New tank build

[strikerball21]

Well my father past away recently.. and he always wanted me to get a snake. and set up a tank the way i see fit.

So i will have 1k-1500 to throw at the project. and want ideas.. obviously the cheaper the better

my thoughts so far are building my own tank
dimentions 55long 30deep 24high out of 1/2 cell cast acrylic

Misting system with 4to6 nozzles had this in mind
http://www.mistking.com/ultimate-misting-system.html

LED lighting
maybe like 2 of these
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/a...-plants-51898/
ideas here would be great

UTH would be ultratherm 11x23 x2
spyder electronic controller

all tips with links are much appreciated

[Evenstar]

First, most of what you'll do with your tank will depend on what type of snake you want to keep. Are you getting a ball python? Or something like a rainbow boa or a GTP? These are all very different species and have very different requirements. Our tips will be more beneficial to you if we know just what you want.

The UTH and t-stat you're looking at are great! I personally love the Ultratherms.

But the tank you're planning on building is huge. This would be a good size for a smallish boa or GTP, but very big for a ball python. Not saying it can't be done - if you clutter it up a lot it might be fine - but BPs are shy snakes and do better in a smaller, more secure setup.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but misting systems are generally not recommended for snakes. Too much humidity is a recipe for mold and bacteria growth which is more harmful to your snake than low humidity. It does depend a bit on the species - a GTP might thrive in this setup with a misting system so long as the misting is set at not-too-frequent intervals.

And LED lighting is totally unnecessary, although if you want it for asthetics, there's nothing wrong with it either. But you mentioned "the cheaper the better" and this would be one area you could save some money. Snakes don't need any special lighting.

Here's one suggestion for caging - www.pvccages.com. These are really easy to use to create a naturalistic setup and they hold humidity MUCH better than tanks totally eliminating the misting system and therefore saving you more money. Here's a pic to give you an idea - no misting system and no special lighting...



So let us know just what you plan on keeping and we'll try to help you more! Sorry to hear about your dad. My best wishes to you....

[strikerball21]

its for a ball python for now but id rather have it huge and beable to put more than 1 species in it now .. my ball seems to be in her hide ALOT but about 30% of the time she explores her cage like shes doing right now LOVE that cage tho .. adn biggest and best is under 400

and i LVOE GTPs after i get my feet set on how snakes work i wanna look into one of thoes

[strikerball21]

how thick is the PVC on thoes cages?

[Evenstar]

The pvc is 1/4 inch thick. It is very sturdy and very well made. I have Jim assemble them for me since I also live in MI and am able to pick them up, but you can assemble them yourself to save on shipping. They go together very easily. I bought my 3x2x2 preassembled for $340 and it came with light, perches, and RHP. Couldn't beat that!

I hope you don't mean to keep multiple species of snakes together in one cage. Snakes are not social animals and do not do well living in groups. They should each be kept in their own seperate enclosure.

What size is your ball in now? A hiding BP is a happy BP and if yours is generally only exploring at night, that's normal. I wouldn't try to fix something that isn't broken. Just because he's exploring a bit at night does not mean he should have a bigger cage. This larger cage you're looking at setting up might be better suited to a different species altogether. Have you considered a rainbow boa or a colubrid species such as a bull snake or a corn snake? One of these might work better....

[strikerball21]

just picked up antoher one is arond 170g and my spider i just got is 224g empty and no i would get a diff tank for a GTP.. and they are in there hides all day at night they sometimes come out and slowly explore izzy 170g snake is very head shy but she enjoys being out and my spider loves being out and handled

[strikerball21]

i saw on the sight its 12bucks for greenary what is it exactly? pic wotn show

[Emily Hubbard]

its for a ball python for now but id rather have it huge and beable to put more than 1 species in it now

Just making sure... you never want to put more than one snake in there at a time. If you mean you want to the setup to be versatile enough for any species of your choosing, but only one at a time, then that is a great idea. But you never, EVER want to house multiple snakes together.

You probably already know that, so I'm sorry if I am just giving you "no duh" information. There was a thread on here recently though where an individual was housing pythons and boas together.

Best of luck!

[Evenstar]

just picked up antoher one is arond 170g and my spider i just got is 224g empty and no i would get a diff tank for a GTP.. and they are in there hides all day at night they sometimes come out and slowly explore izzy 170g snake is very head shy but she enjoys being out and my spider loves being out and handled

Just double checking, are your balls currently housed together?? Because they shouldn't be. I don't mean to sound harsh - and I apologize if you already know this or if I misunderstood what you were saying. This is just something we tend to worry about and I'm just trying to help you!

But even 2 of the same species should NEVER be kept together. They will compete with each other for the same warm spot, hiding spot, food, etc, causing tremendous stress. There's pics on a sticky somewhere here, but snakes have been known to eat each other too...

Just making sure... you never want to put more than one snake in there at a time. If you mean you want to the setup to be versatile enough for any species of your choosing, but only one at a time, then that is a great idea. But you never, EVER want to house multiple snakes together.

You probably already know that, so I'm sorry if I am just giving you "no duh" information. There was a thread on here recently though where an individual was housing pythons and boas together.

Best of luck!

Totally agreed!!

i saw on the sight its 12bucks for greenary what is it exactly? pic wotn show

The greenery is fake vines and leaves. It's nice and looks like pothos plants. You can hook or wrap the vines around the perches. Not bad, but I personally would just go to the dollar store and pick up some nice fake plants there for $1...