questions about sweaterbox setup and quarantine

I will be picking up a new snake next month at the Baltimore Repticon and have a few questions.
I currently have one BP and will be moving her to a sweater box rack and her current tub setup will be the quarantine tub. How long should I quarantine the new animal? The new rack will be set up in the next room (I would have it farther away if possible but I live in a basement with 2 rooms), will this be sufficient?

I also have a few questions about the sweater box rack. I will be getting the rack from reptile basics that will have back heat. Is there anything I need to set up the heat tape to a VE thermostat? I currently have a VE 300X2 that will need to remain connected to the tub setup for the durration of the quarantine and will be picking up a VE 100 for the rack until quarantine is over. Are there any special connections I need for the heat tape? I tried to find pictures of the connection but was unable to find any to give me an indication of how it would connect to the thermostat. Does anyone have pictures of how the heat tape connects to the thermostat? I'm sorry for the rambling but I want to have the best possible setup for the two of them. Thanks in advance.

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Forgot one more question :oops:
From what I read, it seems like most snakes are kept in racks without hides with the exception of problem feeders or shy animals. The girl I got in February has always had a hide or 2 in her setup, can I continue to give her the hide? If I provide one hide on the warm end, should I also put one on the cool side to give her the hides within the gradient?

Quarantine in the next room should be just fine. Imo the most important part is following quarantine procedures - washing your hands before / after you enter / leave the qt area, sterilizing everything you bring in or out of the qt area, etc. The amount of time you quarantine is completely up to you. It depends on how well you know / trust the seller, how well the snake eats, etc. Everybody does it slightly differently, but I quarantine pythons for 3 months and boas for 6+, longer in any rescue situation or if the snake is from someone I don't trust. Then of course if any questionable behaviors or conditions come up that may indicate an illness or disorder, quarantine should be extended.

That depends on whether or not you bought the heat tape pre-wired. If yes, then you can plug the tape straight into the electrical outlet on the VE. If not, you will have to wire the tape yourself. I've never bought from RBI but all the big caging companies I've worked with sell tape pre-wired, so my guess is that it will be.

I don't use rack systems, but if I did I would use hides. Ball pythons are such nervous snakes; any additional security in the enclosure is a plus... So the more hides the better! And yes, if you decide to use hides you should provide one at each side of the temp gradient.

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Thanks for the input. I called RBI today to ask it the heat tape was prewired and was told they were ready to be plugged in. Happy about that. I am really excited for the new addition to my little family. Now to decide what morph i will bring home. Thanks again for the advice!

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