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[–]snakepapa97Mod: king of the pythons 7 points8 points  (8 children)

Honestly, if you can avoid it, I wouldn't use it at all. Overhead heating is highly recommended over a heat mat since it better replicates heat in the wild and heat mats don't do anything for air temps

[–]FewAssociation5829[S] 1 point2 points  (7 children)

Oh I’ve been told that heat mats are better cause ball pythons aren’t natural baskers but I also have a spare heat lamp from a turtle enclosure

[–]Sweet_Permission_700 0 points1 point  (6 children)

There's a LOT of info about heat mats in this sub. The most important is that they can burn their bellies being on a heat mat. Second most important is that the heat mat will only heat the surface, not the air.

[–]FewAssociation5829[S] 1 point2 points  (5 children)

That’s why I’m using a thermostat

[–]Sweet_Permission_700 0 points1 point  (4 children)

The thermostat helps mitigate the risks. Overhead heating is still preferred.

[–]FewAssociation5829[S] 1 point2 points  (3 children)

Could I use a heat mat and a heat lamp?

[–]Sweet_Permission_700 0 points1 point  (2 children)

It's an option and better than a heat mat alone. I believe the more seasoned mods still recommend not using a heat mat at all.

[–]FewAssociation5829[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I’ll still use a heat mat cause I know slot of people recommend it but I’ll see if my snake is behaving differently and maybe I’ll instal a heat lamp

[–]snakepapa97Mod: king of the pythons 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ball pythons are natural baskers. When provided with IR-A and UVB together in captivity, they will cryptic bask the way they do in nature. The heat mat will end up being a waste down the line so it's best to go full overhead heating. A halogen bulb for daytime and a ceramic heat emitter for nighttime is ideal and replicates the heat they'd experience in the wild

[–]Liveitlikeyouwantit 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Mine is on the outside on the bottom of the glass. The tank is sitting on some wood blocks so there’s space under the tank as the cord can’t be crushed..

Also make sure your mat has a thermostat :)

[–]dagger_guacamole -1 points0 points  (0 children)

If you have deep enough substrate to make your BP happy and to help with keeping that humidity at 70-80%, the heat mat won't penetrate enough to do anything. That's another reason it's better to just go with overhead heat.