A product called Flexwatt is often used with ball python cages and other reptile habitats. Under-tank heat tape - The same technique as above, only it uses strips of tape instead of a pad.You stick the adhesive pad underneath the cage, and then you plug it in to generate the heat. Under-tank heat pads - This is a way to heat the ball python habitat from the ground up.These devices put off heat, but not light. But instead of screwing a light bulb into a reflective dome, you would use a ceramic heating element. Ceramic elements - This heating method is similar to the one described above.These lamps must be used with a partially clear top, such as a screen lid. You place the domed lamp on top of the ball python cage, and the heat would radiate downward into the habitat. The technique here is simple but effective. Heat lamps - The bulbs in these lamps can either incandescent (white light) or infrared (red light).Is it a big cage or a small one? Glass or plastic? How much ventilation does it get?įor now, let’s look at the different ways you can heat you ball python habitat: The heating method you choose will be partly determined by the type of ball python cage you have. You can heat it from the ground up, or from the top down, and there are different products to help you with either technique. You have several options for heating a ball python cage to ideal temperatures. These temperatures are ideal for ball pythons.Įasy enough, right? Methods for Heating the Cage If you do this, you’ll probably end up with a temperature range of around 78 – 80 (F) on the cooler side, and 92 on the warmer side. For example, let’s assume you have a room that’s around 72 degrees Fahrenheit, and that you put a heating unit on one end of the snake’s cage to elevate the temperature to around 92 degrees. Giving your ball python a temperature range (or “gradient”) is very easy to do. Ball pythons can choose their temperatures in the wild, so they should have that same ability in captivity. It allows the snake to move toward the heat when it needs to warm up, and away from the heat when it wants to cool down. ![]() ![]() This is exactly what you need to strive for when setting up your habitat. The temperature gradually increases from one side of the ball python cage to the other. You’ll notice that I’ve given an ideal range of temperatures for a snake cage, as opposed to one single temp. The heating and temperature advice in this article is for basic ball python care and keeping - not for breeding. So if you’re planning to breed your ball pythons some day, you’ll need to do some extra homework beyond this article. Granted, I’m not trying to breed my snakes, so I’m not concerned about “cycling” my temperatures up and down throughout the year. Under these conditions, my ball pythons are healthy, active and eating regularly. Then the cages will warm back up to my preferred temperatures during the day. The temps will naturally drop a few degrees at night, as the house cools down. I run heat on my ball python cages 24 hours a day to achieve the temperatures I want. You can achieve this kind of temperature range simply by putting a heating device on one side of the cage only. What is the ideal range? If your ball python has a temperature gradient of 78° – 80° degrees Fahrenheit on the cooler side, and 88° – 92° degrees on the warmer basking side, you’re in good shape. As long as you get close to the ideal range, your snake will do fine. So there’s no perfect temperature range for these snakes. I read through a half-dozen care sheets for these snakes, and I found minor temperature variations in all of them. As for me, I keep my ball python cages between 80° and 95° (F). ![]()
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