infrared light and ball pythons

[escm]

Ok first thanks for all the help with the newspaper question!

next, just a a funny story..i picked up a zoomed 75 watt basking bulb, plugged it in and about one minute later it burnt out...any one had this happen? Any ideas why? I figured it might have been my fixture but I put a 100watt incandesant in there and its been all all night (theres no snake in my tank yet still in the setup phase)...oh well...

Finally, I was thinking about nighttime temperatures. I have a 500r thermostat with my uth hooked to it. Obviously it cycles on and off as that is what thermostats do. I dont want to plug my my light source into it because my snake would go crazy from the on off of the lamp. Am I correct in stating that ball pythons cant see infrared? And that if I plugged the infrared bulb into the thermostat the onoff cycle wouldnt bother my snake?

J.

[dvs]

Good question........ I'm interested in knowing this too, what snakes can see infrared???

[Edwin]

Well, snakes supposedly cannot see the light emitted from reptile night lights, but I think that they can see it, but are just not bothered by it.

The frequent on-off drove ME nuts with the constant clicking noise and light flashes it makes. It also shortens the life of the bulb. I have switched to CHEs, which supposedly last around 5 years. Mine has been running for over 2 years.

I believe that those thermostats are not recommeded for use with light emitting sources of heat. You could attach it to your UTH if you have one, or just get a CHE.

[dlucka]

It happen to me too with the same light, i just return it.

I have this set up with my ball, but the light is on 24 hour, i found that they get a longer life if you do play with it. But i keep a cooler side for the snake so they get where they need at any time.
I did not put day light because this room is full of light on day time.

About if they see it or no... Well i guest not, on nigth time went i put my hand in their place they look more like they're on feeding mode, i just turn on light then it came back to normal. So do they see it or not...

[Alicewave]

Zoo Med bulbs never seem to last very long to too. I use a thermostat on my UTH's and they work great.

[Big Mike]

My suggestion is to have your UTH on a thermostat...like you have and then have a light on a timer. Set is so that when the light is on the warm side/spot is at your optimum warm temp. Then when the light goes off for nighttime, you get a slight night temp drop and darkness. I think this simulates nature very well.

You may have to try different watt bulbs and other fine-tuning but when it's set...it should work very well.

I have my snakes set up like this, except I have a rheostat rather than a thermostat. The thermostat may heat up the UTH more during the night because the light is off.... so take that into consideration.

Anyway...just my $0.02...good luck and kudos on setting up the enclosure before putting the snake in it.

[escm]

my problem is when the light is off at night it appears to get to cold. as far as my uth heating up at night what I did was have the thermo sensor right above the uth area. Then I got the temperature set properly (~89-90) and adjusted the thermo to keep the uth at that temp. Then I installed the clamp light and adjusted it so that th warm side of the tank is at about 91-92 and the cooler side is at ~83-84. I made sure when I was adjusting the lamp that the thermometer was right next to the sensor. That way in the day the pad usually does not turn on during the day but I know the temp on the floor is about 90. And at night when the light is off I know the pad temp wont go above 90. My problem is at night the area above the pad stays nice and toasty but the rest of the tank seems to get pretty cool (75-80). I know 75-80 isnt so bad but it just seems like all the heat is concentrated over the uth and I was looking into a way to create a smoother gradient instead of one 90 area and the rest at ~75.

maybe Ill have my day lamp on a timer and my uth/infrared on my thermo...

oh another question, is it ok to just stick with my 100watt incandesant if that seems to be keeping a good gradient? I read that ball pythons do not need any vitamin-d producing uvb rays...

[Big Mike]

That's right...they do not need any special bulbs as they get all their nutrients from eating whole rodents. They are naturally nocturnal anyway and will hide during the day.

It sounds like your set up is fine. How big is your warm spot? If it's big enough for the snake to fit it's entire body on then you should not have to worry about a smooth gradient. As long as the two extreme temps are OK. If you want you could use a heat absorbing substrate or object like a rock. It will warm up and distribute the heat a little more evenly. Even a thick layer of substrate will do the trick.

Actually what I do is put the UTH on one end and have the light somewhere in the middle with a 40-watt bulb. This way the hot end has heat from the UTH and a little from the bulb. The middle had none from the UTH and more from the bulb and the cool end has only a little from the bulb.

You should not worry about it. If given a warm spot and somewhere where it's not so warm...they will be fine.

[escm]

ahh yea good call with the rock thing...i bet a porous rock of some type half over the uth would work well. Ill set up all my snake furniture/hideboxes and water supply tonight and let it all heat up. thanks for the ideas guys!