New Ball Housing; Need Advice/Recommendations

[Metalluscat]

Hello, new member here and first post.

I have a baby male arriving in a week or two and I'm wanting to get the vivarium up and ready for when he arrives. I bought a wooden home(36"W x 24"D x16"H) with sliding glass front and vents on the side. The top right has a light fixture screwed into the wood for bulbs.

What I'm wondering is what everyone here may recommend. I've purchase Zoo Med Eco Earth Coconut Fiber Substrate that was recommended at a reptile expo and have 24" reptile fluorescent bulbs on the way.

I'm concerned about how to keep him from touching the bulb when its on and keeping the whole habitat warm with only the single bulb.

Advice?

[Rickys_Reptiles]

Hello,

What is the fluorescent bulb for?

You'll need to build some kind of cage around the heating light fixture like this:

[Metalluscat]

That's exactly what I've been finding. The fixture would be for a heat bulb. The fluorescent would be for a heat and general lighting. I've just been informed that this is indeed a hatchling I'll be receiving and that the home is too big.

Back to square one.

[200xth]

That's exactly what I've been finding. The fixture would be for a heat bulb. I've just been informed that this is indeed a hatchling I'll be receiving and that the home is too big.

Back to square one.

You can use it.

Just need to make sure it has enough stuff in it to clutter it up. As long as he doesn't feel exposed he'll be fine.

You can put extra hides, fake plants, crumpled up paper, upside down bowls, etc etc, in the tank to make it feel more cluttered for him. As he gets bigger, just take the things out as needed.

Make sure the hides are small enough for him, too. They like snug hides...really snug. I'm still amazed at the size hides some of mine can stuff themselves into.

[Metalluscat]

For a wooden box of this size, would you have any recommendations for floor heating? If needed at all. I've been researching Radiant Heat Panels so I won't have to use the heat bulb nor the UTH since it would have to go on the inside.

[Mr. Misha]

I have an PVC enclosure (AP T12 48x24x24) and I use a RHP with a UTH. If I only used the RHP, I wouldn't have a hot spot.

I recommend a RHP to keep ambient temps up and heat tape for the hot spot.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

[Metalluscat]

Two questions; Aren't the PVC enclosures expensive and I was told to avoid heat tape since it could burn them, was I misinformed?

[200xth]

Two questions; Aren't the PVC enclosures expensive and I was told to avoid heat tape since it could burn them, was I misinformed?

A lot of people use heat tape as the source of heat for the hot spot without issue. Done correctly it doesn't burn at all. Just need to make sure it's under the enclosure and is properly hooked up to a thermostat.

[Mr. Misha]

Two questions; Aren't the PVC enclosures expensive and I was told to avoid heat tape since it could burn them, was I misinformed?

The price depends on your budget and size of the enclosure. You can get a PVC enclosure 48x12x12 for about $150 bucks from Animal Plastics.

Heat tape is only dangerous if it's not regulated by a thermostat. It doesn't really matter if you use a heating pad or heat tape. It should always be controlled by a thermostat or there's a big possibility of your snake getting burned. Hope this clears things up a bit.

Here's a link for a cheap thermostat that i use:
http://www.hydrofarm.com/product.php?itemid=3372