ReptiBreeze for BP

Now before anyone says anything, I understand a ReptiBreeze is not ideal for a BP. I got my hands on a Medium (16x16x30) for free.

I currently have a little 63 gram BP currently sitting in a 5 gallon with a UTH, Eco Earth, a very sizable hide and a good size water dish. Before I move him up to a regular tank and spend money on a glass tank, I was wondering if anyone had experience trying to get this to work or not.

Here's my idea. Heating lamps from above will not work because they can't heat up the bottom enough. So, one thought is that I put a UTH on the bottom of the bottom plate (I believe to be PVC) but I would also like to get a ReptiBreeze substrate bottom tray so that I can put eco earth in as well. Would the heat be able to penetrate the plastic substrate tray?

The second idea is that I drill a hole into the bottom PVC tile and run a Ultratherm heat mat into the tank and just put it near the top of the substrate tray.

Thoughts?

I think you would be fighting a loosing battle. BP's are for the most part terrestrial snakes. I would keep something else in there. Something with more height than length is going to give you a very hard time getting the husbandry right.

what size Reptibreeze? sounds like tall one. either way i doubt u would be able to dial in the correct husbandry w/o extensive modifications like covering up the walls including the front. u seem to be concerned about heating and will still need to address humidity. that half of the husbandry will be harder to achieve b/c of the screen walls. IMO it's not worth it to modify a Reptibreeze for a BP.

Unless it's super humid where you live and naturally sits at 60% or more on a daily basis, I really don't see reptibreeze ever working for a bp as those cages are specifically designed for low humidity and arboreal species. Not without heavy modifications and at that point, is it even worth the time and resources?

Don't feel obligated to use a cage for the sake of using it. You got it for free which is a nice score but you don't have to try to make something work that's ill suited in the first place. It's going to give you headaches in the long run. Save yourself while you can :p

I normally start my ball pythons out in ten gallon tanks that's always worked for me. Five gallon tank just seems too small. Ten gallon tanks can be found cheap under 50 bucks and work well till about 350 to 400 grams IMHO