Newcomer looking to jump into the scene.

[CircleOfSnakes]

Hey, folks. I've been lurking around here for a while, and I've been interested in getting a snake since last August or so, just haven't followed through and actually went for it yet. But in the meantime I've read these forums front to back, picking up information and learning myself but good in preparation for getting a BP. I'd like to say I now know enough to jump into this by myself, with no advisory, and maybe I'm just slightly slow at picking up information and adding two plus two, but there's tons of different and opposing bouts of advice and information on this site, and I'm having trouble deciding the best route to take. Basically, I just want to do this right. I understand that BPs are quite fragile and need to be taken care of in a certain way, and it's all a little overwhelming actually. So, the purpose of this thread is to hopefully get me setup nicely and instill a bit of assurance in my ability.

Firstly, after mulling over the technicalities (and cost), I've decided I'm going to take the tub route. Also, I'm not currently equipped with enough green to make a state of the arch enclosure with the best accouterments and such, so I'd really like to do this as cheaply as possible (under $150, snake included). So, for a tub, being made for a baby BP, I would need exactly these bare basics: (You fill in this part.)

The next thing is I'm not sure where to get the BP. I'm not sure of any breeders around here, or how I'd go about finding any. There are a few good shops around here that sell them. One being PetCo (don't know much about them, but they look more respectable than a lot of the others), and a local place called The Aquatic Critter, which is a very fine establishment that focuses only on exotic fish, and exotic reptiles. I've checked them out, and I can get a baby BP, captive-bred, for $50 (if it's purchased during breeding season). Is that good? Or would I be better off tracking down a breeder? Any help would be very much appreciated, as I'm getting quite ancy to get the ball rolling, so to speak. Thanks all.

[starmom]

I'll fill in the blanks for you as far as a tub goes...
If you just have a tub (not in a rack) you'll need a UTH and a thermostat to control the temps of the UTH. You'll need a digital thermometer/hygrometer (Acurite=12 bucks). You'll need a water dish and 2 hides. Paper for the substrate is free (newspaper). I think that's it....
The initial outlay of money can be more than one might expect, but it makes total sense to purchase these items and have your tub temps and humidity stable prior to purchasing a snake.
Insofar as the purchase of a snake is concerned, I would strongly suggest purchasing through a breeder. Petco is a store to stay out of for a myriad of reasons; just do a search for Petco!!
Hope this gets you started!

[CircleOfSnakes]

I'll fill in the blanks for you as far as a tub goes...
If you just have a tub (not in a rack) you'll need a UTH and a thermostat to control the temps of the UTH. You'll need a digital thermometer/hygrometer (Acurite=12 bucks). You'll need a water dish and 2 hides. Paper for the substrate is free (newspaper). I think that's it....
The initial outlay of money can be more than one might expect, but it makes total sense to purchase these items and have your tub temps and humidity stable prior to purchasing a snake.
Insofar as the purchase of a snake is concerned, I would strongly suggest purchasing through a breeder. Petco is a store to stay out of for a myriad of reasons; just do a search for Petco!!
Hope this gets you started!

Thanks, it certainly does give me an outline. As for the tub, what size should I get for a baby? And, the amount of holes I drill in is dictated by the size of the tub, correct? I'll take your word on PetCo, but as far as a breeder goes, how would I go about tracking one down? I'm in Tennessee, if it's of interest. There isn't like, ads in the newspaper, or a website dedicated to that sort of thing, is there?

[starmom]

The size tub is dictated, to a degree, by the size of the snake. So, if you're getting an '08 ball, then I would start with a 16qt tub. The holes are dictated by the amount of humidity already in your environment. It's easy to tape some up if you've put too many in and easy to add more if not enough.

As for breeders, since you're on the east coast there are a bajillion!!! I only have experience with the east coast breeders NERD and 8Ball; both are top notch!!
There are tons more, just look through the ads on this forum and use the forum's search tool for breeders. Most breeders are amazing stand-up people!

Good luck searching for that perfect snake!!!!!

[soy.lor.n]

If you say where you're from, you might well find a breeder right here on BPnet. That's what I did when I got my girl.
As for the hides/water bowl, what wasn't mentioned is that these can even be just plastic bowls, turned over and with a small hole cut out for the hides. You can also use a planter saucer with a part of the lip cut out, which can sometimes look a little nicer.
For under tank heating, you can also use a piece of heat tape from Reptile Basics instead of buying a UTH, so you can save a little money that way. If you buy a wire/clip/insulator set with it, and ask for it prewired, Rich will even do it for free, so all you have to do is plug it in. http://www.reptilebasics.com/Heating-p-1-c-248.html
If you know anything about wiring and soldering though, it seems to be pretty easy to do it yourself. You can do a google search for flexwatt wiring and find a DIY guide. You just need an extension cord, soldering iron setup, and some insulating tape.

The only big money item left is really the thermostat. You can get a herpstat for about 109 http://spyderrobotics.com/products/herpstat.html it's a proportional thermostat which is really nice and will probably be worth it in the long run. You can also get an on/off Ranco from reptile basics which won't keep quite as tight control on your temps. One other option is to get a rheostat (I got a lamp dimmer for $10 from home depot that you can just plug your heater into and it's got a little slider to control the heat). The dimmer only works well if you have pretty consistent temperatures, but it might be a viable short term option if you want to save up some $$ for the herpstat
So you've got
$5ish for the bowls
$0 for newspaper substrate
$20ish for heating
$12 for Acurite thermometer/hygrometer
$10-100 for heat control
$15ish for a tub (not sure about that one)
$25-80 for a snake (good reason to not buy from PETCO- they're WAY expensive for what their snakes are worth)

[CircleOfSnakes]

The size tub is dictated, to a degree, by the size of the snake. So, if you're getting an '08 ball, then I would start with a 16qt tub. The holes are dictated by the amount of humidity already in your environment. It's easy to tape some up if you've put too many in and easy to add more if not enough.

As for breeders, since you're on the east coast there are a bajillion!!! I only have experience with the east coast breeders NERD and 8Ball; both are top notch!!
There are tons more, just look through the ads on this forum and use the forum's search tool for breeders. Most breeders are amazing stand-up people!

Good luck searching for that perfect snake!!!!!

Sounds good, I'll look into that. Thanks for your help. This definitely gets me moving. If anyone else would like to tackle the "setting up the tub" process, I'd be grateful for that, too. I only have a general idea.

[Inknsteel]

I agree with most of what Starmom has said. I would like to add a couple of things though. If you have the tub in a room that maintains a constant temperature, you could get by with using a dimmer for the UTH at first. As long as you can maintain a stable external environment, the dimmer will keep the internal temps stable until you can save up to get a thermostat.

As far as where to get them, I know everyone in general will say to avoid Petco, but that's where I got mine. I would agree that MOST Petco and PetSmarts are crap, but there are some good ones out there. I would say to go look at their snakes and talk to the herp specialist (if they have one) at the store and get a feel for their knowledge. And ask questions, like when did they last feed, if they have fed. What are they feeding, f/t or live. The herp specialist at my local Petco is a member on this board and a friend of mine and I know that he does the best he can (within Petco's restrictions most of the time) for the animals while they are there....

[soy.lor.n]

What part of Tennessee are you from? There are at least 2 breeders in/around Atlanta who are members of this board. Albey Scholl and Justin Kobylka both contacted me and are both definitely good guys.
http://www.jkobylkareptiles.com/
http://www.albeysreptiles.com/

[Inknsteel]

Ok, someone already beat me to the dimmer option... Guess I just type too slow...

[CircleOfSnakes]

If you say where you're from, you might well find a breeder right here on BPnet. That's what I did when I got my girl.
As for the hides/water bowl, what wasn't mentioned is that these can even be just plastic bowls, turned over and with a small hole cut out for the hides. You can also use a planter saucer with a part of the lip cut out, which can sometimes look a little nicer.
For under tank heating, you can also use a piece of heat tape from Reptile Basics instead of buying a UTH, so you can save a little money that way. If you buy a wire/clip/insulator set with it, and ask for it prewired, Rich will even do it for free, so all you have to do is plug it in. http://www.reptilebasics.com/Heating-p-1-c-248.html
If you know anything about wiring and soldering though, it seems to be pretty easy to do it yourself. You can do a google search for flexwatt wiring and find a DIY guide. You just need an extension cord, soldering iron setup, and some insulating tape.

The only big money item left is really the thermostat. You can get a herpstat for about 109 http://spyderrobotics.com/products/herpstat.html it's a proportional thermostat which is really nice and will probably be worth it in the long run. You can also get an on/off Ranco from reptile basics which won't keep quite as tight control on your temps. One other option is to get a rheostat (I got a lamp dimmer for $10 from home depot that you can just plug your heater into and it's got a little slider to control the heat). The dimmer only works well if you have pretty consistent temperatures, but it might be a viable short term option if you want to save up some $$ for the herpstat
So you've got
$5ish for the bowls
$0 for newspaper substrate
$20ish for heating
$10-100 for heat control
$15ish for a tub (not sure about that one)
$25-80 for a snake (good reason to not buy from PETCO- they're WAY expensive for what their snakes are worth)

The hides and the water bowl seem easy enough. As far as the heating goes, I'll probably just stick to a UTH and dimmer for now. I'll be around a lot, so I'll be able to constantly keep an eye on the snake and the heat, and eventually what I plan to do is (once I've learned a lot more and have more funds) move it to a nice tank that's decked out with the appropriate conditions. It just seems like a tub is the easier way to go for a beginner. And the heat tape and all sounds a bit complicated for my level right now.

I agree with most of what Starmom has said. I would like to add a couple of things though. If you have the tub in a room that maintains a constant temperature, you could get by with using a dimmer for the UTH at first. As long as you can maintain a stable external environment, the dimmer will keep the internal temps stable until you can save up to get a thermostat.

As far as where to get them, I know everyone in general will say to avoid Petco, but that's where I got mine. I would agree that MOST Petco and PetSmarts are crap, but there are some good ones out there. I would say to go look at their snakes and talk to the herp specialist (if they have one) at the store and get a feel for their knowledge. And ask questions, like when did they last feed, if they have fed. What are they feeding, f/t or live. The herp specialist at my local Petco is a member on this board and a friend of mine and I know that he does the best he can (within Petco's restrictions most of the time) for the animals while they are there....

Yeah, I'll be keeping the room it's in at a pretty steady temperature, so the heating shouldn't be an issue. Plus it'll be kept on the highest shelf on my bookshelf, about 5 feet off the ground, for all the tiny difference that makes.

What part of Tennessee are you from? There are at least 2 breeders in/around Atlanta who are members of this board. Albey Scholl and Justin Kobylka both contacted me and are both definitely good guys.
http://www.jkobylkareptiles.com/
http://www.albeysreptiles.com/

I'm directly in Middle Tennessee, so Atlanta isn't painfully far away. I'm just worried about having a snake shipped, even if it isn't very far. Something about it is just unsettling. I'll check them out right now, though, and look around. Thanks.