Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey i have my snakes in a 20 gallon long aquarium, i have them on aspen mulch on top of this terrarium line thing its kind of like carpet but not. Anyways i cant seem to keep the temps in the cage ay about 88-90 degrees, i tried light but the hot spot got to about 120 degrees so i got rid of that the first hr or so. So i bought the under the tank heaters and i put that in the aspen mulch stuff and the temps are about 80 in the mulch. Which isnt where it needs to be. I got them from flukers, the 6x11 heater. Can you guys help me and give me some better suggestions then what im doing so they can be healthy and happy. They havent stopped eating or anything, and my male seems to be growing like a weed in a garden. Thanks guys.

Corey.

im sorry i did not put the undertank heater in the mulch lol, i put the electronic thermostat in the mulch. sorry for the confusion...

I have a similar setup for my Australian Spotted pythons. 20L with undertank heat and aspen substrate. The only difference is I am using a 12" piece of the 11" wide heat tape (from The Bean Farm). I found that this setup was not very efficient so I had to adjust it somewhat.
What I did was cut a piece of plywood the same size as the tank to act as a base (because they are on an iron stand)then I placed a piece of 3/4" foam board between the wooden base and the tank (up in the recess under the tank)this holds the heat tape right against the bottom of the tank and directs the heat upward. If you have your tank on a shelf you would just need to get some foam board.
I found that this made a HUGE difference. I control them with a rheostat and I was able to turn it down to about 40% and easily maintain 88-90 degree temps. It provides a nice heat gradient and works perfectly for my Spotteds. However, Spotted pythons like it a little bit cooler than Balls so you may still need to play with your setup. Depending on where you live, the ambient temp might be a little cool because with an aquarium all of your heat goes right out the top. You may need to cover part or all of the top with a towel or something like that.
Hope this helps you out.

John Yezbak

What wattage bulb did you put in the heat lamp? You can use actual household bulbs and try diff wattages until you find one that works to get right temp. You might only need a 40 or 60 watt in the summer, but as it gets cooler might have to upgrade to a higher watt. Could also buy an "arm" for the lamp which you could use to hold the heat lamp at different distances from the tank as opposed to just laying it directly on the lid, that's another way to achieve the desired temp. Be careful with the UTH. The Aspen will hold the heat in and if you put your hand on the glass over the UTH you'll be surprised how hot the glass can get. The carpet under the aspen will help unless your snake is able to get under the carpet. A rheostat is a really good idea to use with a UTH.
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Have you been hugged by your snake today?

Ball Pythons
1.1 het Caramel Albino (Edward & Bella)
0.1 poss het Caramel Albino (Rosalie)
0.1 Caramel Albino (Bellatrix)
0.1 High Contrast Albino (Princess Buttercup)
0.1 Pastel Orange Ghost (Nagini)
1.0 Butterscotch Ghost (Nick)
0.1 Spider poss het Butterscotch Ghost(Nymphadora)
1.1 Mojave (Lucius & Renesme)
0.1 Pastel Lesser (Narcissa)
0.1 Pinstripe (Arwen)
1.0 Pewter (Salazar)
0.1 Bumble Bee (Alice)
0.1 Lemonblast (Luna)
0.1 Blond Pastel (Katie)
1.0 Bell Pastel (Jasper)
0.1 African Dinker (Esme)
0.0.9 Eggs in the incubator (Edward x Bella)

Corns
1.1 het Amel, Anery, Charcoal, Bloodred (Romeo & Juliet)
1.0 Blizzard het Bloodred poss het Anery Lav (Tumnus)
0.1 Granite (Ravenclaw)
0.1 Fire het Anery (Ginny)
0.1 Anery Lav (Lucy)
0.1 Plasma (Victoria)
0.1 Opal (Jewel)
0.0.23 Eggs in the incubator (Romeo x Juliet)
0.0.18 Eggs in the incubator (Tumnus x Lucy)

Hogs
1.0 Albino Western (Hogwarts)
0.1 het Albino Western (Hufflepuff)
0.1 Tri Color (Molly)

Do you have more than one ball python in that 20 G?
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"There is a fine line between a hobby and mental illness"
COLD BLOOD.........WARM HEART

How many snakes do you have in a 20 gallon?

How deep is your aspen mulch and where relative to the heat pad are you putting the heat sensor?

What methods exactly are you using to detect temperature?
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Lincoln, NE
0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.0 Woma (hidden gene?), 0.1 Yellowbelly
2.0 Normals, 1.0 Thayeri, 0.1 Thayeri X Alterna, 0.1 crazy cat, 1.0 husband

i only have one snake in each tank, the aspen mulch is like just enough to where u can see the green anymore, so about a qtr-half an in some places, im using an elexctric thermostat, it had wire and then a probe i guess you could call it mixed in with the mulch over the uth.

Something you might do is insulate under neat the heat pad. This can be tricky because you don't want it to overheat and start a fire. I have had good luck with a thick, solid piece of pine wood beneath the heat pad to keep it pressed against the glass and insulate it a little. I also have used aluminum foil. Tape several layers together with the shiny side all facing upward to the heating pad.
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Lincoln, NE
0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.0 Woma (hidden gene?), 0.1 Yellowbelly
2.0 Normals, 1.0 Thayeri, 0.1 Thayeri X Alterna, 0.1 crazy cat, 1.0 husband