So here is my setup. I have a thermometer/hygrometer combo on the cool and warm ends (ignore the one in the middle). I have a 75 watt bulb in a lamp on a timer that runs from 8am to 8pm. This light does not have a thermostat, because even being on all day it doesn’t get it even to the proper temperature. I have a 100 watt CHE in the other lamp that runs 24/7, that is on a thermostat set at 90. I also have an UTH on the warm side that isn’t plugged up at the moment. It didn’t seem to get it any warmer at all. Anything I need to change or improve?
2 Likes
Yes, that is mostly good. However those thermometers and hydrometers are known for being extremely inaccurate. You can get some good digital ones for pretty cheap on Amazon. And I also worry that the DHP combined with a light may get too hot.
1 Like
It’s a decent start, but how big is the snake? The tank looks quite small, would probably be ok for a baby, but would need to be upgraded at some point. It also definitely would benefit from some more clutter, and a bit more substrate.
And as Logar said, those thermo/hygrometers are not great, not only because they’re not always accurate, but also because if they somehow fall off and get stuck to the snake, they could cause serious damage. They’re also stuck to the side of the tank, and not where the snake would actually be moving around, so the temp won’t be accurate regardless.
Also, with the thermostat-probe being black, sitting underneath a lamp that shines a light it might not be reading the temperature correctly. If it is correct, however, you might need to lower the temperature, since the probe is sitting on the side of the tank and not underneath the lamp, so it might actually be too hot underneath it. A thermometer outside the cave entrance might be a good idea as that is where the snake would actually be moving around, not on the side of the tank. A thermometer with a probe is also useful to check what the temperature inside of the cave is from time to time. And i would get another thermostat for the light as well, regardless of the heat-source you should always have a thermostat attached just in case.
1 Like
Hi, welcome to the community. Some good advice above.
The thermometer is placed too high. Its nearer the hear source and heat rises, both will give a higher temperature reading than where the snake actually is (lower down).
I would get a gun thermometer and measure nearer the floor and on the basking spot.
As mentioned above, those mechanical dile ones can be a bit inaccurate too.
1 Like
Welcome to the community!
Other than what has already been said, is there anything there to secure down that lid? Snakes, even BP’s, are extremely clever escape artists and if that lid isn’t locked/weighed down by something your snake will definitely get out of that cage. And no, the lights you have are not enough to achieve this, speaking from experience here lol.
I’d go with what others are saying and buy a thermometer gun on Amazon for a low cost and measure the temps of the bedding by the hides because those thermometer/hygrometers are not accurate at all. If you can, you should also buy a thermometer with a probe attachment and place the probe under the bedding of the warm end in your enclosure so that way you can set your desired warm end temp and it will manage from there with the heat lamp. I believe for the warm end you should be looking for a temp of 84-85°F and a max of 88°F for basking. On the cool end you should be expecting 78-80°F ambient temps. I would also suggest keeping your water dish closer to the cool end as well to keep the water from evaporating too quickly.
As for enclosure size I can’t really get a good idea since the BP inhabitant isn’t in there… looks like a good setup for a hatchling though!
1 Like