Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK all you 'experts'. I bought my self a nice JCP at a Reptile/Fish store and am housing her in a 20 gallon long tank, temporarily. She is a yearling, eating F/T and is very docile. My problem is the light/heat setup. What should I use?? The saleman said I sould use a basking light and a UV light. I tried the basking light and the temp was way over 105 degrees. My poor girl was very uncomfortable. So I took that one out and put in a regular incandesant light, 40 wt. Now it's reading about 90. She's much more comfy. I also am going to use an under the tank heater (UTH).
I have corns and a milk and they have UTH's and just regular lights for a natural day/night cycle. I want to do that with this Jungle but am not sure on the lighting for a 20 gal tank. I'm learly of using a heat emitter fearing it will get to hot too. Would just an UTH, incandesant bulb for day and a dark night time bulb be good for this size of tank? Do they really need a UV light? I plan on buying a big 65 gallon tank in the future..Thanks for any advise :0)

If you are going to use the UTH/bulb combo, just make sure they are on the same side. Also in a 20 gallon, make sure that the cool side is down in the low 80's so the snake can cool off if needed. At night I would recommend not using anything but the UTH if your room temps don't get too low. If they do, a simple red bulb (20watt) should work. Your night temps can drop to 75 on the cool side and low 80's on the warm. Might want to cover the top of the tank with a towel or plexi glass to allow for heat retention and humidity control. Possibly a misting every once in a while and particuliarly if it's in shed.
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Jim Kuroski