Sooo just got a Spider BP

[dshin963]

Okay, soo
The BP is probably about six months old and this is the first snake I have ever own... I like to think I understand the basics... I am currently working on the tank.

It is glass with a mesh cover... its a little difficult to moderate the temperatures and humidity... I am trying to keep one side above 90 and the other around 88 starting to prove difficult... I have a heat pad and a heat lamp on the hot side nothing on the cool side.

I have a hide on both sides... the hot side has one that came with him and the cold side has one i made out of a freezie box...

The water dish is close to the middle more so towards the hot side in an attempt to keep the humidity higher... in addition to that I also put a damp cloth on top of half the tank to keep moisture and heat in. The humidity on average is around 39% I would say.

I will include a couple of photos could you please offer some constructive criticism to help my BP adjust to the move? :(

[Lankyrob]

The cold end can drop lower, say 75-80f as long as the hot end is 91f. You want to get the humidity up to about 55-65%. Mesh top aquariums arent easy to keep at the right temps and humidity tho so youmay find it hard work.

Looking forward to the pics.

[dshin963]

There come the pics :)

[dshin963]

... or not...

[dshin963]

hope this works...
The temp drop and humidity drop is mainly because i opened the tank... damn thing is soo temperamental... right now its at 88.4 degrees and rising and 41%

Also i figured that a place he would could bask was on top of the hot hide... would he do this?

[Jendee]

the lamp is not needed..and if you want to use a glass tank id recommend putting the towel completely over the top since your using paper towels and a small water dish it will be hard to keep temps and humidity. I know nothing about ball pythons..but did start out using glass tanks 17 yrs ago lol

[dshin963]

I cant get the temps high enough with out the lamp though... also i just switched the thermometer and the cool side reads at around 51% humidity... i figure if i spray every day or so i should be fine on the humidity... not just the temp

[Aaron_S]

If you need a lamp then you need a red light. Probably a 50 - 75 watt. The lamp should be shut off at night and just run the heatpad. I prefer to keep a single heatpad with a thermostat attached to regulate it.

[dshin963]

is there a huge difference between the blue and the red?

[Aaron_S]

Yes the heat output.

[dshin963]

alright well i added something to the tank
To raise the temp in the tank i put some aluminum foil on top of the moist cloth to keep in heat... just wondering is this safe to do?
It is sitting at around 93 degrees at the moment

[Ch^4]

The only foreseeable problem with the foil is overheating (IMHO). 93 is a little warm, but should work for a basking spot. You don't want the entire cage at 93. With that size of a cage, it can be difficult to create a proper thermal gradient; you can achieve, but it takes patience, and some trial/error. (I have a quarantine cage that is similar in size.)

I'd invest in a thermostat to avoid temperature extremes. Which side of the tank is your little spider on?

[dshin963]

he likes to stay in his hide on the hot side... I havent seen him go over to the cool side once too cool off... the cool side i believe was at 81 ill double check again in a bit.
OHHH on a positive note I woke up to a little poop in the cage this morning :) I was really worried he was going to regurgitate his food because it wasnt warm enough.
Also last night i found him basking on top of the hide i think he liked the heat :)

[dshin963]

also I am going to invest in a digital thermometer that can take the surface temp ASAP... these ambient ones are irritating me...

[mld]

Just wondering if that flukers thermometer /hygrometer has a probe on a corn that you would place inside the hot hide to read the basking temp! If it doesn't have a probe it may just be measuring the air temp!
Just a thought, when I googled the flukers one it didn't mention a probe.

[dshin963]

nope it sucks its just the air temp...

[dshin963]

i cant find the ones that measure the surface area though..

[mld]

With it just reading the air temperatures then you are not getting a true basking temp, so your basking temps would be higher than the air temp. I would purchase one with a probe they aren't too expensive. The fluker one should be still fine for the ambient temp and the humidity.

[dshin963]

yea i just wanna get a temp gun you know the one with a laser and keep the current one for humidty

[mld]

Yeah, I love my temp gun! There are lots of models out there, some have to be closer than others.

[dshin963]

ohhh you have one? how much did you spend on it?

[mld]

I got mine when it was on sale for 75% off, at Canadian Tire, regular price was $99.00. But there are cheaper ones out there.

I've heard that the ones that they sell at Reptileuv are really good.

The ReptileUV Mini Temperature Gun - ReptileUV (http://www.reptileuv.com/reptileuv-mini-temperature-gun.php)

TempGun (http://tempgun.com/)

I would also suggest getting a thermostat for your under the tank heating pad. you just set it to the desired temperature and it automatically regulates it for you so you don't have to worry about overheating. I have the reptitemp 500r
http://www.reptilesupply.com/images/themostat500r.jpg

[dshin963]

The only foreseeable problem with the foil is overheating (IMHO). 93 is a little warm, but should work for a basking spot. You don't want the entire cage at 93. With that size of a cage, it can be difficult to create a proper thermal gradient; you can achieve, but it takes patience, and some trial/error. (I have a quarantine cage that is similar in size.)

I'd invest in a thermostat to avoid temperature extremes. Which side of the tank is your little spider on?

soo I checked the gradient its 82/92 with 42% humidity all around the tank a little more humid on the cool side

[dshin963]

And I just realized something... since the desk is glass wouldn't it also hinder the over temperature of the tank?

[Ch^4]

soo I checked the gradient its 82/92 with 42% humidity all around the tank a little more humid on the cool side

Much better temp wise.

And I just realized something... since the desk is glass wouldn't it also hinder the over temperature of the tank?

It depends on the ambient temperature of the room; heat transfer is very complicated. I was just saying that by covering that much of the lid, and by using an unregulated heat source, you might run into overheating issues.

Glad to hear you're not.

[dshin963]

ahhh well ill keep playing around with is and see what works the best im also thinking of picking up a thermostat for the lamp if necessary

[dshin963]

Ok I made what I hope will be the last adjustment... First of I finally got a temp gun and tossed the heat lamp.
second I took off the foil...
Third i have 1/3 of the tank covered with seran wrap and the rest a damp towel.
with the Seran wrap( i poked many little holes in it to ventilate it) I can maintain a constant humidity of around 65-75 even over night it drops a bit but i just spray in the morning soo problem one done...
two the temp gun records temps of around 76-78/89-93 depending on on the temperature of my room how this is sufficient... When I get a bigger tank I want to add a humidity hide however currently the tank I have now isn't large enough... below are a few pics of the setup

[mld]

Are you going to be building your next enclosure?
If you make a wooden one they you can control where the vents are located. It's good to place the vent low on the hot side and high on the cool side, this will give you good air flow without losing heat and humidity.

Glad you were able to get your humidity up and temperatures stable.
Did you take back that big temp gun and get another one?

[dshin963]

I took it back and got the same one that works also if i can figure out hot to make one for sure i will

[TeaNinja]

i got a little 8$ digital thermometer from petco. i recently changed my BP from an aquariam tank that was much too tall into this.

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af184/teaninja/tankswap012.jpg
http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af184/teaninja/ratandbo009.jpg

i don't have a UTH atm, but the 100 watt ceramic heat emitter seems to be doing the job nicely, i just have to spray the cage once or twice a day to keep it from getting super dry. mine likes to bask on top of his hot hide sometimes.

[dshin963]

Nice set up :) (s)he looks happy

[dshin963]

Guess what! :) My BP is going into shed :D his eyes are starting to milk over. I'm super excited first time its happened since buying him. I hope all goes well :)

[Lankyrob]

Has he got a humid hide? If so should be fine.

[dshin963]

no but the humidity in the tank is now at a constant 75% I check it often and once it drops to anywhere near 70 or lower i give him a spray

[Lankyrob]

Constantly having it that high isnt great. You really want a wet/dry cyclegoing on. They need about 55-65% really. I tend to spray mine up to about 70-75% and let it dry right down to around 50% before respraying. It is better for the snake and much less likely to form mould and bacteria in the vivarium also.

[dshin963]

Constantly having it that high isnt great. You really want a wet/dry cyclegoing on. They need about 55-65% really. I tend to spray mine up to about 70-75% and let it dry right down to around 50% before respraying. It is better for the snake and much less likely to form mould and bacteria in the vivarium also.

Ahhh dually noted :) will begin adjustments :D