Need a little help preparing for my new snake..

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TheOneThatGotAway;4262999; said:
You honestly don't HAVE to cover the lid to keep moisture in. You can just keep a sharper eye on the humidity and you may have to spray more often, that's all.

As for lighting, for my ball python I have a flourescent UVB bulb (ABSOLUTE necessity) in a real hood, which doesn't give off much heat, and an a regular 60-watt incandescent bulb in the traditional metal reptile heat lamps. The flourescent bulb gives him the UVB light he needs (think of it as Vitamin C is to us), and the incandescent heats the temperature to about 80 - 85˚. For the humidity I just spray the whole tank down with a regular spray bottle so it's at about 75 - 80%.
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last time i checked ball pythons were nocturnal and since they eat whole foods dont really have a need for uv light and heating via a bulb is a poor choice for it . a under tank heater is the superior method for these snakes.
 
ozz465;4263444;4263444 said:
last time i checked ball pythons were nocturnal and since they eat whole foods dont really have a need for uv light and heating via a bulb is a poor choice for it . a under tank heater is the superior method for these snakes.
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I was wondering whether or not a heater underneath would be better...
 
a undertank heater that is controlled by a thermostat is better since it doesn't disturb the snake at night when its awake.
 
ozz465;4263444; said:
last time i checked ball pythons were nocturnal and since they eat whole foods dont really have a need for uv light and heating via a bulb is a poor choice for it . a under tank heater is the superior method for these snakes.
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They're not nocturnal. I forget the term for it, but they're awake at dawn and dusk and asleep during the day and at night. His tank is vertical so putting an under-tank heat pad would heat up pretty much the entire bottom of the tank. He's got a couple sticks and whatnot he can climb up and rest on to heat up near the light. The tank stays at a comfortable temp overnight during the summer, and I switch the incandescent with a 24/7 night bulb to keep it warm during the winter. It's not the best, I know, but it's the best I can do until he graduates to a 30 gal.
 
I didn't know that.. well perhaps I'll get the underheater and a heat lamp? Could the tank get overheated? It's in a basement so it stays pretty cool in it
 
TheOneThatGotAway;4263918; said:
They're not nocturnal. I forget the term for it, but they're awake at dawn and dusk and asleep during the day and at night. His tank is vertical so putting an under-tank heat pad would heat up pretty much the entire bottom of the tank. He's got a couple sticks and whatnot he can climb up and rest on to heat up near the light. The tank stays at a comfortable temp overnight during the summer, and I switch the incandescent with a 24/7 night bulb to keep it warm during the winter. It's not the best, I know, but it's the best I can do until he graduates to a 30 gal.
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the term you want is crepuscular but all of the ones I have kept were obviously nocturnal. Aslo, there is no need for a UV light so save yourself the trouble. I have kept a few ball pythons and all of mine sat on the ground during the day and only ventured into the branches at night so a heat pad is all you need. I would stay away from night bulbs in addition- you just need one heat source....
 
snakeguy101;4265198;4265198 said:
the term you want is crepuscular but all of the ones I have kept were obviously nocturnal. Aslo, there is no need for a UV light so save yourself the trouble. I have kept a few ball pythons and all of mine sat on the ground during the day and only ventured into the branches at night so a heat pad is all you need. I would stay away from night bulbs in addition- you just need one heat source....
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Alright I bought the undertank heater and for light during the day I'm just going to use a regular lamp. How many hours of light should or can I have for him?
 
snakeguy101;4265198; said:
the term you want is crepuscular but all of the ones I have kept were obviously nocturnal. Aslo, there is no need for a UV light so save yourself the trouble. I have kept a few ball pythons and all of mine sat on the ground during the day and only ventured into the branches at night so a heat pad is all you need. I would stay away from night bulbs in addition- you just need one heat source....
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Everything I read before buying said they are crepuscular, and Ramses seems to back it up. And my tank was a kit, so it came with the UVB bulb. But I took my leopard gecko, who is DEFINITELY nocturnal to the vet once and the vet said the UVB was absolutely necessary. I dunno, she died anyway so maybe he had no idea what he was talking about.

But yeah. I definitely wouldn't get both the lamp and the heat pad, and the heat pad is definitely better than the bulb. I agree with that 100%.
 
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