Looking for input on tank set up

Heres a (very) roughly drawn version of a tank that id like to put together let me know what u think i should add / take out avoid

materials
-Ceramic Heat Emitter
-"moonlight" bulb , that i would like to run full time as only light source
-temp/humidity gauge, with probes running near each hide
-fake plants covering wires
-UTH w/ thermostat
-Climbing branch
-Water dish

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...l/tankidea.jpg

thank you in advanced !

I would nix the CHE - it's hard enough keeping humidity up in my iguana's cage with those blasted things, I can't imagine how much they'd sap a 10-20gal. tank of moisture. Unless you had it tied to a really good temp control, it'd probably melt the top to boot. They get HOT!

I'd stick with just under tank heaters - if the cool side isn't warm enough, put another UTH over there.

I don't know anything about the moonlight bulbs. Do you mean having it on 24/7 when you say "full time"? If so, I could easily see that being stressful for a nocturnal creature. If it's not though, I think it'd be just fine.

Everything else looks good.

yea it would b the only thing lighting the cage(other then sun through the window), and i'd have it running 24/7

supposedly the "moonlight" blue or red are dark enough that it doesnt affect the night cycle.. but thats also what im just makin sure on ! :P

and as far as the CHE , im just worried the undertank heaters wouldnt b enough for the whole cage.. possibly 1 large UTH on the hot side and a smaller one mid tank?

Lamp or CHE. You wont need both. Pick up a temp gun. Tight hides.

I would go to target or walmart and pick up two indoor/outdoor digital thermometer/hygrometers. I have one on either side of my setup with the out door probe under each hide. That tells me the ambient temp on each side, the humidity on each side as well as the temp under each hide all at a glance. If your humidity in your home is low like mine you are going to struggle big time with humidity. I would get rid of both the CHE and the moonlight an instead get a florescent light bar (an aquarium one will work or you can get them in the lighting section of walmart or target pretty cheap) and I would put that on a digital timer for a day night cycle. People always want to get a moonlight for their snake. I don't see the need.

Excuse me for this but I am a computer science person by education so for me its all about set theory. You have a couple scenarios that occur after the first few weeks of living with your pet assuming its acting normal and its healthy.

1. It's day and your BP is hiding. -- The moonlight is useless
2. It's night and you are not in the room. -- The moonlight is useless
3. It's night and you are in the room and the room lights are on. -- The moonlight is not really necessary, the lights in the room should be enough to see your snake.
4. It's night and you are in the room and the lights are out. -- If you want to see your snake turn the lights on in the room.

So some people read this and say well case 4 is no good I don't want to bother my snake by turning the lights on. Well what about case 3. Are you never going to use that room after dark? My solution is to have an enclosure with only 1 side open for viewing and then to place the room lights behind the open side. That way the room lighting is dim enough that the snake still feels like its night. My snake comes out around 9pm to 11pm even with the room lights on.

Now covering all but one side of the tank is a good idea for lots of reasons. You should cover a good portion of the top to keep humidity in, and you can put foam core board on the back and sides. This will insulate the tank and keep light out.

Just my thoughts.

On my displays i use red bulbs,50w, (which supposedly is unseen to their eyes) controlable all the times. I have enough room lighting for my day/night cycle. This way you have the heat and you can view your snakes at night if you wish. You really only need one bulb for a display as long as you have good room lighting.

UTHs get hotter than you think, around 120*F max. You really just need the uth and the che/lamp. You might not even need the CHE/lamp if your house temps are above 75*F.

The lamps only purpose should be to provide supplementary heat if the cool side/ambient air temperature is too cold. The UTH will cover the 90-94*F hot side.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

UTHs get hotter than you think, around 120*F max.

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This is absolutely true -- I have the smallest UTH that ZooMed sells (the "mini" one), and running it at half power with a rheostat/dimmer keeps the hot side of my tub around 93-94f, and that heat is enough to bump up the overall ambient air temp in my tub by 3-4 degrees. So if my room temp is 75f, my cold side will read 78f to 79f, and the hot side will read 93f or 94f.

hmm alright thank you, ill see what i can keep the tank at throughout the day/night with only an UTH first.

i was just worried about winter night temps getting to low

and for the "moonlight" or red bulb i guess thats just personal preferance, if it doesnt hurt the snake in any way to have it on during the night, id like to be able to light the tank all the time

but again thats part of why im asking to make sure it does not hurt them to have that on at night

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SDballp

hmm alright thank you, ill see what i can keep the tank at throughout the day/night with only an UTH first.

i was just worried about winter night temps getting to low

and for the "moonlight" or red bulb i guess thats just personal preferance, if it doesnt hurt the snake in any way to have it on during the night, id like to be able to light the tank all the time

but again thats part of why im asking to make sure it does not hurt them to have that on at night

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Run one heat source , either che or lamp on one side(80-82) AND a uth on the hot side(90-92). The lamp or che will keep your ambient temps.If you go with the lamp you can run the red bulb 24hrs as long as you can provide a day/night cycle with your room lighting.They cant see red. supposedly.