Tub Help

[Zues21]

Hey guys and girls,

As you can see I am new to the site and also new to BP's. So my question to you is, In order to keep a baby ball In a tub what is ALL I need? Sorry for the big question but since I wont be going to a terrarium to use for my BP i am lost on what to use in the tub to keep my BP happy and healthy.

Thanks

[JoshJP7]

Heres what I use for babies and a pic of my set up

66qt snap-top tub(10$)
Thermostat (30-300$)
2 black zilla hides (3$ea)
1 piece of flexwatt (3-6$)
Water bowl (3$)
Accurite 2-in-1 thermometer (13$)


Something to climb on (15$)

[Zues21]

Thank you Josh. A few more replies and I'm off to the store

[JoshJP7]

the flexwatt is all the heat you need.... you can pick up a heat pad from the pet store but they cost a lot more money... You shouldnt need any heat from above but if you need to get cool side temps up I would go with a ceramic heat emitter... these are a little better than the heat bulbs as they dont suck up AS much humidity but they still kill it... Also make note that they get WICKED hot... like 3rd degree burn melt your skin hot... Id try the set up without the heat from above and see how your temps look.

[Zues21]

Ok thank you I'll try that.

[Inknsteel]

Heres what I use for babies and a pic of my set up

66qt snap-top tub(10$)
Thermostat (30-300$)
2 black zilla hides (3$ea)
1 piece of flexwatt (3-6$)
Water bowl (3$)
Accurite 2-in-1 thermometer (13$)


Something to climb on (15$)

That's one way you can do it, but some of that stuff like flexwatt and the thermostat, you would have to order... Honestly, ball pythons don't need a big tall tub like that. They're ground dwellers, not arboreal snakes, so they don't really need room to climb. You will find that most people who use tubs use the shorter tubs, approximately 6" tall. In my opinion, the taller tubs just give you more open air to heat, which will make getting your temps correct that much harder. Here are the basics that you can purchase entirely locally. I can post pics of my tub setup when I get home if you'd like...

- Sterilite 41qt tub with latching sides (you can go with a smaller tub for a smaller snake. 41qt will last your bp's whole life). ($6)
- Small under-tank heater ($20)
- Thermostat works best, but you could use a table-top lamp dimmer to control the UTH temp. ($10)
- Digital thermometer/hygrometer ($12)
- Matching hides, one for the cool side, one for the warm side. You can go really cheap with dollar store plastic bowls with a cutout in the side for an entryway. ($2)
- Paper towels for substrate ($1)
- Small water dish ($1)

Good luck!!!

[Zues21]

Once again thank you a bunch. I didn't realize how easy a Ball is to take care of compared to my Beardies and Iguanas lol.

And Ink if you can take pictures that would be awesome!!

[JoshJP7]

Ink... not too sure what your experience is with the larger tubs but your statement that its "more open air to heat" is incorrect... The difference between your tubs and mine is 6inchs... if you do some tests youll see the extra 6inches doesnt make it any more challenging to heat... I keep all my snakes in tubs this large and I will agree they may not "need" the extra space but given the extra room all of my snakes "climb" if thats what you call it...

[Inknsteel]

Ink... not too sure what your experience is with the larger tubs but your statement that its "more open air to heat" is incorrect... The difference between your tubs and mine is 6inchs... if you do some tests youll see the extra 6inches doesnt make it any more challenging to heat... I keep all my snakes in tubs this large and I will agree they may not "need" the extra space but given the extra room all of my snakes "climb" if thats what you call it...

Honestly, my personal experience with those taller tubs is ZERO... My statement about the extra open air to heat is sheer logic. Logic (at least MY logic) says that it would take more energy to heat a space of 2 cubic feet than it would to heat a space of 1 cubic foot. I'm not claiming to be a physicist or anything, so don't take my word for truth. I do however consider all that open air wasted space considering a happy and healthy bp will be spending 90% of its life in hiding. I'm not saying that there is anything WRONG with that type of setup. It's a personal preference thing.

Also, you can fit twice as many snakes in the same amount of space by using 6" tall tubs as opposed to 12"...

[JoshJP7]

Your statement is correct if you were talking about heating up a glass tank where most of the heat produced at the bottom would escape before it made it to the top... Plastic is a much better insulator than glass and it holds the heat in the tub... Heat produced at the bottom then rises to the top... I know this statement is incorrect bc I put an accurite at the top of one of my tubs and then one in a small tub (not sure what size but it was about 6inchs tall like yours) ... After an hour of the heat pad running both temps were the same (difference of a couple tenths of a degree)...

You say its wasted space... How so if theyre using it?? I go into my snake room every night and my snakes are climbing all over the place so I wouldnt say its wasted. You probably have never seen this because your snakes dont have the option to move around much... As far as your percentages my snakes sleep all day and are out and about pretty much all night so its probably closer to 60/40... Again its probably harder for you to tell when your snakes are actually awake and about since your tubs are much smaller...

To me personally its wrong to keep a pet (My snakes are pets first and breeders 2nd) in what I consider to be a small environment just so you can justify having more of them.