Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have my balls in a room that is about 70-72 and my rack is set to about 98 but in my tubs the hot spot is about 89 now i have a night drop controller set to 83 but as my collection is at my shop i cant check the temps in the tubs over nite im just curious what eveyone else thinks as far as the temp drop differnce and my room temps? i check on them daily and they seem fine there not even on the hot spot so i know there temps are good in the day just a little concerned about the over nite temps as there being bred now. any comments are appreciated!

It sounds like the 70-72 is during the day, I think that is too cold. I don't let mine drop quite that low even at night. I also have heat tape and drop it too. People that don't use heat tape don't usually let the room temp drop much at all. My ambient day temps are up to around 83.
My theory is to only drop the temps enough to breed, not to test their cold tolerances. Ball Pythons are tough, but RI's suck.

Not sure if I made my self clear the 70-72 temps
are my room temps day and nite and my rack
temps are day time 99 but in my tubs there about
89 and than I use the night drop temp at 83 not
sure what the tub temps are than as I'm not
able to check over nite. That's what I'm worried
about the room temp affecting my tubs?

If you have the controller set at 99 and the drop to 83 (assuming that you have the controller set to 83 because you cant be there to check temps so you dont know what night temp is) then your tubs are going to be getting way to cold. If the controller is set at 99 and the tubs are 89 then there is a ten degree differential so if you set the controller to 83 with the ten degree differential you are looking at 73 degrees in the tubs. This is way to cold for them, and could set in a respiratory infection pretty quick. I only drop my temps (and I use freedom breeders with heat tape in panels) about 6 degrees. I find that the temps dont do much but get them started. The pressure systems and their biological clock keep them going through the season. Anyway I would just set the controller night drop to 93-94 so you will be running a smooth 83 in the rack at night. Good luck and hope this helps.
Will Wohlers

makes a lot of sense and that is what i did today. thanks for your help and i feel a little stupid cause it was pretty much common sense.

Hi,

I allow the air temps for my snakes (all of them, balls included) to drop down into the mid to high sixties at night, sometimes a few degrees lower. Their heat tapes are on night and day and range between 98F during the day to 80F on cool nights. The snakes go on and off the tapes during the night and make temperature selections based on their needs. They do this whether they have food in their systems or not. It is my opinion that most keepers keep their snakes a bit too warm. It is natural for these animals (all snakes) to get cooler at night, it is what they are programmed to do. When they are in good health with a functioning immune system, cool nights will not bother them at all. I have been keeping balls for 30 years and can count the RIs on one hand. As long as their cool nights are balanced with hot options during the day, problems don't normally occur.

I am a Frank Retes (pioneering king, python and monitor breeder) desciple when it comes to temperatures, I believe in giving them choices that are a little bit above and a little bit below what they need. They decide what they need and make the appropriate selection. It no longer surprises me to see a ball, carpet, diamond, green tree or Boelen's python sitting with a belly full of food on the cool side of the cage for a while at night. It also doesn't surprise me to see those same animals sitting under a lamp during the day at 105F for a while. They choose what they need, when they need it, and I just try to give them a range to pick from. As long as I see them making choices and not sticking on the cool or hot side all day (or night), I have no worries about them.

Sorry for the long winded response, but your temps seem fine to me. As long as they are not stressed and suffering from some immunosuppressing condition, they should be fine. Good luck.

Will