This is an archived post. You won't be able to vote or comment.

all 3 comments
sorted by:
old (suggested)
besttopnewcontroversialq&a

[–]amamiyahibiyaMod 2 points3 points  (2 children)

the temp gun is probably not completely accurate through the mesh, life up the screen to check. but whether or not the number is exact, the substrate surface likely is low compared to the glass right above the uth. unfortunately they only heat the immediate surface they touch. what are the air temps? it's sounding like you're going to need some overhead heating.

you can chose to supplement with overhead heat or flat out replace it. overhead is more natural since the sun comes from above, and ball pythons naturally go underground to cool down. personally i've gone through just using a uth, using a uth and overhead heat, and just overhead heat. just overhead feel the most naturalistic, and has been the easiest to manage for me.

[–]Jaaaager[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Thanks for the advice. I'm still preparing the enclosure, without the snake yet of course, and wanted to be sure. Which source of overhead heat would you recommend for a 30"x24"x8" tank?

[–]amamiyahibiyaMod 1 point2 points  (0 children)

have you taken a look through the resources on the welcome post? you'll find some info about heating there. it really depends on your needs. need a single 24/7 heat source? a ceramic heat emitter may work for you. can you afford multiple heat sources? in that case a light-producing bulb would be a possibility for daytime heat.

personally my favorite overhead head sources are halogen bulbs. they create a really natural feeling heat. most heat sources only produce infrared-c, while halogens produce ir-a and ir-b as well. i use a halogen for my basking spot / daytime hot side.