Advice on viv setup

[romeosidvicious]

I hope I'm not asking too many questions. Here's the current setup



Still waiting for the thermostat. I opted for static cling outside instead of white paper. The ceramic element is keeping the ambient nice and steady with an 80-82F gradient. I added some sphangum moss just to help with humidity, which is holding at about 54%. There's two hides, one is about 83 inside which is where he seems to prefer and the other is still warming up from having the moist moss added but was holding at about 79 as it's the farthest thing in the tank from the element. With the moss I think there's enough stuff on the ground for him but was thinking about adding a branch or two. My question is mostly about the ceramic element. Obviously he can't get really close as I'm using a deep fixture but that element, which is on a dimmer gets pretty darn hot. I am thinking that I should not place anything for climbing so it doesn't go directly under where the fixture is placed. Again I'm sorry for all the questions. I just want to be sure I'm doing this right.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Looks good. The only thing I would really be worried about is molding caused by the moss. While the moss can deal with lots of moisture, aspen shavings and many other wood cage products can't. Make sure you check the cage for mold growth on a regular basis.

I wouldn't worry about a climbing branch, but if you want to put one in there you can. I just wouldn't put it directly under the CHE.

[romeosidvicious]

I am considering other substrates than aspen due to that reason. I will check it on a regular basis though. That's not an issue.

[The Serpent Merchant]

I am considering other substrates than aspen due to that reason. I will check it on a regular basis though. That's not an issue.

I would suggest Eco-Earth (pulverized coconut husk) or Cypress Mulch.

If you get Eco-Earth, get the bag of it vs the compressed blocks.

[romeosidvicious]

Does Eco-Earth hold up to humidity better? I've thought about using it for all the snakes. I clean the tanks monthly, use a shop vac to remove the substrate and wipe with a five percent bleach solution, then rinse, same for all the hides and so on. I spot clean as needed in the interim, checking in the evening when I get home from work. I expect Eco-Earth would do well with regimen.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Does Eco-Earth hold up to humidity better? I've thought about using it for all the snakes. I clean the tanks monthly, use a shop vac to remove the substrate and wipe with a five percent bleach solution, then rinse, same for all the hides and so on. I spot clean as needed in the interim, checking in the evening when I get home from work. I expect Eco-Earth would do well with regimen.

Eco-Earth is great with humidity/moisture.

[romeosidvicious]

I'll pick some up on trip to get a live pinkie rat for the boy in the next couple of days.

[Crazymonkee]

Yes eco earth saved my sanity when I had my first in a tank!!
As suggested buy the bag, not the brick.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

[led-zep]

Don't mean to hijack the post. But Since we are talking about Eco earth I'd like to ask, How do you guys keep the snake from getting that crap all in there mouth when eating F/T? I have been feeding in the tubs with ecoearth, with the feeders dried off real good. But they still manage to get it all in there mouths when eating.

[Crazymonkee]

It isn't gonna hurt them, it's very natural. They ingest dirt and such in the wild and have managed to live for an extremely long time
I feed live so I can't really help on not getting it stuck.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk