Thinking About Switching From Tanks To Tubs - Have Questions

Hey all, so I kinda jumped into the hobby of snake keeping which landed me into owning 2 snakes in 2 tanks and I am not started to hate it. I have heard tubs hold humidity and heat better and they will be easier to move around and clean which sounds good to me. I have a female BP about 1300 grams and 3.5 feet long and a baby red tail BCI who is about 18 inches long. What steps do I need to take and what products do I need to buy to make this happen? I would also love to hear from people who have switched from tanks to tubs and there experiences. Thanks in advance :)

Hello,

There are a few considerations to consider.

Firstly lets talk about tub sizes. The female BP will age well in a 41qt tub. The RTB is a different story. Is the RTB male or female?

As far as the tub goes you're correct, they hold humidity very well! They are also a bit of a challenge to heat if you're in a cool room. The reason being that you can only utilize a UTH and not a lamp.

Since you already have tanks it may be easier for you to just create a lid that better suits your needs. See this post for some help with that: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...=solution+tank

If you have your heart set on tubs, it's really not all that difficult. If you already have 2 thermostats (which you should!) You'll need to either use an UTH or heat tape connected to the tstats, use a soldering iron or drill to make some ventilation holes in your appropriately sized tubs, and assemble. Check your params, get them stable then add snakes. I absolutely looove my tubs. But you need to keep in mind that your ambient room temps must remain rather high because you don't have the luxury of heat lamps. I haven't had a skipped meal or bad shed in the 9 months I've had mine in a tub. I still have one in a tank, and it's a paaaain to clean, heat and maintain humidity.

Now, on your bci, I believe it's possible to use a tub for the entirety of their lives... This is what I was planning on doing before my deal fell through. Now's the perfect time of year to pick up those giant xmas tree storage bins. Is yours a male or female?

I bought my pastel BP with a vivarium set up and my het albino boy came with a tub, on a personal level I prefer the tubs but vivs/tanks can be more aesthetically pleasing. My male is 542g empty (although sold to me a few weeks ago as a 700g :/ ) and I have him in a 21l tub.

I prefer tubs so much more that although I have a spare 2ft viv I've bought a 12l tub and heatmat for my upcoming spider hatchling rather than buying the ceramic for the viv. I think it is all down to personal preference!

And humidity wise, I was having very low humidity in my viv, so much so I had to add an extra water bowl. In my tubs I am hitting a constant high on humidity. It never, ever drops.

I literally have heat mat, thermostat, hides and water bowls. Not much to it :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rickys_Reptiles

Hello,

There are a few considerations to consider.

Firstly lets talk about tub sizes. The female BP will age well in a 41qt tub. The RTB is a different story. Is the RTB male or female?

As far as the tub goes you're correct, they hold humidity very well! They are also a bit of a challenge to heat if you're in a cool room. The reason being that you can only utilize a UTH and not a lamp.

Since you already have tanks it may be easier for you to just create a lid that better suits your needs. See this post for some help with that: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...=solution+tank

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Thanks for the info, my RTB is a male and my room is relatively cool so I may be getting a space heater if I switch to tubs

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MootWorm

If you have your heart set on tubs, it's really not all that difficult. If you already have 2 thermostats (which you should!) You'll need to either use an UTH or heat tape connected to the tstats, use a soldering iron or drill to make some ventilation holes in your appropriately sized tubs, and assemble. Check your params, get them stable then add snakes. I absolutely looove my tubs. But you need to keep in mind that your ambient room temps must remain rather high because you don't have the luxury of heat lamps. I haven't had a skipped meal or bad shed in the 9 months I've had mine in a tub. I still have one in a tank, and it's a paaaain to clean, heat and maintain humidity.

Now, on your bci, I believe it's possible to use a tub for the entirety of their lives... This is what I was planning on doing before my deal fell through. Now's the perfect time of year to pick up those giant xmas tree storage bins. Is yours a male or female?

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RTB is a male

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Naom9Anne

I bought my pastel BP with a vivarium set up and my het albino boy came with a tub, on a personal level I prefer the tubs but vivs/tanks can be more aesthetically pleasing. My male is 542g empty (although sold to me a few weeks ago as a 700g :/ ) and I have him in a 21l tub.

I prefer tubs so much more that although I have a spare 2ft viv I've bought a 12l tub and heatmat for my upcoming spider hatchling rather than buying the ceramic for the viv. I think it is all down to personal preference!

And humidity wise, I was having very low humidity in my viv, so much so I had to add an extra water bowl. In my tubs I am hitting a constant high on humidity. It never, ever drops.

I literally have heat mat, thermostat, hides and water bowls. Not much to it :)

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You pretty much just sold me, thanks!

The 41 quart sterilites look good but it makes me sad that they are only like 7 inches high? My snakes like to explore lol

That is one thing with tubs, they can be quite shallow. I do find feeding and handling easier though and they are a lot simpler to clean (and genuinely cheaper than a tank setup). They have their cons but still what I would choose :)

Saves room also for more BP's ;)