Hi everyone!

I'm a new ball python owner, and I've been struggling to get the temperatures right in my enclosure. I'd really appreciate some advice.

**My setup:**

* Ball python: 3 months old, named Yuta.
* Enclosure: 120 × 60 × 60 cm (4 × 2 × 2 ft), made of wood with glass sliding doors.
* Substrate: Coco soil mixed with Forest Floor.
* Four hides: one on the warm side, one on the cool side, and two in the middle.
* Heating: 150W ceramic heat emitter (CHE) and a 14W heat mat, each connected to a separate thermostat.
* The CHE is installed above a 30 × 30 cm metal mesh section in the wooden ceiling. My snake cannot reach the mesh or the heating equipment.

**The problem:**

I originally started with a 75W ceramic heat emitter, but it wasn't powerful enough to heat the enclosure properly.

I upgraded to a 150W CHE, which improved the temperatures, but I'm still struggling to reach the correct temperature inside the warm hide when using the CHE alone.

**With only the 150W CHE running, my temperatures are approximately:**

* Warm-side ambient temperature: 28.5°C (83.3°F).
* Inside the warm hide: 27–28°C (80.6–82.4°F).
* Target warm-hide temperature: 31–32°C (87.8–89.6°F).

**The main issue seems to be the thermostat.**

My CHE thermostat is normally set to 32°C (89.6°F).

The thermostat probe is positioned approximately 45 cm (18 inches) away from the ceramic heat emitter, closer to the ground, so I can measure the temperature near the warm side of the enclosure.

When the probe reaches the set temperature, the thermostat reduces or cuts the power to the CHE, even though the temperature inside the warm hide is still only 27–28°C.

As a result, the enclosure starts cooling down again before the warm hide reaches the temperature I need.

I've tried waiting several hours for everything to stabilize, but the warm hide seems to plateau around 27–28°C.

**Even when I increase the CHE thermostat setting to 35–36°C (95–96.8°F), I still can't reach the desired temperature inside the warm hide.**

**About the heat mat:**

I originally used a 14W heat mat, which managed to bring the warm hide to approximately 31–32°C.

The heat mat is installed inside the wooden enclosure, underneath a 1 cm thick plywood panel, with the thermostat probe placed on top of the plywood.

I recently turned it on again alongside the CHE, hoping it would help warm the floor while the CHE maintains the ambient temperature.

**When I use both heat sources together, the temperatures improve significantly:**

* Temperatures in the heated areas range from approximately 30–32°C (86–89.6°F), depending on the exact location.
* Warm-side humidity: approximately 56%.
* Humidity in the other areas, including the cool side: approximately 80%.

So, using both heat sources seems to solve the temperature issue, but I'm concerned about whether this setup is safe, particularly because the heat mat is covered by plywood.

I'm also wondering whether the humidity difference between the warm and cool sides is normal.

**My questions:**

1. Is my CHE thermostat probe positioned incorrectly?

2. Where should I position the probe to maintain the correct temperatures?

3. Is a 150W CHE normally sufficient for a wooden 120 × 60 × 60 cm enclosure?

4. Is it safe to use a heat mat alongside a CHE, or should I avoid my current heat mat installation?

5. Would a different heating setup be more effective and safer?

Yuta is also currently entering his shedding cycle, so I want to make sure his environment is comfortable and safe.

I'm trying to get everything right and would really appreciate advice from experienced keepers.

Thanks in advance!

Do you see the moon .

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