set up question

[edie]

okay, so i bought a tank and some hides for my new snake that will be here on thursday.
i just want to make sure everything looks good before she gets here

here is a picture of what the tank looks like so far..
its a 20g long, the substrate is aspen



there are 2 hides, on each side (the UTH will go on the side without the leaves).. and leaves over half of it. i haven't bought a water dish yet because i'm waiting to see how big she is before i get one.

any suggestions to make it better?

[rabernet]

It looks nice, but those 1/2 log hides are horrible hides for a ball python. They are too open. It's a shame you spent money on a tank, you had mentioned that you keep your insects now in rubbermaids, and rubbermaids are perfect for ball pythons, especially young ones.

Here's a picture of the types of hides they really prefer. Cost - $.25 each. They are a set of four bowls from Dollar Tree with entrances soldered out. You want hides that they can "just" cram into with little to no wiggle room.





She won't need a big dish, no matter her size. Also, you'll want to get a thermostat to control your UTH, as without one, they can exceed temps of 120 degrees and burn your new baby. You can get a good wired Ranco here: http://www.reptilebasics.com

Also pick up a good digital thermometer/hygrometer from Walmart for about $12 like this, as the pet store thermometers are pretty much junk.

[frankykeno]

Sometimes they are a bit iffy about using those half log hides as they leave both "sides" unprotected. You might want to consider putting black paper around the sides and back of the tank so only the front is open for viewing. This will help the snake feel less exposed when it moves about to thermoregulate. Something I find works beautifully for a water dish is a small white ramekin. These small ceramic souffle dishes make excellent water dishes as they are heavy and very easy to keep clean. BP's do not need to soak (in fact it can cause them problems if they oversoak) so a small, clean water dish they can't constantly tip over works perfectly.



I didn't notice anyway to monitor temps or humidity. Acu-Rites from Walmart (about $12.00 plus a AAA battery) are an excellent solution.

[edie]

its okay that i got the 20g, my corn snakes do well in them and i have a baby corn i was going to have to move into one eventually so i needed it anyways

i have read about you guys keeping them in rubbermaids. my only concern is how do i keep temps. up in one of those? and is it okay to use aspen in one?
and how about adults? do you keep them in the same type of setup?

i have cats too, do you think they would be able to open the tubs?

[chris B]

Well, tubs work with eiter a UTH or flexwatt same concept as a tank basically but its alot easier to maintain temps/humidity. Also Aspen is fine to use, careful not to go to thick with it, because it will block out heat etc. * because in the picture above it looks too thick, stick with about an inch or a little more*

[rabernet]

My cats are older (14 and 15) but they have not tried to get into the enclosures, they're more intrested in the "rat tv" that they have here! LOL


Yes, adults can be kept in tubs as well. This is an adult female in her tub, the same size as the one with the juvie in it, which is a 41 Quart Sterilite from Walmart, model 1986 (about $8).



I heat mine with a 1 foot section of 11" wired flexwatt that is controlled with a Ranco thermostat. You can get both of them here: http://www.reptilebasics.com.

Solder some ventilation holes in your enclosure (mine are about 3/4" spaced around the top edge and some going vertically at the corners), add aspen (although I've switched to newspaper), hides, water dish and snake (after you've allowed the set-up to run and temps to stabilize) and it's much less worry than the fluctuating temps experienced with glass.

[NCSU_Casey]

Acu-Rites from Walmart (about $12.00 plus a AAA battery) are an excellent solution.

Which department carries these? I couldn't find them on the Walmart website.

[chris B]

The Hardware section I believe. If you have a lowes, or home depot in town they may carry them also.

[Mindibun]

Can someone explain the usage of flex-watt tape? Do you use it under the tank or on the sides? Will it melt the plastic on those tubs? The more I read the more I'm thinking i want to do a tub set-up and I'm not sure how you all are doing it without the plastic melting...

Also, where do you keep the tubs? Under your beds? haha (joking)

[Nate]

Can someone explain the usage of flex-watt tape? Do you use it under the tank or on the sides? Will it melt the plastic on those tubs? The more I read the more I'm thinking i want to do a tub set-up and I'm not sure how you all are doing it without the plastic melting...

Also, where do you keep the tubs? Under your beds? haha (joking)

It's used under the tank...and it will not melt the tubs if you have it on a thermostat....a thermostat is a MUST. Some people build or buy racks with Flexwatt already in.