new proud snake owner

[recycling goddess]

i finally brought home my first snake today. dexter is a ball python. he's a gorgeous little guy

i have him set up in a rubbermaid container 30" x 18" x 18"

i have 4 hides in there for him. two on the warm side and two on the cool side.

i used some driftwood and some bark propped up on the driftwood to make one hide (with aspen shavings pushed up against the side to make it a cave) - then i used one of those plastic hides from the petstore (brown plastic cave)

on the cool side i have a plastic tupperware container shaped like a large cup... it's laying on it's side with aspen shavings over top. i also have a shorter glass vase (shaped like a drinking cup) covered with aspen. i put both of these against the walls so dexter can find them easily (i've read snakes like walls)

there's two drinking areas. a small one (ceramic 2" diameter water dish) on the hot side to assist with humidity - the other one (ceramic 4" diameter water dish) on the cool side half filled with water.

the driftwood is long and bent. it goes from the warm side and angles up on the cool side so IF he wants to climb a little he can. (i know they don't climb but hey, i want to give him the chance in case he's weird) LOL

so his enclosure is pretty much filled... do i have too much for him? i want him to feel safe and so i thought adding more hides would be a good thing and i figure two water dishes will assist with his humidity.

the UTH is attached directly to the viv because we couldn't get the temps high enough with it attached to the ceramic tile. low 70's is all i could get... so i gently removed it from the tile and placed it directly on the viv. my hubby will make a rheostat for it ASAP. we have an inch of air space under the viv.

the lid is solid and locks down so we drilled some holes in the sides (high on the warm side, low on the cool side) to add circulation.

so... please let me know if you see anything wrong with this set up. i want the best possible for dexter. i've been reading up on numerous sites for over a month now and felt ready to bring him home. but hey, you never stop learning!

edited to add image:

[elevatethis]

Sounds like a good setup, my first bp back when I was 11, about 11 years ago, was named Dexter (after Dexter Holland from the Offspring, during their smash days way before they crapped out with "pretty fly for a white guy").

Just be aware that in a warm, humid enclosed area like that, mold may be able to grow in the substrate if you aren't careful. So make sure to check around for the as frequently as possible. Other than that, sounds like you have a good thing going!

[recycling goddess]

thanks

dexter checked out his new home a lot last night and now he's under the piece of bark.