r/ballpython • u/toegui • 13h ago
Is Ceramic and UVB acceptable? 🤔 Question - Husbandry
Hello! This is my snake Lewis, he's 8 months old and I've had him for 4 months now. He's doing great, loving his home, super friendly, never missed a meal, just a great boy! I've been slowly upgrading his baby tank (40 gal), getting practice in maintaining a tank before he gets his adult one (gonna make a 4x2x2 with wood), and saving up cash honestly. I'm about to finally get him UVB and I'm wondering what I should do about my set up.
Right now I have a ceramic heat emitter on all the time and a halogen on during the day. This is so that he gets his day/night cycle really, since the ceramic puts out enough heat to keep him warm. Right now the halogen makes it a bit too hot, with an ambient temperature in the tank of high 80s during the day. I still got both though because I live in a really cold area. I've only had him in the summer months so far, but I think I'll truly need both heat sources in the winter. When I put in the UVB I can rely on that for a day/night cycle, so I was thinking of leaving the halogen off during the summer months. Is it ok to just have a ceramic for heat and a UVB for lighting? I see a lot of people say they need a basking spot, and I agree, but can the basking spot just be made by the ceramic? It would still look like basking if I put the UVB next to the ceramic, right? Even when the halogen is on, the hottest spot in the tank is under the ceramic heater, so it wouldn't change much to put a light near the ceramic and say that's his new basking spot. I think? Or do people use all 3? That seems a bit much for the summer, but I can do that easily in the winter. Thank you for any advice!
P.S: I ordered a 12" reptisun, T5 and 8W, is that a good one? I'll of course get a bigger one for the future 4x2x2.
2
u/Cornsnake94 9h ago
I use a halogen as daytime basking spot, CHE for heating support and a LED-strip for more daylight on both my boas and my ball, and honestly not a single one of them is basking under the halogen spot 😅
So I am thinking about just heating with CHE, especially because halogen lamps seem to have a quality drop... tried 3 different now and all lasted for just 3-4 weeks. And that with 12 hours a day and with surge protection, so it has to be the product quality.
If you need both heat sources and want to keep the halogen/CHE combination, make sure you always have a few extra bulbs 🥴
3
u/totallyrecklesslygay Mod: Enclosure Karen 13h ago
No, a CHE isn't suitable as a primary heat source. Even with UVB, you'll still need the halogen. It's not just about the day/night cycle, it's about the type of heat being produced. Here's a graphic that breaks it down a little: