warm tank

[red_white_budlite]

hey, i have a 2` 1/2`` by 1` tank and i have everything in it: a place for the snake to hide, a water bowl(that he hasnt touched), a heat pad, a protective cover, and some fake leaves. It seems it isnt warm enough in there is there anything else i should put in it?

[Ed_r]

Well to put in I would suggest a digital thermometer so you know how warm it really is.

And I would actually suggest you take out the heating pad and put it under the tank. I just dont like electrical items inside a cage when they can be urinated on.

[Karnis]

For extra warmpth you can place a heal lamp over the warm part of the cage and that should set you up fairly well, Make sure to check on your heat though to make sure it is not too hot and prolly grab a good rheostat and timer, they do have some surge protectors with both built in to help controll the amount of heat and the lighting times

[red_white_budlite]

no, no, no, i dont have the heating pad in the cage. im not that dumb

[Ed_r]

im not that dumb

Sorry wasn't implying that. I have run into many people that DO put heat pads in the cages. just thought i would make sure.

[red_white_budlite]

no but seriously; i dont think the cage is warm enough. The warm side is like 88, the theromoter is placed at 3/4 the way down in the tank. its about 2 inches away from the bark covering the bottom of the cage. I have a heat pad, and a light. both on the same side and it just doesnt feel warm enough.
please help

[Karnis]

Did you get the cage up to temp and properly situated before you introduced the snake?
If not give it a bit more time, Mayybe it will come up, But with my own experiance with undertank heating pads, it is only surface temp not much radient heat given off, touch the spot where it is heating and see how warm it is

[Karnis]

P.s. When useing under the tank style heating pads it is a good idea to pick up a heat gun just for saftey, Sometimes you can find 5them on the web for cheap, http://lllreptile.com/v2/content/cat...emperature-gun 25$ US is not too bad a price I say

[red_white_budlite]

it is pretty warm, but how am i to know the exact temp with out a theromoter on the bottom of tank? what should i do about the light?

[Karnis]

Same as with my last thread, Grab a heat gun, these things are great for finding temps, You can also use a probe style thermometer, the kind kitchens use, that was how I found out how to deal with floor temps

[reptilemama]

Sorry if you've posted this and I missed it, but what kind of snake are we talking about here? Because 88 is just about perfect for boas, so I'm not sure why you would want it to be any warmer. Like others have said, try using a digital thermometer or a temp gun. Those are much more accurate than the little stick on kind, anyway.

[red_white_budlite]

it is a ball python. Its a foot and a half long, its captive breed and captive hatched

[Stormyva]

If your have a digital therm and it is mounted 2" about the substrate then your temp of 88° is going to be pretty close. You could "unsitck" the thermometer and put it down on the substrate to get a better idea. If you dont have a digital thermometer... go to Walmart and pick up the one that gives you the inside, outside, and humidity all in one unit. Place the probe from that thermometer right on the substrate on the hot side and then you will know exactly what the temp is. You should also have at least one hide on each side of the tank so that the snake does not have to choose between security and comfort.

[telefrag]

Just because it doesnt feel warm to you doesnt mean the snake wont be comfortable.

Remember our body temps are much higher than the desired air temp for most herps.

What feels cool or warm to us, can sometimes feel very warm to a snake.