How big should her house be?

[jimmysmom]

I have to get my big girl a new house, cause I cracked the bottom of her current one. She's about 62/63 inches long and is a total fat ass ( can not get her to be still on a scale.) She has been kept in a 36x18x36 (l/w/h) terrarium. My husband feels that we should get her a slightly smaller house ( for humidity and heating purposes and les expensive). I feel that she needs a big house cause she's a big girl. What size house does she need to be comfortable?

[bcr229]

Same size, easier to keep humid, lots cheaper than a tank, and if the ambient in your home is fairly cool then use two UTH's, one set about 82*F and the other 90*F.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hefty-100-Q...g-Lid/50150118

[jimmysmom]

[QUOTE=bcr229;2496374]Same size, easier to keep humid, lots cheaper than a tank, and if the ambient in your home is fairly cool then use two UTH's, one set about 82*F and the other 90*F.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hefty-100-Q...g-Lid/50150118

Thank you, I did order the plastic tote. I have never set a tote up before, got a few questions. What size UTH do you recommend, I will be needing to use 2 as you suggested? Do I need to drill any holes for air venting?

[Coluber42]

I know you already ordered the tote, but just to add another perspective... an often quoted minimum size for snake cages is that the length and width should be at least the length of the snake, and more for a more active species. For a snake over 5', this tote seems on the small side. Rough guess from forum posts is that the T8 is the most common PVC cage size for adult BP's, and it's 48 x 24". The tote is smaller than that, and the floor space is probably even smaller than the stated dimensions because often those are the outside measurements of the rim at the top - the sides taper, and there's a large rim to support the lid as well.

I know lots of people on the forum keep them in racks in much smaller tubs, and I do not mean to get into that discussion. But if you are not trying to care for large numbers of animals, why not give your snake as much space as you can reasonably provide? Yes, it's a little harder to heat, but it's not *that* hard. It's a little more expensive, but it doesn't have to be *that* expensive if you shop around carefully. A larger space also doesn't mean an empty expanse of floor. It has to have lots of clutter, hides, tubes, platforms, plants (real or fake), branches, etc. That sounds like a lot of work to clean, but it's really not. Thee snake doesn't poop more just because there's more stuff to poop on.

Your snake can still do fine in the tote you ordered, but it's just something to think about if you think about upggrading it in the future.

[bcr229]

Thank you, I did order the plastic tote. I have never set a tote up before, got a few questions. What size UTH do you recommend, I will be needing to use 2 as you suggested? Do I need to drill any holes for air venting?

You would only need 2 if your room ambient is very low since a UTH provides a basking area but doesn't do much for ambient temps in either a plastic tub or a glass tank. Zoo Med sells Repti Therm mats on Amazon, I would get 1 or 2 12x8's.

Whether or not you need ventilation holes depends on the substrate you use. If you're using cypress or coco-husk that hold a lot of water then you'll want some. If you're using paper or aspen then you likely can do without. While the lid is secure it's not airtight.

[jimmysmom]

I ordered a T8 this morning, but am going to use the tote as a temp home until I get the T8 set up. What is the best way to heat the ambient air inside a T8 cage? It is a little cool in my house and used the red heat lights with the old screen top house.

[jmcrook]

I would go with a RHP, pro-heat or reptile basics. If you have the panel sent to Animal Plastics they'll install it and cut a channel for the power cord to exit the cage free of charge. Super clean looking and no unnecessary wires in the enclosure that way.


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[ballpythonsrock2]

Same size, easier to keep humid, lots cheaper than a tank, and if the ambient in your home is fairly cool then use two UTH's, one set about 82*F and the other 90*F.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hefty-100-Q...g-Lid/50150118

I like this one better. I have one just like it. Room for two hides and a medium water bowl. But that one is very good too.

-----> https://www.lowes.com/pd/Style-Selec...g-Lid/50157794

[chrid16371]

I ordered a T8 this morning, but am going to use the tote as a temp home until I get the T8 set up. What is the best way to heat the ambient air inside a T8 cage? It is a little cool in my house and used the red heat lights with the old screen top house.

As mentioned above an RHP is best to heat a T8. For a T8 an 80w from reptile basics will work or you can contact pro products and they will tell you which size to buy from them, I use both companies and both are great. Another thing that is good about the rhp is that it will heat the whole cage and give a proper gradient. You would install it either on the left or right side of the cage (only 2 screws to install) and then set your thermostat so the ground temp under it is around 90 and the heat will also radiat to the cool side making it around 80. Bonus is you only need 1 thermostat with the rhp rather then having to buy 2 for a heating device on each side.

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[Sauzo]

AP T10 with a shelf and flexwatt.