OVERKILL for new BP 1 year old ???

[Geneva101]

I am about to purchase a lavender bp and am new to the hobby. I have no intention of breeding, but I have every intention of taking excellent care of the pet and gaining all the knowledge I can before I bring it home. I tend to go at things full throttle and easily go into overkill. I am trying not to do this again, so I have a couple simple questions. 1) Is it overkill to invest in a VE-300 http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermostats OR is it the BEST thing I can do for the pet? Is there something cheaper that will do the job equally as well for my only having 1 animal, not a breeder?

Second question... I am a 1 purchase type of person... meaning I prefer to buy 1 tank that will last the life of the pet, rather than a couple as the pet grows. Do you see anything wrong with this thinking for a BP? I am considering something this large for the lavender, who is 1 year old. Is this space too big for a 1 year old?? 38x18x24 http://www.dtpetsupplies.com/catalog...4-p-68471.html ??
How do I get the space heated up enough, humid enough, given the large area?

Thanks in advance! Just trying to do it right the first time....

Geneva

[Spoons]

I'm rather new myself, but I do think the thermostat is a bit overkill for just one snake. There's very reasonably priced digital ones available that work very good with the heating mats, but if that's what you want, don't feel like you shouldn't buy it! RE the tank size, balls get stressed when there's too much space. A large tank is fine for a young ball as long as they have plenty of hiding spaces and cover and not a ton of open space. This is the thermostat I bought, but there are more that are mid-ranged, this is on the cheaper end of the price scale:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm still working on the heat and humidity thing myself, but there are tricks to up the humidity... Use coconut fiber bedding (holds moisture better), put tin foil on top of the cage (also helps with heat), if you have an overhead heating source put the water below it, get a bowl of damp moss in there or make a damp hide for the snake to go into when it needs to, things like that.

[200xth]

I am about to purchase a lavender bp and am new to the hobby. I have no intention of breeding, but I have every intention of taking excellent care of the pet and gaining all the knowledge I can before I bring it home. I tend to go at things full throttle and easily go into overkill. I am trying not to do this again, so I have a couple simple questions. 1) Is it overkill to invest in a VE-300 http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermostats OR is it the BEST thing I can do for the pet? Is there something cheaper that will do the job equally as well for my only having 1 animal, not a breeder?

Second question... I am a 1 purchase type of person... meaning I prefer to buy 1 tank that will last the life of the pet, rather than a couple as the pet grows. Do you see anything wrong with this thinking for a BP? I am considering something this large for the lavender, who is 1 year old. Is this space too big for a 1 year old?? 38x18x24 http://www.dtpetsupplies.com/catalog...4-p-68471.html ??
How do I get the space heated up enough, humid enough, given the large area?

Thanks in advance! Just trying to do it right the first time....

Geneva

There is nothing wrong with getting a good thermostat for your snake, breeding or not. In fact it is far preferred to do it the right way, and VE makes good thermostats. I have 5 or 6 of the VE300X2's now and they work great. You buy that VE300 and you have a good thermostat no matter what. Even if you change your mind later and start breeding or increasing the size of your collection, you have a solid thermostat to use somewhere in your setup.

I'm a fan of getting 1 enclosure for the lifetime of the snake, as well. If it's too big or he seems uncomfortable it's fairly easy to fill it up with stuff to make him more secure.

I don't have a lot of experience lately with aquariums, so I can't help with heat and humid issues in them. I can say you might want to consider getting a PVC enclosure if you want a display enclosure. Something like the T8 from animal plastics: http://www.apcages.com/home/terrestrial/T8/T8.htm

Heat and humidity are much easier to manage in that than an aquarium.

[thejennabird]

Yikes, $230 for that enclosure?! IMHO, you'd be much better off with something like the Animal Plastics terrestrial T8 or T10. Get a divider and you can keep your BP in only half the enclosure while it's still small. BPs are terrestrial, so you don't need all that 24" of space in the arboreal enclosure, the Animal Plastics are nearly $100 cheaper, AND 48x24" will keep an adult BP happy regardless of how big he or she gets.

As for thermostats, you can't go wrong with a high-end model like the VEs and Herpstats. But, from what I can tell, the only difference between the VE-300 and the slightly cheaper VE-200 is the night dimming option. Night dimming isn't essential for BPs, and many don't use it (I don't!). So you might consider the VE-200 for less money and same quality.

Hope that helps!

[srp1102]

Hey!

1) I don't think its overkill because a thermostat is a MUST when you have an animal that requires certain temp so they don't get burnt. You can look for a cheaper model from VE or Spyder Robotics but even their lowest models should do what you need it to do.

2) I completely agree with being a 1 purchase kind of person. I bought a 40 gallon tank for my my first bp when it was a baby. the only thing you need to do it make sure you fill that space up with fake plants and hides so the snake doesn't feel in danger. and with a tank like that, keeping humidity will be an issue because of the screen top, but it can be done with some moss in the tank, some misting and covering half the screen with something like a damp towel or something like that. Heating will require a heat mat and maybe a ceramic heat emitter in order to keep the ambient temp where they need to be.

And you say you will only have one, thats what i said too. and now I have seven. welcome to the addiction! haha

[speedycat222]

I would go for a herpstat 1 unless you intend on using the extra temperature zones. As for the cage, you can just house the little fella in a tub until it grows into whatever adult caging you've decided on, unless you get a dividable PVC cage . It'll cost you an extra $40 by the time you buy the tub+ a soldering iron.

[The Golem]

I'm no expert. Started out with a 6 or 7 month old BP in September. But I read a lot and watched many videos and here's my current setup in an Atasuki terrarium similar to the one in your link. I really like it as a display case in my living room, although the AP enclosures also have a lot of great features.



The hide on the far left did not look so big in the store! But I read here that to increase humidity you can stuff a hide with sphagnum moss and keep it damp so that's what I'm doing with it. The cork flats are good because the snake will often climb up on it so he can see out and get a view of the entire room; and there's a crawlspace in the back that he usually goes to when I have had him out and return him to the tank. He'll hang out back there for a while before moving into the warm hide.
I put in the flat stone to provide a different texture and he likes to lay with his head on it sometimes.

It is cluttered up pretty good now and when he grows I'll go down to one water dish and make other choices to free up more space for him.
Also the tank might look tall but I've seen him propped up in a corner trying to push the lid open already, and he's likely to grow at least another 12" in length.

[Geneva101]

I'm no expert. Started out with a 6 or 7 month old BP in September. But I read a lot and watched many videos and here's my current setup in an Atasuki terrarium similar to the one in your link. I really like it as a display case in my living room, although the AP enclosures also have a lot of great features.



The hide on the far left did not look so big in the store! But I read here that to increase humidity you can stuff a hide with sphagnum moss and keep it damp so that's what I'm doing with it. The cork flats are good because the snake will often climb up on it so he can see out and get a view of the entire room; and there's a crawlspace in the back that he usually goes to when I have had him out and return him to the tank. He'll hang out back there for a while before moving into the warm hide.
I put in the flat stone to provide a different texture and he likes to lay with his head on it sometimes.

It is cluttered up pretty good now and when he grows I'll go down to one water dish and make other choices to free up more space for him.
Also the tank might look tall but I've seen him propped up in a corner trying to push the lid open already, and he's likely to grow at least another 12" in length.

What are you using for temperature control? How tall is your enclosure? I am concerned that I am unable to get the overhead heat source close enough to the snake to do much good....

[Geneva101]

Yikes, $230 for that enclosure?! IMHO, you'd be much better off with something like the Animal Plastics terrestrial T8 or T10. Get a divider and you can keep your BP in only half the enclosure while it's still small. BPs are terrestrial, so you don't need all that 24" of space in the arboreal enclosure, the Animal Plastics are nearly $100 cheaper, AND 48x24" will keep an adult BP happy regardless of how big he or she gets.

As for thermostats, you can't go wrong with a high-end model like the VEs and Herpstats. But, from what I can tell, the only difference between the VE-300 and the slightly cheaper VE-200 is the night dimming option. Night dimming isn't essential for BPs, and many don't use it (I don't!). So you might consider the VE-200 for less money and same quality.

Hope that helps!

Thanks>> It does help. I looked at Animal Plastics and their competition, but can't get one in soon enough to set it up and get it going before the little guy arrives I have been looking for a used one... but there are obvious reasons why I am not finding one- they are clearly awesome. Great advice on the VE-200. I am just going for the good quality basics.

[Geneva101]

I'm rather new myself, but I do think the thermostat is a bit overkill for just one snake. There's very reasonably priced digital ones available that work very good with the heating mats, but if that's what you want, don't feel like you shouldn't buy it! RE the tank size, balls get stressed when there's too much space. A large tank is fine for a young ball as long as they have plenty of hiding spaces and cover and not a ton of open space. This is the thermostat I bought, but there are more that are mid-ranged, this is on the cheaper end of the price scale:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm still working on the heat and humidity thing myself, but there are tricks to up the humidity... Use coconut fiber bedding (holds moisture better), put tin foil on top of the cage (also helps with heat), if you have an overhead heating source put the water below it, get a bowl of damp moss in there or make a damp hide for the snake to go into when it needs to, things like that.

Thanks- I did research this less expensive option on the thermostat. I had not heard of the foil on the cage. Great tip for the hiding spot too.