Need help with my tub

[Lilith]

Hi guys!

I am a little desperate...
My BP was in a tub for the past few months and it has really been tough to keep temperatures/heat at a correct level. I have been fighting all winter to get a decent temperature and was completely crushed today when a visit to the vet's confirmed what I feared; respiratory infection. The vet told me to go back to a tank but the one I have is a bit small for my boy...

I would rather have him in a tub, for financial reasons, but I'm at a loss as to how to arrange it.

My BP is about a year and a half old, weighs 900g and is about 3 and a half feet long.

What I have right now:
-water dish
-a hide (flower pot with a hole in it... he can't fit in it anymore)
-UTH (believe it's a small one)
-Hygro/thermometer with probe
-newspaper for substrate
-heating lamp

I saw the setup explanation for the glass tank but would anyone explain how to arrange a tub properly??? Zombi and I would be eternally grateful. I am so worried

Also for those of us who have pretty intense winters (I'm from Montreal), how do you manage to keep temperatures and humidity levels ok during the stupidly cold season??

Thank you.

[xdeus]

Hi Lilith,

I'm sorry to hear about your snake's RI, but hopefully he's doing better. It sounds like you're doing everything right with the tub, but the under tank heater might not be enough especially if you keep him in a cold room. You can try to add additional heat by adding a lamp on top with a rheostat. You would need to construct a screen "window" in the lid, but that should help keep it warmer in a cool room.

Other than that, just make sure there is plenty of ventilation and you keep things clean. Also, try not to handle him too much in the winter as stress can make them prone to RI's as well.

Good luck!

[Lilith]

Thank you for the quick reply xdeus!
I think the lamp is a good idea, do you have any tips on how to cut a "window" for it in my tub lid? Just cut a hole and maybe put some mesh or something?

About cleaning; I use a wet handtowel usually to clean his tub and everything that is inside, should I be using something else?

[starmom]

Hi there!~
I live 4000ft above sea level and we have stupid cold weather a lot. Because we're in the high desert, our nights always drop low even in the summer and we have about 65 days of frost free weather. Ugh.

I have this reptile cage: http://www.reptilebasics.com/2x3-Cag...h-p-16286.html
I have rigid insulation on all sides and the top. For you, using a radiant heat panel instead of flex watt would be good since it will heat the cage for the snake as well as keeping your ambient temps up without zapping your humidity. A thermostat to control the RHP is the other item you'd need. That's it!

I would encourage you to check this out and see if it might work for you and your situation

[nevohraalnavnoj]

About cleaning; I use a wet handtowel usually to clean his tub and everything that is inside, should I be using something else?

Using just a wet hand towel seems like it would just be spreading bacteria around. I have been using chlorhexadine solution that I purchased from reptilebasics.com and it has worked great thus far, I would recommend it. Else, I think a VERY diluted bleach solution can work too...but I think you have to be careful with the residue. I don't think you want to use soap.

JonV

[JoshJP7]

what size tub are you housing him in? I keep my larger males in 96qt rubbermaids and use 11'' flexwatt on one side. Just going off what you said your heat pad is probably just too small. Winters here in NY get pretty cold and I use an oil based heater in my snake room. When I was just keeping a few snakes I used ceramic heat emitters but I was also using glass... Those things get way too hot to use with a plastic tub. What you could do is have two pieces of flex watt hooked up to two separate thermostats... one set to 92ish and the other 80ish. This will give them a warm side/cool side gradient and also might help boost your ambient temps. Plastic is much better than glass at holding the heat in so I think thats your best shot.

[nevohraalnavnoj]

Just going off what you said your heat pad is probably just too small. Winters here in NY get pretty cold and I use an oil based heater in my snake room. When I was just keeping a few snakes I used ceramic heat emitters but I was also using glass... Those things get way too hot to use with a plastic tub.

I think upping the ambient temp in the room is an excellent, often overlooked idea. It takes so much time/tweaking to get things just right to heat a BP in a cold room (and what happens if your lowside flexx fails...your BP gets COLD), whereas all this guesswork can just be eliminated by heating the room to a warmer ambient temp.

JonV

[missi182]

The ambient temp in my room is usually low 70's, so for my tub (mind you I have a kingsnake in my tub) my ambient temp is raised by a 40 watt lamp. I didn't put a screen in the top but I did put a few holes, and the rest of the tub is filled with holes as well for ventilation (lower humidity is required for my kingsnake, unlike a bp)

The plastic lid under the lamp does warm up, but it does not sag or melt with the 40 watt 2 inches away. I may try a screen in the winter when the bulb needs to be stronger.

I would have to say that over-all to steady humidity and temperature, a thermostat on the proper sized UTH or flexwatt, and a decent sized water bowl should be enough. You can also try a compact humidifier in the room ($15-$20) from Canadian Tire - which I worshipped this past winter.

P.S - I live in Ontario, I feel your winter blues...

[missi182]

One way to put the screen in the lid of the tub if you are going to do that, plug in a hot glue gun with no glue in it, cut the hole out that you want to replace with screen, then heat the edges of the plastic up (an inch at a time) and press the screen into the hot plastic with a butter knife.

[Lilith]

Thank you for all the advice!!! This forum really is amazing
I think I will go with a larger UTH and a thermostat. I'm actually ashamed that I don't have one already...
I'll see then if I need to add my heating lamp. missi182: that's an awesome trick to install the mesh!! Thank you!

Heating up the ambient room is indeed a good idea but not always so easy to achieve when it's -22F outside... my apartment's heating system is not exactly new and although it is not freezing, it still stays pretty chilly. I am moving soon, so here's hoping the next place is insulated a bit better and if not, I might look into a personal heater to place in the room where Zombi will be.

For cleaning, Chlorexedine sounds like a good idea. We use it at work all the time (I work in an emergency vet clinic, we don't really do exotics though ). I'll check my reptile pet store for a bottle or 2.

I will try to let you know how it all turns out. Thank you again!