Fisrt Time Snake Owner - Lots of Questions!

[eros]

Hi, everyone. I am getting my very first BP and snake in general in about a month and I just want to make sure I have everything set up perfectly before I bring him home. I've already picked him out and have him put him on hold. I just need some help with his setup before I am confident enough in his safety to bring him to live with me. I am thinking of going the plastic tub route as mentioned here - http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...my-Ball-Python with a few changes. I purchased one digital thermometer for the hot side, and a two-in-one digital hygrometer/thermometer for the cold side. The plastic container I have is a 28 quart Sterlite storage box, as I see recommended here often for males of his age/size. I don't really understand how to setup the thermostat/UTH, though. It looks here like it's taped with foil tape but I don't understand why, or where I should place the probe. Should it be taped directly to the heating pad? Wouldn't this cause the plastic to overheat/melt? Also, is it a good idea to use luggage straps to secure the lid? If so, where should I place them to keep them out of the way of being a fire hazard/danger to the snake? And what should I sit the container on once I have everything hooked up and ready to go?

[dries]

I have my stat directly taped on the heatpad because it's not a good idea to use tape in an enclosure. Then i measure the actually T of the hotspot with a tempgun and adjust the stat if needed. That's how i do it, i only use rack system tho. Good luck with your first snake, it's a wonderful hobby

[EL-Ziggy]

The UTH should be taped to the underside of the tub where you want your hot spot to be. I usually have a UTH that covers about 1/3 of the tub floor. The thermostat probe should be placed between the UTH and the bottom of the tub. You should place the tub on a hard surface but make sure to use some kind of spacers underneath the tub to allow the heat to escape. Plug the UTH into the thermostat, plug the thermostat into the wall outlet, and set it to the desired temperature. You'll probably have to set the t-stat a few degrees higher to account for heating through the tub and substrate. I'm sure others will offer more detailed info. These are the tubs, uth's, and t-stats I use. Best wishes with your new BP.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ziploc-60-...Clear/38345584


http://www.reptilebasics.com/ultratherm-heat-pads

https://www.amazon.com/MTPRTC-ETL-Ce...arm+thermostat

[StephenT]

The UTH is indeed fastened by aluminum tape, this tape is more flame resistant than others. The probe should be taped to the UTH (it's the silver bullet type thing in the first pic of the thread you linked). As long as there's a gap between the ground and UTH so air can escape (and temps are at the reccomended heat for BPs) then there isn't a fire hazard. Constant contact can build up heat and cause warping plastic and at worst of times melt it. As for the luggage straps, I'm not 100% on them since I've personally never used them. I use binder clips to pin the lid myself. The tub can be set on top of any shelf really.

Have fun with your new snake! Feel free to ask me or anyone else on the forum any other questions.

[eros]

Thanks for all the recommendations and help! All of this information will definitely be useful.

I think I've got everything covered now besides the heating pad. I think I bought one a bit too big for the 28 quart container. I went with the medium reptitherm by zoomed and it seems to be taking up a bit too much space. Should I try the smaller size?