Merry Christmas and Thank You!!

[sparky767]

First of all, I would like to say Merry Christmas to everyone here. The “thank you” is for the wealth of good information I’ve found on this site!! I’ve decided (after a long time of wanting to) to get my first snake! I’ve got my ticket for the reptile super show in Pomona ina week and a half, and I can barely wait to bring home my newest family member! Based on a lot of reading I have my new little buddies enclosure setup in my home office (no foot traffic, just me sitting at my desk!) and I’m dialing in the temps and humidity so it’ll be all set for him/her.

I’ll add more pictures and stats as I get it dialed in. Thanks for the advice on the UTH/probe/glass placement. I initially did that wrong, but I got a new one and fixed it! Want to get it right before I work it my baby noodle in its new home!

[sparky767]

So, here's what I have so far.

Exo Terra 36"x18"x18" (it's what I had - plan on upgrading to either a Showcase or an Animal Plastics)
Using Forest Floor with some Eco Earth and some moss for substrate (I'm not sold on this combo, just read it somewhere and tried it...)
There's an UTH on the right side (with the temp probe from the controller between the heat pad and the bottom glass - thanks for that tip!)
The lamp you see is an 150W CHE also on a controller, with the probe along the wall in the back (inside of cage.)
Have 3 hides because I know it's kind of big for a baby, and some more clutter with the "foliage"

Setpoints:
UTH: set at 88F
CHE: set at 87F

Readings:
Cool side ambient temp (with exo terra digital temp/hum): 79.9F (now) with a min of 77.2F and max of 84.9F throughout last 24 hours.
Hot side ambient temp (Same setup): 82.4F (now) with a min of 80.2F and max of 87.4F throughout the last 24 hours.
Both the sensors for the "ambient" temps are along the back wall about 1/2 inch above the substrate.

The temp readout for the UTH controller probe reads 88.3F, and the temp readout for the CHE controller probe reads 80.9F now. Surface temps with the IR Thermometer Gun are 79.3F in the cool side hide and 89.1F in the hot side hide.

I'm working on maintaining low 80s on the cool side, and the high 80s, low 90s on the basking side (am I correct in assuming that these goals are the surface temps with the IR gun??)

I also plan to cover the two sides and the back before I put my noodle in there, so he/she doesn't feel so out in the open.

I'm working on the humidity (hence why I'll be getting away from the glass enclosure...) The setup is in my office in my house, so the room is rather small, so I was thinking about getting a room humidifier and setting it up on a humidity controller to exhaust into the enclosure (since I keep reading bad reviews about the ZooMed Repti-Fogger.)

Is there anything that you all see that is glaringly wrong?? I want to fix it all now before I subject my new buddy to this new environment. Thanks in advance!

[Momokahn]

Wow, wish I could live that nice. Excellent job.

I don't think I would exhaust a humidifier into the enclosure. Since the room is small, just run yor humdifier in the room. See where your humidity ends up in your cage once the room humidity has been upped. You can mist your cage once a day with a spray bottle if needed.

Great job and it looks really nice.

[Zincubus]

Looks amazing !! If it was mine I'd add a nice branch or two for climbing and add some dark coloured Orchid bark to the substrate . The dark colour will enhance the colouration of your snake unless you're getting a Mexican Black King snake, of course .


Maybe hot glue all those wires that appear to be hanging everywhere as the snake will be climbing all over them and dragging them around ..

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[sparky767]

Thanks for that advice! I'll definitely do those things. I'm going to pick up that room humidifier tomorrow and give that a shot! Good call gluing down the wires is a great idea. I was trying to figure out if I should zip tie them to the "leaves" or glue them down. I like the idea of gluing them down.

As a side note, I'm planning on putting a young BP in there. I love the piebalds and the bananas...but we'll see what catches my eye at the reptile supershow!

[sparky767]

Also, as a side note, most of those wires are on the outside of the tank in the back, but I haven't put the enclosure wrap on there yet, so you can see them all through the glass

[SDA]

Is that a mic stand for the lamp? Brilliant if so!

[sparky767]

Haha, yep, that’s a mic stand! I was trying to figure out what I was going to do because I didn’t want to set it on top since it’s just a tad too big (the dome would have been resting on the plastic) then I saw the mic stand in the corner of the garage! Voila! Instant heat lamp stand!

[Zincubus]

Thanks for that advice! I'll definitely do those things. I'm going to pick up that room humidifier tomorrow and give that a shot! Good call gluing down the wires is a great idea. I was trying to figure out if I should zip tie them to the "leaves" or glue them down. I like the idea of gluing them down.

As a side note, I'm planning on putting a young BP in there. I love the piebalds and the bananas...but we'll see what catches my eye at the reptile supershow!

Great snakey options

Either one will look amazing on dark coloured Orchid bark


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[Godzilla78]

It looks really nice, and there is no such thing as too many hides! When I kept a glass tank, I had up to 5 hides at one time!


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