i need help getting temps regulated!!

[Morbids_Mom]

ok i have the top mesh top of the tank covered in aluminum foil with some holes punched in it to breathe. the humidity is way up and temp has read at 90-92 at one time..still staying level around 85-87 tho and i dont know what it will run tonite..if everything goes well i will have it regulated i hope!. i stopped using teh heat lamp and just open the window for the day in the morning for the sunlight. how do i get dremoras temp level and steady where its supposed to be?i dont wanna turn the heating pad up to high cause i knjow that is too warm, i have the thermo ontop of the substrate over the heat pad to tell what the temp is where dremora is laying at.i am unsure now what else i can use to heat up th tank, she hasnt eaten in almost 2 months since her last shed and i think its because she has been too cold and i dont wanna get her sick i wanna do whats right for her but i need some help, any advice is appreciative. i went to read balls.com and didnt get the info i was looking for and i have looked in the manuals and still havent been able to find what i need so i am hoping that the collected minds of this forum will put thier heads together and help me out! thanks

[Aaron_S]

I can tell you that ball pythons are notorious for going off food. She should start again soon. During the winter is when they generally stop. If she's not losing weight and acting normal she will be fine.

[Morbids_Mom]

I can tell you that ball pythons are notorious for going off food. She should start again soon. During the winter is when they generally stop. If she's not losing weight and acting normal she will be fine.


she seems fine healthwise except those scales keep falling off..or tips of scales, they are almost clear and they sparkle, when caught on her skin they look like fuzzies almost. i was thinking but not sure about it could be humididty but i think i have that problem fixed now~ we will buy another hopper or 2 on tuesday when he gets paid...maybe then she will eat since her temp is running around 89-90 in the tank now and the humidity is up where it should be as far as i can tell ..its all wet on the inside of the tank with the foil over the lid with the breathing holes. i need to get that rheostat soon but as far as i can tell her humididty is good! finally now that the lid is covered and i am NOT using the heat lamp anymore!

[DaemoNox]

Personally I dont even worry about humidity. An enviroments humidity is always changing, as well as within the enviroment. Too much humidity can be just as bad if not worse then too little (baceria love it). Balls come from an area thats rather dry a good amount of the time, but they hide in burrows where its moist and humid. Humid hides best replicate that, giving them a chance to hydroregulate. Condensation in the tank usually means too much humidity.

[Morbids_Mom]

ok i see that now but how do i take care of that? more holes in the top of th tank? also now the temp is climbing to almost 100 degrees so i set the heat pad down to low instead of med. and changed the cage out. disenfected it and put in new paper towels and stuff. yea too much condensation..way too much we couldnt even see in for the most part. i will poke more holes in the top of the cage tank. i dont wanna take off any of teh foil cause then it gets too cold in th tank and i am finally starting to get the temps where they need to be!! hopefully by this time next week she will be eating again..i hope.. getting worred about her not eating..been almost 2 months now!

[DaemoNox]

Yeah, more ventilation the lower the humidity will get. Most heat pads get way too hot, the best way to really keep the heat to where it needs is a good under tank heater and a thermostat to control it. Alife sells decent little ones for $30, otherwise you can spend over $100 for top of the line models. Combine that with a good digital indoor/outdoor thermometer with a probe and you've got the temp problem taken care of.

[Morbids_Mom]

Yeah, more ventilation the lower the humidity will get. Most heat pads get way too hot, the best way to really keep the heat to where it needs is a good under tank heater and a thermostat to control it. Alife sells decent little ones for $30, otherwise you can spend over $100 for top of the line models. Combine that with a good digital indoor/outdoor thermometer with a probe and you've got the temp problem taken care of.

can you add a thermostat to a reg. heating pad...like me and you would use? cause thats what i got under the tank. its on med but the one the shop gave me didnt hardly get warm at all and the temp is now only in the area its supposed to be by using the heating pad on warm instead of low, if i use it on low it stays in the low to mid 80's and can get even lower during the night. i put more vent holes in the top but now i think i put too many cause the temp dropped to low 80's from almost 98 degrees. i know the 98 is tooo warm so i dropped the heat down on the pad to low and put in more vent holes and wiped the tank down and put in clean substrate after i disenfected it. now no condensation but trying back on med. on the heat pad cause the temp is still too low and i opened the tank hours ago. used some tape to cover some of the vent holes so maybe that will help too.


so you are saying get a reg under tank pad and a thermostat to reg the temp? or am i reading it wrong? both sides of the tank have no pad under them and i do notice she likes ot hang out and stay on the sides so i figure the pad is too warm but i need the temp up in teh tank so i am unsure here what to do..thanks for the input! i change out her water every day and give her fresh cause those scale tips get all in her water and i would nt want ot drink out of that so i figure she dont either! thanks again like i said, the more input i get the better! thanks:rolleyes:

[DaemoNox]

I dont trust human heating pads, theyre not ment to be on all the time like that and have shorted out causing fires. I use them for emergencies. So a good undertank heater I feel is safer (try a different brand then what you got before), but it needs a thermostat to control it and a good thermometer to give you an accurate reading. Balls really arnt too hard to set up, I think we need to take a step back and go over things one at a time.

[steelheadchris]

Ive had my ball in a 20 long for almost 2 and a half years now i use a red over head light at 85 watts a moist sphagnum moss hide on one side and one without moss on the other and he's been just fine like that ,i cover the hole tank in the winter months and in summer i leave it open but still have both hides and he's almost always in the moist one.he sheds better to,temps in 83-85...90 under the light.now every winter he stops eating for 3-4 and a half months and it drives me nuts, but he snaps out of it.check and see if her breathing is noisy or wet or poppy dont want a respitory infection.get her temps rite

[Morbids_Mom]

no her breathing is just fine and shes acting healthy as can be, i think i have the temp thing under control with the heating pad and covering mostly all the top of the mesh, now it reads around 90 degrees or so during the day and mid to high 80's at nite. now to get more feed and try to feed her. and yes we will be buying a new under tank heater for her and a thermostat!