Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am setting up a 10 gallon tank for a baby blood that I am getting. (don't know when yet). I have heat tape on the bottom 1/4 of the tank and 1/4 on the side of the tank. I have newspaper substrate and the humidity is 70%........so far it sounds good,( I think)???

My concerns are.......The Ambient Air Temp???? What does it need to be? and how can I achieve that? On the opposite side of the tank, the Air temp is 77.2 degrees......shouldn't that be a little higher???

I have my Thermostat that is connected to the heat tape set and 88 degrees, but it remained on all night last night and I am afraid of the baby getting burned because of constant heat from underneath.

What should I do? Please help me........

Thanks,

Lu

Hey,
Don't panic dude!! you're doing fine, the only thing that I would do differenly is not use news paper for babies and juvies. They are notorious for drying out, albeit, you do have a pretty good range of humidity so that should suffice to say the least. As for substrate, babies like to bury them selves as most bloods do, and I would use some thing like a cypress-mulch, that you can get at most pet stores and even buy in bulk at a good garden center. The temperature appears to be within a good range, anything between 88-95* degrees fahrenheit (for a hot spot), is fine. As for the back ground temperature, I wouldn't worry my head off, as you are well within the range too. A range of 72-75* (plus/minus) degrees fahrenheit, is a good range to maintain, and that can of course fluctuate some as the days vary and progress. All the best!

Angel

Thanks alot for the reply!

So the heat tape is in a good spot?? I have it on one end half of it on the bottom half of it on the side. I just dont want my little guy to get burned. I felt the glass and it was warm to touch. Should I place device that turns the heat tape on and off somewhere else, Like a hidespot?

I will keep messing around with it until I find the best situ.

I will go and buy some substrate>>>>Sat about 2 or 3 inches good enough??

Thanks again,

Lu

Hi Angel –

I think it's great that people have been helpful with all of Lu’s questions (and it’s nice to see someone do their preparatory work before rushing out and getting a blood python). But I am concerned with your temperature recommendations. In my opinion, a low of 72 degrees F is WAY too cool for a baby blood python. And at the other end of this small amount of space you’ve recommended a high of 95 degrees. And bear in mind that Lu is a first-timer with this species and will have to be juggling temperatures and humidity in a 10 gallon screen-topped aquarium – 19 linear inches of floor space. I don’t see how it is possible to produce such a wide range of ambient temperatures in such a confined space. Perhaps I’m confused with your recommendations and you really meant 72 degrees AMBIENT and 95 degrees SURFACE. Even if that is the case, all I can think of is that is a classic case of being between Scylla and Charybdis.

I hope you won’t get too irritated if I ask how many blood pythons (babies or adults) you’ve kept at temperatures as low as 72 degrees. Sometimes a lot of experience allows us to do things we might not ever recommend to a beginner because we know how to play with other variables. But this seems a bit extreme.

Thanks,
Joan

Joan,

Hey, thanks for the reply, I can use a 20 gallon long aquariums also. I will be making a lid for either tank out of Melamine............I should have mentioned that earlier......It will have sufficient vents for air circulation.

I'm just concerned, since they dont react very quickly to heat, is the heat comming from the bottom of the enclosure. The glass seems to be very warm and since they burrow in substrate I am afraid of close contact with the heat. Maybe I am just paranoid or something, (always happens when I get a new species).

Another thing I do have is a rack system with bins that are: 36inx16inx7in. I dont know how long one of those will hold him for, and I dont think he would like to be in a such a size enclosure while he is that small. In the rack I could easily control the temps and humidity (what a snap that would be), but everyone seems to recommend the smaller tank for the babies.

I don't know, I've ran out of care-sheets and now I'm depending on the help you guys can offer.

Thanks alot you guys I really appreciate all the help

Lu

a word of caution when it comes to tanks...theyre too open, most baby snakes are overly stressed in them. i cant help but think something like a baby blood might just find them too unsuitable. i cant say from personal expierience however, ive always kept my baby upto 2 year old bloods in rubbermaid. i know from personal expierience rubbermaids are one of the best ways to go with bloods...both of my bloods, one hatchling one 2 year old, both of which ive had since hatchling, my 2 year old ive had since before she took her very first meal, have done amazingly well in a rubbermaid large shoebox, where i can keep adequate humidity and ventilation, something not easily accomplished in a tank. im not saying a tank will not work, but the worlds most expierienced breeders have yet to steer me wrong...good luck, i love bloods.

Jay
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Jaymz
"got a bowlin ball in my stomache, got a desert in my mouth. figures that my courage would choose to sell out now..."

Hey I"ve kept my babies in a 10 gallon tank with no problems. I run a uth and I made my own top which on one side has a 6" screen hole for my overhead ceramic heat emitter, and the other side has a few holes.Only starting now do I have to use this ceramic emitter, which is only 60w.I do have to mist more often because it will dry out the humidity but really it's not that bad.Always check the uth and if the temps is to high make a reostat.I just used a dimmer switch on one of my zoomed uth at 115 degree this piece of junk would have burned my snakes.So beware.From what I hear though the rack systems seem to work really well with baby bloods and less time trying to keep up the humidity, but I haven't tried that system yet.I'll send you a picture of my set ups on my bigger melamine cages and my smaller glass aquariums tomorrow. Later, Ethan

Just gonna add a few tips. Put the hide box on the heated side , and the water bowl on the cooled. If your using a glass tank with a heated top if you put a towel over part of the top it will help keep humidity in there. Also if you decide to put mulch in there put a thin layer under the side with the hide box and then thicker on the other side. Mine likes his wet and hell dig around in it near his bowl and sometimes mound it up in front of his hide box..he also likes to put his water bowl on top of his back tho...so yea my blood is kinda nuts.

Hey Joan,
Well to answer your question first, I have been a keeper of various reptiles including bloods for some 25 years plus, won't give the rest away. At any rate, if you read the post more carefully you would see that the range is subject to change with room temperatures and weather conditions that affect indoor conditions and atmosphere well within basement and sub-basement levels (normal indoor conditions).

There are no sure footed way, to maintain and regulate temperatures within an enclosure unless you are running an airconditioner and a heater or boiler to keep your place cool and warm when temperatures dictate such actions. I don't think that that is neither feasible nor practical in any situation; especially when high cost of heating and electric are as high as they have been.

That said, the ranges that I have recommended are just that - a range with as mentioned, plus or minus a few degrees, on the lower end to the higher end of the spectrum. There is no way one can conceivably maintain perfect temperatures in their home or bed room or other etc., unless one has allocated and assigned a specific room with temperatures and moisture levels controled by scientific instruments that are well out-side the realm and budget of most keepers and novice.

My experience speaks for it self and the many herps that I have raised with nary an accident nor R.I, to count. In a 5-10 gallon aquarium you can raise a baby or juvie just fine for up to a year or year and a half with out any problem. Sure there are those like my self and others, that are handy with tools and designs that can steadfastly, construct a cage of melamine with out any problem. For some with little to no experience this can be a daunting task. I have built cages for many years and have posted my recommendation for building a melamine cage recently. With my recommendation for heating one too. Albeit, these are times when every one is an expert in their own mind, but that isn't enough when dishing out recommendations for someone with little to no experience; but the fact is that there are a myriad of ways to do things.

I personally would not recommend nor espouse such a recommendation to some one, with out first having tried it out my self or having had any or no experience in such cases as such feigning would no doubt lead to the demise or death of an animal. And I don't know about you, but I certainly wouldn't want that on my head.

So in closing I would for the record state that if there is ever any thing that I feel I can not with earnest or expertise answer for obvious reasons I would be the first to adhere to the "don't know don't tell" - motto. Hope that this answers your question and curiousity.