Glass Enclosure Setup Tips

[Argentra]

Due to popular demand, I have decided to put my Tank Setup Tips on a public thread. Up till now I have been giving them to individuals having problems with glass tanks via PM.

Glass enclosures, typically aquarium tanks, are usually seen as too difficult to upkeep to be worth using. However, with just a bit of extra work, a tank can be a wonderful home for any snake...even a Ball Python.

As an example, here are two of my tanks: a 10 gallon and a 20 gallon Long.




So, to make your tank into a working snake enclosure, use the following tips:

Ball pythons are a snake that likes a nice secure and tight home, with more floor space than height, so make sure your tank is sized right for your snake. A baby should be in a 10gal, a juvenile in a 20gal long, and an adult in a 30 gallon or nice display cage.
You want to make sure you have two identical hides, nice and tight and fully enclosing with one opening, one on each end of the tank.
Your water dish should be big enough for good humidity, but not necessarily so big the snake can fit inside. Preferred materials would be ceramic or thick plastic, something heavy like that so it cannot be tipped over.
You should cover the back and both sides with opaque background (from plain black construction paper to aquarium backgrounds) and some form of insulation: anything from cork board to the foam board home insulation stuff I have on my tanks. Glass does not hold heat, so you have to help it.
The best treatment for a screen top to hold in humidity and temperatures is foil/tape. Use three layers of foil, shiny side down, topped with a layer of duct tape on the outside. The tape keeps the foil from tearing or folding. Leave a hole in the foil over 1/4 of the end for ventilation.
A UTH(under tank heater) or Flexwatt heat tape are the best ways to heat the tank. Use a UTH sized for your tank or enough heat tape to cover 1/3(for two) to 1/2 of the tank bottom on one side (or both sides in cold areas/months). Lamps can be used for supplemental heat or viewing light, but make sure they are set at least 8-12" from the top and that the bulb wattage is low (i.e. Below 50) or you'll kill your humidity.
A thermostat, from the ZooMed ReptiTemp 500R to the Herpstat, is a MUST to control the heat output of the UTH or heat tape. If you don't have the money right now for a t-stat, a rheostat or dimmer will do in the mean time, but keep in mind that they fluctuate with the room temperature.
The probe of the thermostat goes best under the tank where the UTH is, taped to the UTH itself. This assures that the snake can never get to it and that the actual source of heat is being measured.
The probe for the thermometer (acurite or other good digital type) typically goes under the warm side hide, close to the glass, as that's where you want to measure. Most people use one in/out/humidity acurite, like the one pictured in the center of my tank, and place the unit low on the cool side and the probe across under the warm hide. I like to know air temp and all around humidity, so I add another digital unit which is outside the tank and the probe for that one is placed under the cool side hide.
All temps are measured at ground level, and the probes under the hides are best placed close to the glass so you have the warmest temp reading. If the difference between the temp against the glass and the temp on top of the substrate is more than 3-4 degrees, you'll have to remove some substrate to get the levels where you need them. BP's don't need thick substrate after all.
The substrate I use is aspen, but other acceptable substrates include blank newsprint, paper towels, and cypress mulch. You basically want something soft that you won't mind cleaning and that will keep your humidity at the right levels...not to mention your temps. Thickness can vary, but typically no substrate for a Ball Python should be deeper than the first joint of your index finger.
Branches and other climbing decor are optional, but some snakes like slithering over things. Any climbing items should be low, no more than 2-3" off the floor, and wide since Balls are not the most agile climbers. If you do add decor, just make sure the wood is a type used for reptiles and not porous, and any fake plants are soft plastic with no sharp parts or heavy plastic smell.

Of course, you can be as elaborate or as sparse in your decor as you like, as long as your snake has identical hides, a water dish, digital thermometer, controlled heat source and a secure cage.

I hope these tips and pictures can help many a new snake owner to make a secure, stable, and pleasing environment for their pet.

[chetman7]

nice write up,

Quick question, if I'm using a CHE and a UTh to power the hot side to 92 on a thermostat. You wrote to put the probe directly on the UTH, if both are on a thermostat how will the probe take into effect the CHE since its under the tank? As of right now I put it on top of the substrate ontop of the UTh and under the CHE. wil this suffice? cause ppl say that substrate and stuff kills off some of the heat as it reaches the top layer.

Any truth to this?

[Argentra]

Thanks.

The best thing to do when using a CHE (I used one myself for the longest time before I got the balance right with normal bulbs), is to have it in a dimmer lamp or on a dimmer of its own. You shouldn't, technically, connect two different types of element to the same thermostat.

Yes, the heat does dissipate as it goes through the substrate...which is why I recommended the substrate not be too thick. Keep your UTH on the thermostat with the probe on the UTH and use a rheostat, lamp dimmer, or lamp with built in dimmer (sold at pet stores now) for the CHE. That would be my suggestion.