Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am sure this question has been asked a thousand times, but what do you keep your day and night temps at for your Balls? I have read several conflicting temps from 65-85 which seems like a big jump to me. I want to make sure my Ball is healthy and happy. He hasn't been active lately and I wonder if I'm keeping his habitat at uncomfortable levels. Right now I am at about 80 during the day and 70 at night (in the warm end).

Your input would be most appreciated!
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~ Noel ~
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Your ambient temperature should be about 80 degrees (I usually keep mine around 85) with a basking area or hot spot around 90 degrees. You should not let your temps drop below 75 degrees day or night.
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Tosha

8.8.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and currently un-named)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope)
7.9.5 Fish (1,2,3,4...)
0.0.1 Frog rescued from pool skimmer
0.0.2 Lizards rescued from pool skimmer

>>Your ambient temperature should be about 80 degrees (I usually keep mine around 85) with a basking area or hot spot around 90 degrees. You should not let your temps drop below 75 degrees day or night.

Oh, wow, much higher than I thought. Thanks.

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~ Noel ~
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You're warm end is definitely WAY too cool. Dont worry about dropping temps at night. Keep the warm end at 90 to 95 and the cool end at 80 to 85. Those are belly temps too. Belly temps are the most important thing for them, especially for digestion. Im setting up a new tank that Im going to put my BP in and I'm going to have a UTH for each end in there. I'm going to have them both hooked up to thermostats and the warm end set to about 90 and the cool end to about 80. That will be the temps right on the floor above the UTH's. This way too, I don't have to worry about having problems with humidity since UTH's don't dry things up in there too much like lamps can. Anyway, hope any of this helps.

Does a ball python really require a 90 - 95 degree hot spot? No.
Does a hot spot work? Yes
Does a ball python in the wild encounter 90 - 95 degree weather ever? Hardly ever.

Here is a month to month minimum and maximum average temperature for Ghana from March 2004 to Present. Keep in mind these are average temperatures and vary plus or minus thru the month.

March Low (79)F High (93)F
April Low (78)F High (93)F
May Low (78)F High (87)F
June Low (76)F High (83)F
July Low (72)F High (82)F
August Low (74)F High (82)F
September Low (76)F High (85)F
October Low (76)F High (86)F
November Low (78)F High (87)F
December Low (76)F High (89)F
January Low (76)F High (90)F
Febuary Low (79)F High (90)F
*Yearly Av* Low (76)F High (87.25)F

Given the fact that ball pythons are nocturnal and are not basking in the sun during the day, as that would make them an easy target for prey, They do not require belly heat of 90 to 95 degrees as they just wouldn't encounter it. Not to say that it doesn't work for many others, but clearly the data above would show quite the opposite in their natural enviroment. An easy comparitive for weather is San Diego where the temps there fluctuate very little and are slightly warmer. IMO, humidity and ambient temps are far more critical than a hot spot.

At no point do I assume to know everything about ball pythons. When I don't know, I ask friends, when they don't know, I read.

I have met some great people in this industry, and rarely do 2 people raise ball pythons exactly the same. So for the beginning herper that is at odds as to what is good or not good for a ball python, maybe this info will help. You'll have to arm yourself with all the information you can from facts and help provided by fellow herpers, and use what works best for you and your animals.

Jeff & Starr
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mine use the hot (90-95F) spot alot, so I would think they enjoy & even benefit from it at times.

Also, nocturnal snakes will (at certain times of the year) bask during the day to raise their temps to adequate levels. Somewhere I read, a burrow inhabited by P. regius will often times be in the 90F-92F range, wethere this is true or not, I don't know. I still feel option is the best husbandry practice, even though they may do perfectly fine without it.

JMO
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Chad Bachman

Naturally a reptile is going to prefer any spot that is warmer as it is cold blooded. If they were smart enough to chose, you wouldn't ever find a ball that has been badly burned from a heat source. Additionally, Ball pythons are capable of generating their own heat thru muscle contraction in instances thru incubation.

Test your ball, remove the hot spot and keep ambient at 85 degrees. I'll bet it goes to the same hide box, and keeps eating. I was just stating that a hot spot is more of a convenience than a necessity. Surely one can easily deduce that it would never be the same temperature in its' hide spot as it is outside, in its natural enviroment.

I don't own not one inch of heat tape, UTH, heat rope, heat strips, etc. I don't have rheostats, helix timers, miles of electrical cords and any of those convenience type of items. I heat the entire room and everything is done off of a 24 hr timer for heat and light. My cooling is automated and lighting is automated with 2 touch pads and its as simple as pie. Everything is 84 to 85 ambient and they flourish. That just happens to work for me though. As I said in the above post, no 2 people do it the same and this is information only.

Jeff
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I never used heat tape or any kind of hot spots (20 plus years) until about a year ago, and everything has always done great. My animals regularly thermoregulate from hot to cool wich they never did without the heat source, so I feel it is beneficial in some way even though they do great without it.

Trust me, I know what you are sayings & agree with you that they do not need additional heat as long as the ambient temps are good, I just feel they will benefit in the long run with an option. My opinion is not set-in-stone yet, but this is what I think.

Also, the humidity is alot of times more of an issue than prefect temp gradients, but I doubt people would listen to me even if I told them that. Your & my animals are perfectly healthy, so I see no reason to debate the issue, I was just giving my opinion.
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Chad Bachman

Balls are so simple to keep that you would have to have zero knowledge of herp husbandry to mess up with them.
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Chad Bachman

Absolutely, no debate here. Thats why I said both methods work. Just hate to see a new herper get on here and read alot of this information without a variety of options. Then run out and spend an arm and a leg trying to get all this expensive equipment.

I did also forget to mention that my electricity bill is reflective on my heating ideas. Not too terrible, but enough. $100 to $150 a month.

Jeff & Starr
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I know a couple of people who take this approach and their animals are healthy and seem to flourish. Just goes to show how adaptable BPs really are. As to which is better, I guess only a study or two will tell us that.
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Jay A. Martin

Hello,I am not an expert on balls but I will tell you this.I cooled my albino down to 70 at night and in the 80's during the day for cooling to breed.He ended up with a respitory infection.off to the doc he went,10 days after telling me he was getting better they called and said he was dead!My snake was too small and did not have the fat supply to withstnd these temps.My huge female however did well in these temps.However,she has returned to temps 85 to 90 in the hot end and lowerr 80's cool end.I would never maintain my balls in these cool conditions as theyy surely would not be motivated to eat and would end up with upper respitory infections.Thats very cold if your not cooling for breeding.as for that vet,I have found a new one!

TRhats funny. Mine have gooten into the low 60's (at night) more than a couple of times this year (actually alot of nights) while cooling & all of them are perfectly fine. You are probably having other issues other than too cool of temps.
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Chad Bachman

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Chad Bachman