What are some ideas to provide heat gradients for ball pythons?

Question

Should I put a basking light on one end and then use a sunlight bulb toward the middle or should i put that bulb on the opposite end of the basking light...both of the bulbs provide heat....please throw some ideas at me I am def. open to ideas...Thanks for all your ideas

Answer 1

You don't need a light at all for a ball python, you need an under the tank heat mat. Not a heat rock, a heat mat or pad. Basking light are for Desert lizards, turtles, tortoise's, gecko's, stuff like that, NOT snakes, you can use an fluorescent light that produces no heat ,if you wish to look at it in the cage, but lighting is not required. Give it a little hide box at one end a water dish at the other and put the heat pad somewhere in between. It only needs to cover 1/3rd of the tank. the snake will do the rest.

Answer 2

You can use a heat mat just get one that covers about half of the cage, it will move to colder and warmer areas when it wants. Also you could put a high watt bulb at one end of the tank and although the whole tank is heated the end with bulb will always be hotter. Also make sure you have a thermometre to check heat at both ends of the cage.

Answer 3

Yup, no light needed at all. You do need an under tank heat pad because snakes digest with belly heat. Put a hide over the warm and cool end, and make the substrate (aspen is good) about 2 inches thick. The snake will self regulate by burrowing as needed. The UTH should be on a dimmer switch and set to about 85F. Use a digital probe thermometer to measure temps.

http://www.kingsnake.com/ballpythonguide/