Finally New Enclosures, But....

[Reinz]

...a real pain in the neck and not at all what they are cracked up to be.

In my opinion the PVC snobs should not throw rocks at glass tanks. I think that they are much easier to dial in IF you plan to use substrate in the PVC enclosure.

Right off the bat humidy was way too high using Eco earth bricks with cypress on top, 90%. For 3 weeks I left the doors open, ran a fan and placed a heat lamp inside. (No snakes inside)

Also I'm not impressed with RHPs. The 40 watt would heat the whole tank to the same temp, 87 max.

So I went to an 80 watt. Similar problem, whole tank, same temp (no cool side). So it is set for an ambient temp and that is why I have the Ghetto shelves- stools. It's 90 degrees up there on top.

When I put the water dish in ,and plus the heat, the humidity spiked to 83-85. So now I have to add more vents.
I can't go with a smaller water bowl. Lizzy soaks 3-5 days about 10-14 days before shed as well as intermittently.
Elenore will dunk every now and then.

It's all very basic, not as I had planned. But I don't know where to get natural looking hides for 6 ft and 7-8 ft snakes. Maybe RHPs work better in shorter enclosures, these are 4x2x2, and quite disappointing. Had I known, I would have had shelves built. But the stools offer exercise and warmth.

Both units were supposed to have dual rods, but the builder didn't think that they necessary. So I will have to add those too.

4 x 2 x 2 Monsters

Anyway, my "turnkey enclosures" turned out to be a work in progress.


Now that my Coastal Carpet Python, Lizzy can stretch out, I wonder I'd I went long enough. She is between 7-8 ft.



Lizzy loves her hide! I did not have one for her before, nor the previous owner.



Elenore loves stretching out! She was in a very small temporary tank before. She also loves her hide! I don't think that she ever had before.

[bubs327]

Sorry you're having trouble, Reinz. I agree with you, I didn't find my PVC enclosure to be "plug & play," either; I was having the same issue with mine. Luckily, I'm keeping a Brazilian Rainbow Boa in mine, so he loves/needs the humidity anyway, but I was less than impressed with the radiant heat panel, too.

What I ended up doing was using the RHP on its own thermostat to keep the ambient temp at 75, since my house is on the cool side, and then put a 1'x2' rectangle of Flex Watt underneath to create his warm spot at 83, on a separate thermostat. Works amazing now, but definitely was annoying to set up and not as cheap and easy as I thought.

Hope you get it to work out for you. On the bright side, the girls are looking beautiful!!

[Tsanford]

All of these little issues must have you frustrated! I've never used a RHP, but I was under the same impression as you; that they would create a nice hotspot...

Either way, ambient temps work great! I keep my Snake room at 86-88 and every Snake eats, so you shouldn't have any issues.

I have also noticed high humidity in my custom box, but with both it comes down to ventilation. So maybe do what you said and add some more vents? Or keep a low humidity substrate.

What size hide or that for the BCI?

Have they dropped their water bowls yet

Those Pvc cages look great though! Where they the custom ones you mentioned someone building for you?

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

[Smitty33]

I've been pretty pleased with my T8's and RHP,s. Yes it took me a little time and I had to play with the placement of my thermostat probes but got them figured out and running great. 92 hot spot, 79 cool and an ambient of 80/81.
Humidity is going to be somewhat of an issue using cypress mulch. When I first set them up was running 90+ humidity and ran the RHP's wide open for a couple days with the doors open to dry them out. That's going to be an issue come cleaning time but I plan on getting a large plastic tote and drilling holes around the top and store my new mulch in there so it dries out some before I use it. Right out of the bag that stuffs pretty damp.

[jclaiborne]

I had the same issues with RHPs which is why I no longer use them. When I had to dial in my cages it was a pain as well, but once everything is stable they hold really well. For what its worth your cages look really good.

[scalrtn]

I was considering a pvc cage for upgrading my bp to a larger enclosure, but I ended up going with a 40 gallon tank...Living in the deep South, I was also concerned about humidity/condensation, and thought rhps a little expensive. I also didn't like the idea of having to go with a more expensive proportional thermostat that is advertised as being necessary.

The other concern I had was feeding and control. I like going in from the top, because both the snake and I are used to it.. Also think cleaning would be less cumbersome..I've already been through one cold winter with a glass tank...I have it fitted with insulated panels, and will use a tried-and-true humid hide when the house heat sucks out all the moisture - as well as a fitted panel top (that I thankfully learned about in this forum) to help keep the existing humidity elevated.

[Reinz]

All of these little issues must have you frustrated! I've never used a RHP, but I was under the same impression as you; that they would create a nice hotspot...

Either way, ambient temps work great! I keep my Snake room at 86-88 and every Snake eats, so you shouldn't have any issues.

I have also noticed high humidity in my custom box, but with both it comes down to ventilation. So maybe do what you said and add some more vents? Or keep a low humidity substrate.

What size hide or that for the BCI?

Have they dropped their water bowls yet

Those Pvc cages look great though! Where they the custom ones you mentioned someone building for you?

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

I had the vents and door shut in the snake room, so it was at 86- 88 as well. Worked perfectly until I got this new set up.

The hides are the XL ones from Reptile Basics, the largest ones they had, and quite reasonably priced.

Haha, the water bowl placement. Well, when I set them on the floor, there was no room for the snakes! I figured if and when they crash them, no big deal considering the layered substrate of coconut and cypress. But now with the humidy issue......?

When it comes time for cage cleaning, I will go with just Cypress.

[Reinz]

I've been pretty pleased with my T8's and RHP,s. Yes it took me a little time and I had to play with the placement of my thermostat probes but got them figured out and running great. 92 hot spot, 79 cool and an ambient of 80/81.
Humidity is going to be somewhat of an issue using cypress mulch. When I first set them up was running 90+ humidity and ran the RHP's wide open for a couple days with the doors open to dry them out. That's going to be an issue come cleaning time but I plan on getting a large plastic tote and drilling holes around the top and store my new mulch in there so it dries out some before I use it. Right out of the bag that stuffs pretty damp.

I hear ya on the storage tote! I already have a backup bag of Cypress "drying off" in a container now.

I did not think about drilling holes in the side for better ventilation. That's a great idea! I'm all over that one!

Thanks Smitty!

[Reinz]

I was considering a pvc cage for upgrading my bp to a larger enclosure, but I ended up going with a 40 gallon tank...Living in the deep South, I was also concerned about humidity/condensation, and thought rhps a little expensive. I also didn't like the idea of having to go with a more expensive proportional thermostat that is advertised as being necessary.

The other concern I had was feeding and control. I like going in from the top, because both the snake and I are used to it.. Also think cleaning would be less cumbersome..I've already been through one cold winter with a glass tank...I have it fitted with insulated panels, and will use a tried-and-true humid hide when the house heat sucks out all the moisture - as well as a fitted panel top (that I thankfully learned about in this forum) to help keep the existing humidity elevated.

Whatever works man!

Like I said, tanks work fine. You just need to know how to tweek it. They are not inferior as the Plastic snobs make them out to be.

Now I am learning how to tweek PVC enclosures.

[EL-Ziggy]

I recently switched from tanks to pvc enclosures. I haven't had any issues with temps or humidity yet. I'm using aspen sanichips as substrate and my humidity stays between 45-55. I was considering a RHP but my uth and infrared bulbs seem to give me a nice temp gradient for my carpets. The ambient temps stay around 80 with a basking area of about 92. My colubrids only get belly heat. I tried heating with a CHE on a dimmer but couldn't get it dialed in right. I will admit that feeding and cleaning were much easier when they were in tanks. The main reasons I switched to PVC were to save space and I like them better aesthecially.