Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone know if it is really important to have a certain type of light for ball pythons? I mean, I went to my grocery store and bought a double pack of Phillips 100 watt "Director" spot light bulbs to use for my snake, just to see what they would do. It was only 4.00 for a double pack. (Not a big loss if they didn't work.)

Before, I had a 150 watt night bulb in my light fixture and the temp on that side of the cage was 82 F with the light on and 79 F with the light off. I removed the night bulb and the temp dropped to 79 F, then within 5 minutes of putting in the 100 watt Phillips bulb the temp went up to 86 F and has been holding steady there for about 30 minutes.

Does it really matter what type of light you use as long as the temp stays good? I mean, at 2.00 a bulb, how can you go wrong?

Here's a picture of my tank with the Phillips bulb on the right. The inght light is on the left, but you can't tell.....cause it's a night light

For ball pythons, the type of light is insignificant so go with what is most cost effective for you. It is the thermal gradient that is of utmost importance. In the case of a tank such as your's, overhead heat is probably the way to go. For enclosures made specifically for reptiles such as vision, neodesha, etc. you have several options such as heat tape, radiant heat panels and even the good old incadescent bulb. The only drawback to incadescents is that they tend to dry the air so you may have to mist a bit more often but otherwise, it is perfectly acceptable.

Rob Carmichael

Nocturnal, burrowing snake. I can think of ONE way to save on light.........

you can use any bulb you like and i would still use a heat pad as hot spot for that cage...probably under that lamp. hat is a ver nice setup by the way. Looks nice. Loose substrate looks nice but is a pain. But i am guessing you dont have a lot of snakes so it isnt a big deal. Anyway. I have all my snakes in a small room and the light they get is from a flourecent bulb in the ceiling. It costs pennies to run it on a 12/12 cycle and they last forever.