Transcript
Intro
[Music] good mornings welcome and welcome back to the channel I’m Elle and this is Alex reptiles this week we are talking all about ball python Heating and lighting this is super super important proper Heating and Lighting in your ball pythons take can completely change their appetite it can mean your ball python is eating or your ball python is on a six-month hunger strike keep in mind that there is no one size fits all set up for heating and lighting it all just depends on what type of tank you’re using and the size of your tank and just all of the things so we’re just going to go over a whole bunch of different options and then from there you can make the best decision for your ball python in your setup before we get started this video is sponsored by custom cages so make sure to stay in the video to find out about the awesome company that makes these super cool tanks let’s get started Heating so first we are talking about heat heating your ball python’s tank a pro appropriately is super important a cold ball python is not going to eat a ball python that is too hot is not going to eat a ball python that cannot properly thermoregulate is not going to eat with any of these heat sources make sure you are using a temperature gun to measure the hot spots and cool spots and all that and not just a therometer stuck on the wall that way you can get accurate temperatures first option is going to be
Heat Pad (+Thermostat)
heat pads or heat tape and a thermostat this was the gold standard of heating ball pythons tanks for such a long time I have used heat pads and thermostats for heating my ball python’s tank and it works these are awesome for multiple different reasons number one they last for years and years and years I have never had to replace a heat pad I’ve had to replace like one thermostat ever it is very important that your heat pad or heat tape is on a thermostat though they can get too hot if that temperature is not properly regulated and the last thing that you want is your ballpoint on to be too hot so make sure that you are using a thermostat with that heat pad these are also really awesome for allowing your ball python to be hot in their hot hide this way they can eat their food then they can go hide and digest that food works out really nicely for them they feel safe and secure and warm these are not great for heating the entirety of the tank though obviously a heat pad is going to heat one little section and that is it so especially in winter time your ball python might need supplemental heating if you’re using a heat pad just to get that ambient temperature up where it needs to be but super cool thing about heat pads you can leave them on 24 7 so they also can be used at nighttime because they do not produce any sort of light next up is Basking Bulb just old-fashioned heat bulbs this is a tried and true method of eating reptile tanks and they work for ball pythons heat bulbs allow you to heat up one spot in the tank so that your ball python can come out and bass they also provide the added benefit of providing light so that you are also providing a day night cycle for your ball python however they cannot be used at night obviously you cannot leave a light on 24 7 in your reptiles tank just to go ahead and throw this out there I cannot tell you the wattage that you need for your ball python’s tank this depends on so many different things it depends on the size of your tank it depends on the type of tank you’re using it depends on how much ventilation is in your tank it depends on the temperature of your house it depends on what other sources of light and heat you are using it depends on so many different things I cannot tell you the wattage but I can suggest and what I do is buy a bigger heat bulb a larger wattage of heat bulb and put it into a dome with a dimmable switch and then just adjust it as needed that heat bulb will be turned down in the summertime it’ll be turned up in the winter time if I change the tanks I am going to adjust it as needed instead of having to buy new bulbs that is my suggestion for you but as far as specific wattages for specific size tanks I cannot help you I am so sorry next up DP projectors I love deep heat
DHP
projectors this is a type of heating that number one does not produce light so it can be used 24 7. number two they last for such a long time I’ve had one in Sterling tank fur going on like a year now and it’s still going strong and it Heats this whole section of this six foot tank here they are very powerful the heat also penetrates through the high though I don’t know if you can actually see it here this hide here is his warm hide and inside of that high stays warm super super nice the heat also penetrates the reptile skin a lot like the sun would they’re just super super awesome absolutely adore them and the reptiles seem to also absolutely adore them they are very active with their deep heat projectors these do need to be on some sort of dimmable switch or thermostat or something though because they can get really really hot even the smallest wattage of deep heat projector can get very very hot so make sure that you have some way of turning that temperature down next up we have the
CHE
ceramic heat emitter a lot like the deep heat projector it is going to heat the tank without providing any light so it can be used 24 7. these are pretty inexpensive and they seem to be the go-to for any kind of supplemental winter heat or nighttime heat for reptiles in general they again like the DP projector can get very very hot though so make sure you have it on some sort of dimmer or a thermostat so that you’re not overheating that animal but this is a fantastic supplemental heat source for your ball python radiant heat Radiant Heat Panel panels I’ve never personally used radiant heat panels that’s why it’s at the end of this list but I’ve heard really good things about them radiant heat panels are panels that don’t produce any light and they radiate heat into a tank usually they are used on big tanks like this on PVC sort of tank they’re actually just screwed directly into the ceiling when people use them they provide a nice steady source of heat so if you want to try that route you definitely can you will need some sort of other light in that tank as well or day night cycle but they can be used throughout the night as well since they don’t provide any sort of light These are nice but they only really have the one use which is large PVC tanks so that is something to keep in mind they’re not really going to be used in something like a glass tank and the last one on Heat Rocks this list is heat rocks don’t use them they are very dangerous they now include thermostats built in but from pictures that I’ve seen of some pretty badly injured animals it doesn’t seem like they work that well they’re dangerous they’ve always been dangerous please do not use heat rocks for your ball python even if they weren’t dangerous they’re only heating one tiny little spot so Lights moving on to light reptiles including ball pythons need a day night cycle they need to be able to know when it is daytime and when it is nighttime so they need some sort of light on that tank if you use a heat bulb in that tank you have a source of daylight cycle for that ball python however I personally suggest
UVB Lights
having a UVB light on that tank ball pythons seem to benefit from UVB lighting you don’t have to have anything crazy you don’t have to have bearded dragon levels of UVB Lighting on your ball pythons tape but they seem to benefit my ball python’s love coming out and laying under that UVB light they are active they’re a lot more active than they were before and they eat a lot better than they did before in their old tanks they seem to really enjoy the UVB light if you are just trying to figure out what sort of light source to go on your ball python’s tank for day night lighting just go with UVB you are now providing a day night cycle and they are getting those benefits it is a win-win situation just put one on there they’re going to be happier they’re going to be healthier they’re going to be more active probably even going to eat better they will benefit from UVB lighting and Best UVB if you’re wondering what kind of UVB lighting the Arcadia shade dweller is fantastic or the Arcadia six percent is super close to the shade dweller or if you want to go the rupti sun wrap represent 5.0 wonderful fantastic but Outro that is it that is all that I have for this week’s video hopefully you learned what kind of light to put on your tank or at least have some sort of idea of what Heating and light sources you might want to try out as I said at the
Sponsor – customcages.com
beginning of this video this video is sponsored by custom cages custom cages super cool because they make these super cool tanks right here these tanks are awesome my ball pythons and my blue tongue skink absolutely love these tanks we are going on a solid six seven seven months of having these tanks set up they are so wonderful as the name suggests custom cages allows you to customize what kind of setup you want with backgrounds tank colors things that come in the tank sizes whether you want a whole stack or a cabinet tank I have a three stack here they allow me to hide Dusty lights if you’re thinking about upgrading your animal’s tank or just getting a new one definitely consider customcages.com thank you so much to custom cages for sponsoring this video as always if you have not already
Shoutouts (kind of)
please feel free to follow me on my other social like subscribe and hit the bell for notifications every single time put on new videos every Sunday and some Wednesdays this one’s Instagram shout out is here and this week subscribe shout out is here thank you so much for liking and following and subscribing and sharing and commenting and all that jazz you are the beasties thank you so much for watching and I hope you have a fantastic day bye ever but I don’t
Bloopers
really but I’ve never really had but I’ve never had you don’t have to have ball pipe or you don’t have have bearded dragon level even if bye my voice is getting crackly from recording three videos in one night and I’m tired I’m going to sleep [Music]
