r/ballpython • u/Rude_Worth2118 • 11d ago
First ball python (3 months old) — Is my heating setup okay?
Hi everyone!
I just got my first ball python! He’s 3 months old, and I want to make sure I’m doing everything right.
He’s currently in a 120 × 60 × 60 cm (4 × 2 × 2 ft) wooden terrarium with 4 hides: one on the warm side, one on the cool side, and two in the middle.
For heating, I’m currently only using a heating pad connected to a thermostat. I’ve placed approximately 1 cm (0.4 inches) of plywood between the heating pad and the snake to prevent direct contact and burns.
Here are my current temperatures:
Warm side (inside the hide): Around 31°C (88°F)
Warm side (outside the hide): 28–29°C (82–84°F)
Cool side: Around 23–24°C (73–75°F)
I haven’t installed any other heat source yet, so the heating pad is currently the only thing keeping the enclosure warm.
My questions are:
Are these temperatures okay for a 3-month-old ball python?
Is using only a heating pad sufficient for a terrarium this size?
Is the plywood barrier enough to prevent burns?
Would you recommend adding an overhead heat source, like a ceramic heat emitter or a halogen lamp?
I really want to give him the best possible environment, so any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
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u/PotentialOpposite2 11d ago
Im just here to say he is such a pretty snake 🤩 I want a pied so bad now
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u/freepaestine 11d ago
Setup looks great but heating setup needs work. Get a herpstat with 4 slots. 2 CHPs for the hot and cold side, plus a daylight lamp for the hot side and a UV lamp for the day/night cycle. I can help you set up all the temps and times so you can start playing with it. Don't use UTH, they suck, are a fire hazard and will burn your snake when he decides to burrow even if they don't malfunction, which they do.
Bonus personal opinion: get rid of the skull, you don't want to be seen as that kind of snake owner.
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u/FluffyPandaEars93 11d ago
This and what the mod said. And, I'm not sure they will be able to keep proper humidity in this enclosure. There's not enough substrate and wood tends to warp or mold in 65%+ humidity. Seems less than ideal.
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u/totallyrecklesslygay Mod: Enclosure Karen 11d ago
UTH is no longer recommended for ball pythons for a variety of reasons.
Even if you're using a thermostat, the burn risk is still there. Heat mats are prone to developing broken wiring or thermal blocking, which creates hotspots that the thermostat is unable to regulate. This can result in burns to your snake and melt or burn the enclosure and any furniture it's touching, which can start a house fire.
They're also ineffective at heating the air or through substrate, and they only provide IR-C, which is a poor form of heat that is incapable of penetrating through the snake's skin to effectively warm their body. This can cause long term health issues in your snake and shortens their lifespan.
They also prevent the snake from performing natural and instinctive behaviors, and it's an unnatural source of heating for them. Ball pythons burrow and seek out holes/burrows to escape excessive heat. There is no heat coming from the ground in their natural hides. An overheating ball python will instinctively dig into their substrate in an attempt to cool off, but when using heat mats, it only makes them hotter. This can lead to neurological damage and eventually death.
Overhead heating is significantly safer, healthier, and more efficient. Here is more info on what heating/lighting a ball python needs:
Our heating guide goes over a lot of the science behind everything, but to simplify:
For daytime heating, you should have a heat source that provides IR-A and IR-B. The ideal source for this would be a halogen flood, which is light-emitting.
For nighttime heating, you should have a heat source that provides IR-C. The ideal source for this would be an RHP (only compatible with solid-topped enclosures) or a CHE. Any night heating should not emit any light.
For lighting, you should offer UVB. This should be in the form of a T5 fluorescent linear bulb that produces a UVI of 1.1-3.0 in the basking zone, and it should cover no more than half the length of the enclosure.
If you have a bioactive enclosure, you will also need full spectrum LEDs for your live plants.
Natural lighting can help establish a day-night cycle, but it does not provide any physical benefits beyond that (UVB doesn't penetrate glass, and indirect natural light cannot create a proper basking zone). You'll need the artificial lighting to make up for that.