baby ball python, please help.

You were right to put the feet on the enclosure. A little air flow under the UTH actually helps it work properly. Just to be clear, a UTH must be used with a thermostat to prevent from cooking your snake.

You should be taking temps right on the glass under the substrate where the UTH is. Use a thermometer with a probe.

A hot spot of 92* (surface temp) is sufficient, but you should try to keep your ambient temps above 75* at least. shoot for 80*.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

You were right to put the feet on the enclosure. A little air flow under the UTH actually helps it work properly. Just to be clear, a UTH must be used with a thermostat to prevent from cooking your snake.

You should be taking temps right on the glass under the substrate where the UTH is. Use a thermometer with a probe.

A hot spot of 92* (surface temp) is sufficient, but you should try to keep your ambient temps above 75* at least. shoot for 80*.

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hey, thanks for replying.
there isnt air flow underneath the UTH. the UTH is just sitting on my carpet floor. there is air though between the UTH and the enclosure.
the enclosure is wooden by the way, so it insulates a little better than glass.
the temps at the actual base of the enclosure, under the substrate is about 95f, and surface of substrate above heat mat is 88, ambient of 78 or 79. - dropping to 76 or so on the cool side.


so its all good then now pretty much yeah?

i will be looking at getting a thermostat but nobody answer my questions about them.

he didnt eat it.
he behaved like he was scared of it :(

im worried if i touched it too many times to check it was warm enough or something.

any tips?

unfortunately im only hearing an echo...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by seercirra

also, i am pretty confused by the thermostat business.

let me get this straight:

the thermostat has a sensor, which i clip on to or otherwise attach to the mat itself? substrate? wood?
i dial what temperature i would like the mat to be kept at, and the thermostat will... switch the mat off when it gets too hot?
so does the mat plug into the thermostat then? how does the thermostat cut the mats heat?

and if you look here:

http://www.888reptiles.co.uk/product...CategoryID=205

there are numerous thermostats ranging from £15 to £70.

how do i know which i want?

please help, lol. thanks.

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Your heat source plugs into the thermostat. There is a probe that goes under the tank between the tank and the UTH. The thermostat is then set to the temp you want and when it reaches that temp it either turns the electricity off to the heat pad (on/off type of thermostat) or lessens the amount (proportional type thermostat)

From that link you posted, the B1 (top of the list) would be fine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by seercirra

hey, thanks for replying.
there isnt air flow underneath the UTH. the UTH is just sitting on my carpet floor. there is air though between the UTH and the enclosure.
the enclosure is wooden by the way, so it insulates a little better than glass.
the temps at the actual base of the enclosure, under the substrate is about 95f, and surface of substrate above heat mat is 88, ambient of 78 or 79. - dropping to 76 or so on the cool side.


so its all good then now pretty much yeah?

i will be looking at getting a thermostat but nobody answer my questions about them.

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Yeah, that sounds okay to me. Definitely get a thermostat though for the UTH. I recommend the reptitemp 500R for starters. Especially if you don't have plans to get a bunch of snakes in the near future.

I don't think touching the rodent will have an impact on whether the snake eats it or not. You could just try leaving it in the enclosure with him overnight and see if he eats it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Buttons

Your heat source plugs into the thermostat. There is a probe that goes under the tank between the tank and the UTH. The thermostat is then set to the temp you want and when it reaches that temp it either turns the electricity off to the heat pad (on/off type of thermostat) or lessens the amount (proportional type thermostat)

From that link you posted, the B1 (top of the list) would be fine.

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yayy. :D he ate, he's eating now.
i got a thermostat, just a cheap one which arrived through the post today, its a "habistat, mat-stat".

and thanks kaorte too, for that information :)

i need to drill a hole through the box so i can put a sensor in. and i was going to do it today, after i tried feeding him again (i last tried on friday, i havnt really handled him since the first time he refused to eat.). so yeh i was dangling the damn mice around the entrance of the hide, and there was no reaction. i couldnt even see him in there, so i dangled it infront of another hide too, lol. in the end i gently pulled the warm hide up and saw him in it. dangle, dangle, dangle, no response...
so, i left it there and went about drilling a small hole in the box (not with a drill, just grinding through thin mdf with scissors. lol, quietly)
and i notice the snake pop out and see whats going on. he takes a sniff in the other hide and goes back into his own, completely missing the mouse. so i put the mouse about an inch inside his own hide, and carry on working.
and then out of the corner of my eye i see the mouse slowly moving back into the darkness. lol. i check and see he's dragging it in.

1 thing im slightly worried about though.
i defrosted the mouse by putting it in a water proof bag and leaving it in hot water. im a bit worried it could have slightly cooked the mouse as i left it there for quite a while. if the mouse is slightly cooked, will it harm the snake?

thanks alot everyone :)

ok no response, nevermind, but perhaps someone can help me with this? :)

i would like to raise the ambient temperature by just a couple of F. as the ambient is about 75 right now. although the UTH is quite big and covers nearly half of his active area, and i have it set to 88-90. i just think itd be nicer for him if the ambient was a bit higher..

how might i do this?
all the "reptile" ones all like 150w.

i dont want to have to get a 150w bulb and then another thermostat to control it :(

can i not buy a very cheap red florescant bulb (or black bulbs)? something like these?
http://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/pro...my-15w-bc-red/
http://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/pro...er-18w-bc-red/
http://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/pro...t-25w-ses-red/

i just want a cheap bulb which i can use 24/7 to increase the temperature just a couple of F. if a day is particularly hot then ill just turn it off.

any suggestions? thanks
edit, it doesnt have to be a bulb. it just needs to raise ambient by a couple of F. cheers

Check your local petstore for night-time friendly bulbs. They usually cary low wattage "moonlight" bulb or redlight bulbs.

Keep in mind that getting a light will also lower your humidity significantly.

I would raise your UTH to about 92* though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Check your local petstore for night-time friendly bulbs. They usually cary low wattage "moonlight" bulb or redlight bulbs.

Keep in mind that getting a light will also lower your humidity significantly.

I would raise your UTH to about 92* though.

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cool. thanks for that. now i know what to google, i found some :)
raised the temp of that UTH little too. cheers:gj:

I insulate the tank with a product called Reflectix - it's like bubble wrap covered in foil. It's works great! I put it on the back and sides of my tank, as well as the walls behind it. Since we don't believe in stable temperatures in my house, it's helped a lot to control my ambient temperatures. I also cut a sheet of 1/8" Plexiglas and stuck it to the front of the tank using blue tack.