Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm having a problem with my 7 month old ball python, Lucy. I have an undertank heater under half of her tank, and she'll occasionally use it, but chooses to spend most of her time under her water dish on the COLD side of the tank...It's only 65-75 degrees in my apartment...and the fact that she's ice cold when I pick her up concerns me....could this be dangerous for her?? Or should I let her do it since she has the option of warmth? Thanks.

~Kristine

your UTH is getting to hot for her. Get a thermometer and put it on the heat pad itself. If it gets above 90 degrees its too hot. Get a thermostat or rheostat so you can control how hot it gets.

first i would say check your temps like jamison said and then fix them accordingly. one way i would think to help fix the situation would be to put a hide close to the heated side of the tank so that she can find a secure place to hide, but also she would get some of the heat that would radiate from that side of the tank. my little girl will sometimes sit on the cool side of her cage for a long time and i get concerned, but then i will catch her spending time on the warm side too.

if you have ample hides in the cage for her, just try placing another one in the middle of the cage like i said before. hopefully that will help her.

dana

0.2 ball python (roxy and haileigh)
0.1 albino cornsnake (avery)

this would help everyone help give advice. what are the temps in your cage and do you have hides on both sides for her to use and how big is your cage, setup etc???

~dana~

0.2 ball python (roxy and haileigh)
0.1 albino cornsnake (avery)

I have her in a 20L, with a human heating pad under half of it (No, it's not too hot, I take temps EVERY day). She has 3 hides in the cage, one on each end and one in the middle. The problem is that when I first got her and she was little, I got a water dish with the cutouts, to double as a hide like some people suggest. It worked great, but I'm wondering if, since it was her first hide, she favors that hide over warmth. My question was: Is it safe for her to be getting that cold?? The setup isn't the problem, it's a health issue. Thanks though...guess I should've elaborated a little more!

~Kristine

see what she does. (if nothing else it will up humidity)
-Steve
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Steve
2.0 Corn Snakes
2.1 Ball Pythons
1.2 Veiled Chameleons
1.1 Panther Chameleons
2.1 Leopard Geckos
0.1 Giant Day Gecko
0.0.2 Red Ear Sliders
0.0.2 Sulcata Tortoises
1.0 Central American Banded Gecko

What I'm really trying to find out is if it's SAFE for her to get that cold...is it going to affect her health?

~Kristine

No, I don't think it's safe for her to get that cold. It could set her up for a resperitory infection, and those are very dangerous for snakes.

If your setup were right, she wouldn't be able to get that cold. It's good that you have heat on one side of the tank, but you should get the entire tank set up with a proper gradient. The cool side of the tank should still be around 80-85F, and the warm side about 09-93F.

With the ambient temperatures of your apartment that chilly (and who can blame you with the cost of heating these days!) you really need to figure out how to warm up her entire enclosure.

Judy

I don't think it's good for her either.

You still haven't told us what your temps are on each side, what & how you are measuring them.

I've never heard of a water dish like you're describing - got a pic of it or the cage setup? Sounds interesting.

Maybe you should make an identical one for the warm side too.
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1.0 Ball Python
"Aragorn"

1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa
"Gimli"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

I don't have a picture of the dish, but it's just a regular old dog dish...the kind with little notches cut in the bottom for handles. She loves to crawl though those notches and curl up under the dish....

Last night, I went to go check up on her and she was on the warm side of the tank, so I think maybe I just wasn't seeing her sneak over there. I'll definitely work on getting both sides warm...maybe I'll get another heating pad and set it on low on the cool side....thanks!

~Kristine

She must prefer the other side at night! LOL.

Just make sure your surface temps on the warm side are 90 (95 tops) and your cool side is 80-85. A night time drop is not required, but if it does drop make sure you still have a gradient between both sides and the cool side doesn't go below 75 (72 at the most).

Best of luck!
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1.0 Ball Python
"Aragorn"

1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa
"Gimli"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

>>I'm having a problem with my 7 month old ball python, Lucy. I have an undertank heater under half of her tank, and she'll occasionally use it, but chooses to spend most of her time under her water dish on the COLD side of the tank...It's only 65-75 degrees in my apartment...and the fact that she's ice cold when I pick her up concerns me....could this be dangerous for her?? Or should I let her do it since she has the option of warmth? Thanks.
>>
>>~Kristine

I guess I gotta ask.....why don't you add a light or room heater and bring up her ambient air temp? To me that ambient apartment temp is too cold. So, if she lays on the pad and only gets belly heat and still has cold ambient you are just asking her to burn her belly, or , be cold. The light is gonna dry the crap out of her but that is one of the pains of tanks. I think if it were me I would (if I had to use the tank) add a humid hide and a light to bring her up ten degrees.
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Sonya

Failure is not an option. It comes bundled with the software.

And what sort of thermometer are you using to measure them?

If you are saying that the temperature in the cage reaches as low as 65 degrees, then, yes, it is dangerously low. Just as important is the temperature on top of the heating pad. But, although experienced keepers have tried to help you in earlier posts, for some reason you refuse to answer these questions.

Good luck with your snake.

-Joan

I use a tempgun to take my temps. The hot side is in range, but (as I stated before) the cold side is not. I'm not "refusing to answer questions"...I actually really appreciate the advice that I find on these forums. I'm aware of a problem and taking steps to fix it, but most everyone so far has answered a question that I didn't ask. My question was: Is it safe for them to get that cold? All but two answers so far answered everything but. I know that they SHOULD be warmer, and I'm buying a light bulb as soon as I'm not snowed into my house anymore...and I already know most of the advice that was given to me. I don't own pets without knowing about their care requirements. My ball python is in excellent health and absolutely spoiled. Maybe I should've been more clear when I asked my question....

~Kristine

That's kinda like saying: I called my doctor on the phone for some medical advice, but she was only allowed to answer one question. And when she tried to ASK a question, I dodged it, because I'm sure it couldn't have been relevant.