What to Get? :: Future BP Owner

[paroxysm]

hey, i am getting my first baby ball python soon and i need some help. i don't know if i have included everything, or if the products i found are of good quality. please help me out! what do you think? i need help finding a good tank that has a lock. also, i am still confused about what the temperature should be for each side since i see different people saying different things with no way to know who is "right"

all living things tank // xxxx // 56 OR exo terra tank // xxxx // 176
repti-bark substrate // xxxx // 10

under tank heater // xxxx // 24
heat lamp // xxxx // 17
60w che // xxxx // 17

thermostat // xxxx // 28
thermometer // xxxx // 13
(another) thermometer // xxxx // 13
infrared thermometer gun // xxxx // 20

log hide // xxxx // 7
cave hide // xxxx // 9

water bowl // xxxx // 11
water conditioner // xxxx // 10
hygrometer // xxxx // 10

plant // xxxx // 6
tree // xxxx // 18

aluminum foil tape // xxxx // 7
spray bottle // xxxx // 4
feeding tongs // xxxx // 10

thank you!

[keebs]

i think you can simplify your setup and save quite a bit of money by going with a rubbermaid/sterilite/IRIS tub for your snake's enclosure, especially if you're getting a baby BP, they really don't need all that space. You can make glass tanks work for sure, but maintaining humidity/heat is easier if you just get a cheap plastic tub and drill some holes in the sides of it. Just make sure it has a locking lid.

also, i'd nix the heat lamp and CHE entirely. Bps dont need that sort of heat and light, they're primarily nocturnal. Belly heat should be just fine with the under tank heat mat.

as far as hides go, i'd stay away from wood and buying fancy shaped hides while the snake is a baby/juvenile. It's going to grow out of it quickly. Just stick with cardboard boxes with holes cut in them. Easy to renew if they get dirty/pooped on and super cheap, and the snake doesn't know the difference.

i'm not too familiar with the use of water conditioners... i don't think you really need one. I just give my snakes tap and they're doing just fine, and i live in a very metropolitan area. Haven't had any issues so far.

i think a lot of new snake parents try to go above and beyond what they think the snake will need and they usually end up spending way too much on stuff that isn't that great in the first place. Whatever you choose to do/buy, i wish you luck!

[paroxysm]

thank you!!
yeah that makes a lot of sense... i can definitely see myself buying too much, i'm just worried that i will care for them wrong!
thanks a bunch!

[Regius_049]

If you are a first time snake owner and getting a baby ball python, as the previous person mentioned, I would definitely start with a polypropylene tub. I use slightly larger ones that other people for the snakes to grow into a little bit, but you can use smaller and gradually move him up if you so desire.

As such -

Tub: xxxxx

For substrate I would just use paper towels and replace them when soiled, but if you are going to use a "snake substrate" I would go with shredded aspen.

For UTH: The ZooMed UTH you linked is specifically for glass enclosures and is more difficult to use with a thermostat as you can't take it off once easily once it is attached. I would go with an ultratherm UTH. They are plug and play and are the only UL certified UTH to my knowledge.

The Thermostat you linked is fine, but for thermometer/hygrometer, I would just get one like this. It has all the information you need. You just put the unit on the "cool side" and the probe on the "hot side" where your UTH is.

For water, I would get something made out of stainless steel, glass, or a known plastic. The type of bowel you linked is made out of unknown plastics, which have been reported to leach chemicals into water. Look for plastics such as polypropylene or high density polyethylene. Generally they will be FDA approved for human food usage, where as most pet bowels say "for pet use only". In my personal opinion, glass is best as it is heavy (unlikely to be tipped over), non-porous, and very easily to clean. Depending on where you live, I would buy two: one larger one and one smaller one. The reason for this is: in the summer, humidity will be high and a smaller water dish is likely to give you optimal humidity. In the winter, humidity will drop and you will need a larger body of water to compensate. I am not a huge fan of misting enclosures that do not dry out over the course of a day as this can led to problems.

I would not bother with the decor unless you personally like it. It can aid in "cluttering" the cage to make a snake feel more secure, but crumpled newspaper or paper towels serves the same purpose. I personally do not bother with a "pretty" cage until my animals are fully grown.

Aluminum tape is fine, as are the tongs, but personally, I prefer these as they are easier to manipulate.

For hides, just buy two of these black polypropylene hides. Just put one on each end (hot and cool). They are cheaper and you know exactly what you are getting. I have never trust those mystery wood hides because you do not know what kind of wood it is.

For the IR gun, be careful and try to get one that is rated to +/- 1 degree. I do not see on your link what the rating of that one is, but be picky here otherwise you are just wasting your money in my opinion. The acu-rites. zoo-meds, and others are already rated to +/- 4 or 5 degrees, so you aren't gaining anything for calibration here.

Keep in mind you will also need a soldering iron for punching holes in the polypropylene tub.

Hopefully this has been helpful and informative.

[paroxysm]

very useful information. thanks so much!

[Kirks_Herps]

ralph davis put out a couple of videos on basic bp set up kind of lengthy but good basic info links below....kirk

https://youtu.be/dx8FrA1Gzlk


https://youtu.be/6E79FlbWMZA

[Eric Alan]

If you haven't seen it already, check this out: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...With-Pictures!.

Good luck with the new arrival!

[cchardwick]

If you are thinking of breeding or getting a few more snakes I'd go with an ARS rack, just one level is about $200, and that includes three tubs, so about $67 per enclosure (not including shipping). It's all set and ready to go, just add substrate and the snake, no hides or lights or heaters needed, except a thermostat. Easy to clean, keeps humidity perfect. I started with glass aquariums and when I got a rack system I had tons of junk that I'll never use again, tanks, under tank heaters, hides, water dishes, etc... The resell value of a rack system is awesome too, in fact I could use a few more levels LOL. I should have started with a rack, it would have saved me tons of headaches. And the trays have water dishes built in, you use use Dixie cups that are disposable or reusable. I usually save all my old cups and wash them out and reuse them every few months. The thing I really like about a rack system is that I have an empty tub in the rack, I clean and setup that tub then just move the snake over to that clean tub and move to the next snake, so I'm not trying to figure out what to do with my snakes on cleaning day.

You can use aspen for substrate but I've had problems with wood chips getting into the mouth of my snakes during feeding and with mold, I now use Reptichip.

I actually just bought an ARS rack to breed my rats, saves me tons of money and time compared to aquariums. I would never go back to traditional tanks or enclosures for any of my snakes or rodents, just way to much work and you end up with a bunch of stuff that doesn't have a very good resell value.

For me I think shipping was about $300 no matter how many levels you get, so the more levels you buy at once the more you get vs. shipping costs. I bought four levels of an ARS-7030 and put it on top of four levels of an ARS-8018

http://www.arscaging.com/ars7030_hybrid.html

[cchardwick]

If you want to stay small you could also go with an ARS-7010, one tub per level. It's only $99 per level and that includes the tub and the heater, shipping would probably be much less since it has a smaller foot print. I'd probably get at least 2-3 levels to start.

http://www.arscaging.com/ars7010_hybrid.html

[redshepherd]

Just a note, it seems a lot of people recommend foil tape to attach the thermostat's probe to the heat pad. But on herpstat's website, they specifically state NOT to use foil tape, because it potentially messes with the readings of the probe. So I'm actually just using regular masking tape for that, and it's fine.

You don't have to worry about things setting on fire, because the thermostat will regulate the heat to only 92 degrees (or whatever you have it set at). Just for comparison, when our hands are warm, they're almost 100 LOL. And if the heat pad actually gets hot enough to burn paper, then it'll end up burning itself anyway, even without tape.