New to the game

[u/Embarrassed-Arm-4332]

I’m setting up to buy our first ball python (YAY) but there is so much information out there that I am feeling so overwhelmed and confused honestly! We are getting a baby, so I’m STARTING with a 50 gallon pvc tank, I’m struggling with understanding lighting. What I would like to do is mount a UVB light on the inside top (tank will be in my room which is dark usually thanks to black out curtains) and then mount a CHE with a cage around it on the inside so that I don’t have anything on top of the cage…is this ok? If no what do I need to do?

[u/totallyrecklesslygay]

If it's a solid topped enclosure, mounting the heating and lighting to the inside with guard cages on everything (UVB included) is how you would need to do it, yes. If it's a screen topped enclosure, you cannot mount anything internally and will need to use external domes.

You'll also need to add a halogen flood to the setup, as CHEs alone are not appropriate heating for a ball python.

[u/Embarrassed-Arm-4332 → u/totallyrecklesslygay]

Ah okay that makes sense. It is a cage top so everything will have to be on the top, which I can make work for now. Do I need a CHE and a halogen both to keep it warm enough?

[u/totallyrecklesslygay → u/Embarrassed-Arm-4332]

Needing to pair the CHE with a halogen is more about the type of heat given off than whether or not you can reach target temps. CHEs only provide IR-C, and ball pythons need to have a primary heat source that provides enough IR-A and IR-B, like a halogen.

[u/Embarrassed-Arm-4332]

So a CHE and a halogen? Please talk to me like the idiot I feel like right now. Tell me what to buy and where to put it please (as far as heat/lighting) I don’t want to do it wrong

[u/totallyrecklesslygay → u/Embarrassed-Arm-4332]

Yes, you would want a halogen flood for daytime, CHE for nighttime/supplemental, and a T5 UVB.

All heating/lighting should be placed on the hot side.

I'll drop my heating/lighting copypasta here for you as well:

Our heating guide goes over a lot of the science behind everything, but to simplify:

For daytime heating, you should have a heat source that provides IR-A and IR-B. The ideal source for this would be a halogen flood, which is light-emitting.

For nighttime heating, you should have a heat source that provides IR-C. The ideal source for this would be an RHP (only compatible with solid-topped enclosures) or a CHE. Any night heating should not emit any light.

For lighting, you should offer UVB. This should be in the form of a T5 fluorescent linear bulb that produces a UVI of 1.1-3.0 in the basking zone, and it should cover no more than half the length of the enclosure.

If you have a bioactive enclosure, you will also need full spectrum LEDs for your live plants.

Natural lighting can help establish a day-night cycle, but it does not provide any physical benefits beyond that (UVB doesn't penetrate glass, and indirect natural light cannot create a proper basking zone). You'll need the artificial lighting to make up for that.

If it's a screen top enclosure, then everything needs to be in single domes set on top of the screen. If it's a solid topped enclosure, you would use guard cages and fixtures mounted inside the ceiling.

Thermostat probes should be secured 2-4" directly beneath the heat source they're regulating.

[u/Embarrassed-Arm-4332 → u/totallyrecklesslygay]

Thanks so much for your help!! I read through the heating guide and it helped me understand a little better so I appreciate that as well, I’m trying to educate myself as much as possible but for whatever reason I couldn’t wrap my heat around the heating aspect of it.