Hey all! I was looking for advice on tank heating. I am planning on getting a BP (in August lol) and think I am fully researched, but I wasn’t sure how to tackle the temperature gradient.
I have a 40 gallon glass tank, 36x16x16 (?) (for a baby/juvenile, I will be moving up) and plan on using cocochip. The room temperature itself is 74F. How should I create a sufficient gradient in this long of a tank, keeping the cool end good as well? Most lamps I feel won’t heat up too far length wise. What lamps/other set ups should I use? Wattage? Lamp? Thanks, any help is appreciated 
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I would use a 150 watt ceramic heat emitter paired with a good thermostat (I prefer and reccomend herpstats by spyder robotics) on the hot end
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Thank you! Do you recommend a certain brand for the ceramic heat emitter? And will placing this in an 8.5 inch dome on top of the tank (with the thermostat) be good?
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I have several things to list that I will brake down.
Size
For a baby ball, the 40 is to big. You can get a piece of plexiglass and make a divider and have a 20 gal size to start with.
Temp
If your room air is around 74, then an under tank pad will work, placed on one side. This will give you a hot and cool side. Your cool side should be no less the 74 and not as hot as the hot end (around 85-88).
You can find pads online that have a thermostat built in (it will just be a knob you turn, but it will allow you to adjust it as needed. Some sort of temp gun will allow you to check it).
Tank setup
If this tank has a screen top, you will want to cover almost all of it. Glass and screen does not hold heat and humidity very well. You can use tinfoil, plastic wrap, plexiglass, anything that will hold the heat and humidity in. You will need to test it to see how much to cover, but it will most likely be almost all of it.
Humidity
If using coco chips for the bedding, you will need to mist it often. One thing to help keep humidity up longer, you can use a small bowl and fill it with the chips, then fill with water. Place it above the heat pad. You should have it around 50%. When Shedding, bump it up to 65-70.
***If you are not dead set on using the tank to start with, you can get a storage tub, with 1/4in holes and use the same items. If you want more info on this, please let me know.
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Thank you for the help! I have a 20 gal that I can switch to. The heat pad with the built in thermostats sounds good. For humidity I was thinking about a humidifier on a timer. Will this work, or is the method you suggested better? Thanks again
I can not say one option is better then another. If you only have the one snake, then I personally would not use a humidifier. Trying to keep humidity in the enclosure would work better (for 1or a small few) buy doing it within. Plus this way it is at no cost. If you really do need more help on keeping humidity up, you can always get the humidifier later. Also, keep in mind that they are nocturnal, so extra lighting and special lighting is not needed. Regular room lighting will do the job.
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I just use CHEs from amazon, I don’t remember if they had a brand or not but I can check.
That sounds good! You’ll want to have a nice thick layer of bedding on the bottom (coconut husk is great) for both enrichment and to maintain humidity. Most of mine are in similar setups and thriving
Something like this is a great setup:
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Thank you. I’ll test the humidity levels with your recommendations
Thank you that makes sense, the visual is helpful! I appreciate it
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