Heating Pad Size

[Dlfngurl05]

So I'm getting my ball python next week and set up the tank. I have a cool and a warm hide. Under the warm hide I have a UTH pad that measures 8x12. It fits the size of the hide perfectly but I'm wondering if this is big enough. Also, is it bad if I put the hide right over the heating pad? I'm looking into getting a thermostat to regulate the heat pad as well. This is all new to me and I've read so much I'm overwhelmed and hoping I've made everything ok.

[jjhill001]

So I'm getting my ball python next week and set up the tank. I have a cool and a warm hide. Under the warm hide I have a UTH pad that measures 8x12. It fits the size of the hide perfectly but I'm wondering if this is big enough. Also, is it bad if I put the hide right over the heating pad? I'm looking into getting a thermostat to regulate the heat pad as well. This is all new to me and I've read so much I'm overwhelmed and hoping I've made everything ok.

Upload a few photos of it onto imgur or some other site and post the link here (don't think you can do photos yet with your amount of posts).

How big is your enclosure, what kind of temperatures are in your house in general, what climate do you live in? If you can't do photos, how many hides do you have? What substrate are you using do you have any lighting? What kind of lid is on the enclosure?

Welcome to the community and feel free to ask questions. There is a keeper named Aaron_S who is very experienced with Ball Pythons who'll likely ask the same or similar questions and will be able to provide you with credible answers.

[Dlfngurl05]

I have a 50 gallon glass tank. Two sides have wood top with a screen in the middle. I don't have any pictures unfortunately. I have Aspen substrate and two hides. One on the cool side and one on the heated side. This is a classroom pet so she'll be living there. During the day I keep it at about 75. I have the 18 watt under tank heating pad that measures 8x12.

[jjhill001]

I would check reptilebasics.com for a more economical yet larger pad that covers at least 30 or so percent of the bottom. Schools can get notoriously cold so you may have to cover part of the lid in order to hold in warmth.

Probably a better species would be a corn snake, rat snake, gopher snake or king snake. They are much more tolerant of temp swings and are thinner bodied and will be less effected by the narrowness of a 55 gallon.