Help! What bulb should I use?

[SadisticPsycho]

I have a 33 gallon tank which will be housing a male ball python (baby) What bulb should I use and what wattage?

Thanks!

[Matt_K]

This belongs here in the Ball Python forum..

Here, have a look at this...

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=49236

[Nicky]

a 33 gal for a baby ball seems way to big. Chances are unless you have tons of hideboxes your ball wont start eating. As for wattage You'llhave to play around with it but i have my year old female in a 30 gal with a 100 watt. If I were you though I'd go out and buy a small rubbermaid and heat pad.
goodluck
keep us updated:)

[SadisticPsycho]

Oh! Thanks! (I keep putting my messages in the wrong forums ><)

[mykee]

No need for a light bulb at all, ESPECIALLY if you're using it for it's heat. In an aquarium, a light bulb will dry out the air, making it damn near impossible to maintain the proper humidity levels for a ball python. For heat, you should be using an under tank heater and a thermostat to regulate the temperatures, which you can buy at any pet store.

[BoidKeeper]

FYI when you go get an under tank heater do not stick it to the glass. A 33g is way too big for a neonate ball. Is this your first reptile/snake?
Cheers,
Trevor

[SadisticPsycho]

Oh... what about heat tape? Do I stick that to the bottom of the tank? What is a neonate ball python? (A baby?) And no it's not my first reptile. I've had 2 green anoles before and after those two I had 2 rough green snakes. for years I've kept turtles and had wild garter snakes. This will be my first bigger snake though.

Thanks

[BoidKeeper]

No matter what type of UTH (Under Tank Heater) you use do not stick it directly to the glass for at least these two reason, 1 if the tank breaks then what? New tank and a new UTH because most times while trying to peel it off the UTH gets ruined. You may also want to change tanks to sometime. 2nd if the UTH is stuck to the glass the temp there can be hot enough to burn your snake. Always a good idea to hook your heat pad to a control so you can adjust the temp but if you don't have one you can adjust the temp by raising and lower the tank from the heat pad and or add or taking away substrate. Make sure you get a digital theremometer with an out door probe and max/min memory so you can monitor the temps through out a 24 hours period. This is an important feature because it tells you how cold the tank got during the night.
A neonate is the name for a baby snake. Some snake are hatchlings some are not, boas are live bare and have a litter not a clutch. So no matter what type it is if it's a baby you can call it a neonate.
Anoles and Rough green snakes from pet shops are almost always WC (wild caught) and half dead before being sold. I hope that is not the case with yours but you did use the word "had". You ball provided it is clean inside and out should make a much better pet for you than either of the first two you kept. If you haven't already bought it I suggest picking up a copy of the ball python manual. Some of the info is old but there is still a lot of valuable stuff in there.
What and when did the snake eat last?
Cheers,
Trevor

[SadisticPsycho]

Wow, thanks a lot! I didn't get my ball python yet that's why I'm so desparate for information. I want to know as much as possible before I get the little guy.

My green anoles actually lived for awhile. (I can't remember how long) Probably because I was so worried about them dying and getting stressed that I never held them. My rough green snakes died in a week each. I refunded the first and the second one died, I just got annoyed and didn't bother. I thought I was doing something wrong or something...

Well this time I'm going to buy the ball python from a snake breeder not a pet store. :)

Thanks for all your help.

[mykee]

Kudos for doing your research PRIOR to the purchase of the snake. Good luck.

[Invictus]

A light bulb can be used quite successfully, and contrary to what many people say, it does NOT dry out the air. What dries out the air is the over-ventilation that an aquarium provides. If a water source is provided right near the the light bulb, it will create massive amounts of evaporation, which is exactly what humidity is - however, with a mesh top, the evaporation will escape far faster than it will be replenished. My point is, light bulbs have a bad rep for drying out air, which is absolutely and completely unfounded and false.

Get a custom built terrarium, or use a rubbermaid with a CONTROLLED undertank heater. And test your environment completely before you put an animal into it. If you do stick with the aquarium, restrict the air flow by covering 2/3 of the top with glass, plastic wrap, or whatever, and put a water source underneath the light bulb. I've done this with great success, so don't believe the hype about light bulbs drying out the air - it's simply not true.