back and sides and they make an excellent insulator. If you are on a budget they have a foam backing that sticks on and comes in rolls I think is made for fish tanks but will work for snakes as well.

For heating ditch lights and heat emitters and go with an under tank heater. Remember heat rises - instead of trying to push enough heat down into where your snake is, heat the tank from the bottom up (your snake will thank you for it). Also cover up the screen top with a piece of Plexiglas (real cheap from Home Depot) to help keep in the heat. And remember all heating elements should be on some kind of thermostat/monitoring device.

Good luck.
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Tosha
JET Pythons
The Blog
nihil facimus sed id bene facimus

Great ideas, thanks!

An additional cheap insulating method is cardboard. It will do a little bit for no cost with stuff you may have lying around.

Thanks, that is a good idea to try out!