Heating problems!

I bought a 20 gallon glass tank for my baby ball python I will be ordering soon, though it has a mesh top resulting in some very obvious heating problems. I’ve installed a heating Matt with a jump thermostat set to 90 degrees, but the ambient temperature is only 70 degrees. The humidity seems to be fine (65%) but the temperature is very alarming. What can I do to raise the heat? Should I install another heating source like a lamp? I tried covering the top with a few notebooks and shirts but it only raised up to 75, please help!

Go to Walmart and buy a sterilite tub. Use your thermostat and heating pad with that. You might have to raise the temperature in your house to get the ambient temps up.

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Personally I would not ever put a lamp on a ball python just to raise ambient temp. The hot spot being at 90-92 is more important, the trade off of stressing them by having a light on to me would not be worth a few degrees of ambient temp.

I agree with Brad a tub might work better. Also 20gal for a baby is pretty big they usually prefer to not have TOO much space. If you put some extra cover in there I think that would help it feel comfortable.

Aquariums do look nice…no doubt about that.

You could run a small space heater of some kind nearby that could boost the temp a bit.

Covering the top with foil or something could be helpful. 75 is fine honestly. If your hot side is on point a few degrees cooler on the other side is gonna be ok.

As someone with a tank I can give advice.

I actually do have 70% of my lid foiled. Easy to do and helps keep everything inside the tank including humidity. You can also get a low watt heat bulb, not a light, but a bulb that just emits heat, and set it on the side of the lid not foiled. It should have its own thermostat and the probe set pretty high up on the inside of the tank.

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Covering up a portion of your lid is the best way to keep heat in. A ceramic heat emitter can also be used just like a heat bulb, but will emit no light and can be kept on through the night if you need it to.

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I have a 20 gallon tank to and this is how I have it set up:

  • Split Mesh tank top
  • Foil tape across the entire top except for the whole of the lamp
  • CHE (60 watt)
  • Under tank heat mat
  • CHE and Heat Mat both set to 91
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Yup that’s pretty much how I do it to but need a bigger lamp since I have a much bigger tank. And leave a little space that isn’t tinfoiled for ventilation in general, but away from the small humidifier that’s also in the tank.

I’m also having a heat problem in my 20l tank. I hear a CHE kills ur humidity. Is there a solution for that while using a CHE?

Use a coconut husk bedding and mist it regularly, as others have mentioned put foil over part of the lid of the tank helps as well. The ambient humidity in my tank usually stays between 55-70%, but also I live in an absurdly humid climate