cermaic heatlamps vs sticky heatpads; which to continue using

just seems a bit cramped for my adult, it loves to crawl around all the articificial limbs and plants i have in my tank... If i purchase tubs, can i put cypress mulch in there to?

You can put whatever you want in a tub! :) Although you won't need any extra humidity, which I assume cypress mulch would provide... most people use newspaper (my choice), paper towels or Aspen in their tubs, since they're easy to clean/replace and don't cause humidity to spike. It really is that simple - get a Sterilite tub with lid, drill some holes around the sides for circulation, "furnish" as you please, add the heating source, and you're good to go. I swear, once you go to tubs, you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner. ;) And no, the heat won't melt a tub - I once ran my UTH up to 110+ (no snake inside), and the plastic barely even felt hot.

Here are how my tubs look... I keep it simple since they don't care about aesthetics, and I don't care for cleaning tons of stuff. :P They also don't need much space, and most BPs are actually happier in a small habitat.

15qt with a hatchling (180g or so)
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/DSCF2372.jpg

41qt with a 2000g female & her temporary tub-mate (breeding pair)
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/DSCF1975.jpg

The full setup/rack
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/DSCF2371.jpg

well tubs it is then! thank you!

and what wattage would you heatpad would you recommend for my adult and younger ball python

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Originally Posted by beavermatic

just seems a bit cramped for my adult, it loves to crawl around all the articificial limbs and plants i have in my tank... If i purchase tubs, can i put cypress mulch in there to?

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It is cramped, and when you take them out they love you twice as much as before :P
You can use larger tubs too, and add branches and multiple hides.
Cypress isn't necessary in tubs unless your in a very low humidity area.
Generally they get plenty of humidity from the water bowl as it is.
I use paper, paper towels and aspen, just depends on the snake.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by beavermatic

well tubs it is then! thank you!

and what wattage would you heatpad would you recommend for my adult and younger ball python

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I use 11 x 12 inch 20 watt per foot flexwatt for tubs 28qt and over.
I use 3 inch wide or 4 inch wide for smaller tubs.

Oh, and to show you how it can be made more interesting... here's a tub I set up for my leopard gecko, when I had to move her temporarily from her vivarium. And you could do even more than this!

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/DSCF1996.jpg

Not trying to convert you or anything (LOL), tubs are just soooooo much easier to maintain & clean... tanks are nice for display, but that gets old really quick when you have multiple herps. If I ever get a "display reptile" like a GTP or BRB, I'll probably get them a nice glass vivarium - until then I'm very happy with the Sterilites. :gj:

what kind of bedding is that? looks like white calci sand

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Originally Posted by beavermatic

you make it sound like i can go out and buy any old tubberware box and use it as a tank replacement... obviously theres some sort of catch to that, right?

I mean, I couldnt imagine heating up plastic to melt away or catch fire... is there some sort of special tubberware thats heat resistant? and what do you put over the top of it, a screen?

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Think about this. Does anything plastic melt when the room is 90*F?

NO.

If anything is hot enough to melt plastic it is hot enough to cook your snake. Obviously, 90* will not kill your snake or for that matter MELT plastic. I don't think 90* will melt or burn anything other than ice...

You do not need a special kind of tub. Any tub will work. The trickiest part is making them escape proof. Most people do this by removing the lids and putting them in a shelving system where there is just a tiny gap between the top of the tub and the next shelf. Slide them out like a drawer and insert snake. Tada

As for your current setups, you said your snake likes to slither around. Chances are this is just the snake either looking for food or being stressed and looking for a way out. Neither are good. A happy ball python is one you will never see come out of its hides unless it is poking its head out looking for a bite to eat.

The substrate she is using is paper towel. Never use sand with a ball python.

bought my tubs sterilite 105q /99l , bought UTH's (reptitherm 50-60gallon sized 25w), and plugging them into my reptitherm 500r thermostats....

I know everyone here says the uth is safe on the tub, but the safety thingy on the pads say strictly not for plastic or acrylic plastic, nothing other than glass....

is that basically just a "just in case, we told you so" warning....

just want to make absolutely sure i dont start a fire or melt the tubs or burn teh balls.