# Please, help me save my Royal Python!!



## RoyalPythonRegal (3 mo ago)

Hey,

I hope you’re well! I really need some advice on how to care for my new snake, I’m horridly worried that he won’t be getting the correct care.

I recently purchased a 3 year old male Royal Python from a old colleague of mine.
I’ve been wanting a snake for a very long time (and was likely going to purchase a corn snake in the near future), and had done a lot of research into the husbandry of snakes. So when somebody I knew was selling the snake on Facebook due to the child who owned it moving away, I happily jumped at the chance!

My Royal Python was came with:
Wooden Vivarium, with fitted heated lamp and cage
Heat mat
2 Hides
Water bowl
Digital thermometer/ hydrometer
2 Large Pieces bark and 1 artificial plant for decor/enrichment

He’s very docile, was easily handled and I was told he has consistently fed and shed well!

However, I’m now panicking for a few reasons, largely surrounding his heating but not limited to just this.
Firstly, his current vivarium measures approx 15 x 15 x 34, which I believe is potentially too small? I have a second larger vivarium ready to be use which I luckily got for free from Facebook Marketplace, measuring 20 x 18 x 36, which I will be moving my snake into in the very near future, once I’ve got all the correct set up.
My biggest concerning is the heating; I live in the south of the U.K. which is typically quite cold, and I’ve noticed his heat mat is not temperature controlled. I need to purchase a thermostated heat mat as soon as possible, as I’ve seen the heat mat spike the heat probe as hot as 41•C, which I immediately turned off. Conversely, the cool side of his vivarium has at points reached 21•C, and while it has only been for a night or so (so far) I know a change in heat regulation is needed immediately to ensure his survival.
There is a heat lamp fitted in the vivarium, which when I have been using during the daytime/evening to provide warmth and has kept the vivarium in the ideal ranges (31-33•C in the heated end and 23-25•C in the cool end) but I know that if I leave the light on continues the lack of day/night cycle will stress out the snake.
Even currently as I’m writing this, I have stayed up all night out of fear the environment will be too cold, and have noted the times thermostat check from turning off the heat lamp, and pre/post turning the heat mat on for fear of spiking:

1:51am (N/A) - 29.6C/24.8C
2:25am (N/A)- 27.4C/24.3C
3:33am (Mat) - 33.6C/23.5C
4:01am (Mat) - 34.6C/23.2C
5:07am (Mat) - 36.3C/22.7C
5:32am (Mat) - 36.9C/22.5C

Even with the heat mat one the cool side is getting colder and colder, and I’m going to have to soon turn on the heat lamp and turn off the heat mat just for his safety, even though the snake will be stressed out.

I’ve tried looking for heat mat solutions but from what I gather you can’t put heat mats inside wooden terrariums? Unless you are able to fit some sort of sheet or protection, and even then the opinions seem mixed.

As for a heat lamp, should I simply purchase a ceramic heat lamp? I know I’d likely have to explore an additional non-heating light source too, but once again every article seems to have different opinions of what’s functional and not, and I can’t decipher clear answers anymore.

Ultimately, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong; the snake must have been able to thrive and function for 3 years in this conditions until now, and I can message the colleague again but I’m just so stressed, let along the snake in question.

In an ideal world I would purchase a new enclosure, however given all the expenditure I just made to buy from this past colleague while I can buy new necessities, buying a whole new enclosure just is not a financial viability for me right now. I’ve looked at things on Amazon but the reviews all are so varied on each product, from ‘works incredibly’ to ‘complete failure’, and I know that each day that passes my snake is under more risk, and my mental healthy has been so low recently and this snake has made me feel so much more joy than I felt in a while so I just need clear communication on how to give him a happy and long life.


If any of you could please give your thoughts on;

Heating Solutions for the Wooden Vivarium(s)
Lighting Solutions
Some U.K. sites to purchase the necessities
Any recommendations on additional things unmentioned (substrate etc.)

Please, help me save my new best friend!


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## ian14 (Jan 2, 2008)

Replace the lamp with a ceramic heater. This can be left on 24 hours but clearly needs a thermostat (dimmer or pulse) to prevent it from overheating.
You could equally leave things as they are, but you do need a mat stat to prevent it getting too hot. The mat is quite safe inside the viv provided it is secure and not covered with deep substrate. Mats don't warm the air, it will provide warmth by contact with the snake.
Personally, I would simply use a ceramic heater.


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

Two useful posts are stuck at the top of this section - This one on basic care for a Royal Python, and this one on general heating

ALL heating needs to be controlled with a suitable thermostat, including mats. Swell Reptiles, Northampton Reptiles, and Amazon are three companies I've used to supply equipment, although Amazon is full of crap Chinese products. Stick with know brands such as Habitat and MicroClimate for thermostats, and if you opt for ceramics I've used the White Python ultra slim ceramics with ProRep brackets and guards and found them to be ideal, but even they may not give enough headroom in a 15" high vivarium.


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## Spades (3 mo ago)

Since the current and new setups are fairly small, I'd recommend switching the heat lamp out for a non-light emitting heat source. Halogens are only really suitable with a backup/night-time heater, which will take up even more headroom and will likely disrupt the heat gradient in a 3ft viv. The heat mat won't really suffice for ambient temps for night-time Given the lack of headroom, a Radiant Heat Panel is probably a good choice if you can afford it (Retics & Reptiles just released the ReptiRad which I've tried and works very well in my temporary enclosures of the same size as yours), but otherwise a CHE or DHP will work. The slimline White Python CHEs are great, but the guards are terrible in my experience so I can't really recommend them.

The priority here is thermostats for every heating element. Heat mats don't come with thermostats by default, you need to get one to connect to it. Personally I don't use heat mats full stop, but if you choose to use them then you should _only_ ever use them on a stat as they present a fire and burn hazard when unregulated (as does any heating element). Habistat are great, simple thermostats that you can usually pick up cheap online or secondhand. Microclimate are also excellent. I have a NeoRep that has so far worked perfectly as well. Internet Reptile, Swell, Buzzard Reptile, and Northampton Reptile Centre will also stock them new. Amazon has cheap on/off stats that can control mats, CHEs and RHPs, but I steer clear of them as they often do not fail in the off position meaning they can overheat very easily if the stat fails.

I believe you've got the ExoTerra snake bedding substrate in your viv at the moment which will probably be fine for winter as humidity in UK homes tends to stay very high during the winter, but you may want to switch out to a more humid substrate long-term.

Since you're just looking to get through until you're in a better position to upgrade, I'd recommend:


Switch out to a 100W CHE - the fittings you have are likely fine as is, so just a new bulb (possibly slimline depending on the size of your guard) will do as long as your fixture is ceramic, not plastic.
Pick up a pulse or dimmer stat - Habistat are generally the cheapest good quality stats. You can get a mat stat for the heat mat fairly cheap, but you can also remove the heat mat altogether if you want.
Try not to panic. You're doing what you can in the interim. Altogether those two purchases will be a workable solution and should solve your issues with temperature. If you want to make any grander upgrades later on, you can do so - baby steps for now!


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## ian14 (Jan 2, 2008)

Please do NOT use a simple on/off thermostat on a ceramic. You need either a pulse or dimmer.


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## Spades (3 mo ago)

ian14 said:


> Please do NOT use a simple on/off thermostat on a ceramic. You need either a pulse or dimmer.


Eek, sorry I've always heard they're fine for ceramics so apologies if that's incorrect advice! I've always elected to use pulse/dimmer stats so never been a consideration for me. I'll amend that now.


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

Spades said:


> Eek, sorry I've always heard they're fine for ceramics so apologies if that's incorrect advice! I've always elected to use pulse/dimmer stats so never been a consideration for me. I'll amend that now.


The temperature swing on an on/off stat is too great. This was the log for a 100w heater controlled by one. 31-41c












Pules proportional, or dimmer stat when using CHE or tube heaters


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## Spades (3 mo ago)

Malc said:


> The temperature swing on an on/off stat is too great. This was the log for a 100w heater controlled by one. 31-41c
> 
> 
> View attachment 369081
> ...


Interesting! I actually used to insist on pulse/dimmer for CHEs and never got one because I was worried about fluctuations, but got very much shut down on that front by someone who used an on/off stat and swore by it. Very much noted, I won’t suggest them.


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## ian14 (Jan 2, 2008)

Spades said:


> Interesting! I actually used to insist on pulse/dimmer for CHEs and never got one because I was worried about fluctuations, but got very much shut down on that front by someone who used an on/off stat and swore by it. Very much noted, I won’t suggest them.


They don't fluctuate. They control the temperature precisely. On/off stats fluctuate.


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## Spades (3 mo ago)

ian14 said:


> They don't fluctuate. They control the temperature precisely. On/off stats fluctuate.


That’s what I meant, my wording wasn’t very clear


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

I started building my own thermostats around 13 years ago. This was the result of a test on one channel of a multi-channel pulse proportional unit I developed. As you can see there is a slight overshoot at the start, but only by a degree or two, with the set temp of 32c stable after 20 or so minutes from a cold start. Thereafter it maintain 32C for the rest of the test










The test was with a 150w trough CHE in an empty 48" x 15" x 18" (l x d x h) wooden viv. When I said it was a cold start, the ambient temperature at the start was around 26c.
Running a CHE on a PP or Dimmer stat is also kinder as rapid heat and cooling cycles similar to that produced by an On/Off stat can shorten the running life of the elements.


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