housing question

I've picked out #866. I have the photo he took of her on my gallery thingie, which I just set up. I think I am going to move Nag into a bin and get Nagaina's set up for when she gets here. apparently we arent moving. sometimes its so hard to keep track LOL

so anyway, I am reading the plastic bin set up someone posted for me, and I am still wondering, who prefers plastic bins to other methods and why? also, do I go with a smaller bin to start off with, or do I buy the size they will be as adults right off the bat, or what? also, how do you heat plastic? Minnesota winters are COLD and I am going to need temp assistance in the winter.

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Originally Posted by Gurgie

so anyway, I am reading the plastic bin set up someone posted for me, and I am still wondering, who prefers plastic bins to other methods and why? also, do I go with a smaller bin to start off with, or do I buy the size they will be as adults right off the bat, or what? also, how do you heat plastic? Minnesota winters are COLD and I am going to need temp assistance in the winter.

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Well, my vote is for plastic, that works for me! I'm going to be putting my '06's in 15 quart tubs. In fact, some of my '05's are in 15 quart and like the snug fit (but that's in a rack).

Smaller is better to start off with. And if you go with tubs, they're affordable enough to upgrade when needed.

Why do I like them? Easier to maintain proper heat and humidity and none of mine in tubs or the rack have fasted (knock on wood).

I prefer the plastic to tanks, although I never thought I would. :rolleyes: I hate trying to heat tanks, it drives me nuts.

I would recommend plastic over a tank, because it's easier to clean and maintain the proper heat and humidity requirements. I would start off with a smaller bin and work your way up to adult size. They're not that expensive, so you can provide the perfect sized environment. (another big plus to plastic) Heating is done the same as you would for a tank. The temps on the heat tape/heater should never be high enough to melt the plastic. (which is why a thermostat is so very important!!) For winter's I would suggest a small room heater to boost the ambiant temps.

You should also try the search function. I know we have a couple good threads about this exact thing. :D

christie and robin are right, plastic storage bins are muy bien!


I have had no trouble with mine and yet the 50 gallon tank we have still drives me insane!

The best thing I like about the plastic bins is how easy it is to clean and get into as well as pick up and move around if needed. It holds humidity well and since Lola is entering her first shed since shes been with us it was no trouble putting the humidity up..just move the water dish closer to the warm side!

Its nice having a tank set up so friends can admire your snake and you can watch it interact with all its surroundings at night...but if you plan on owning more than one snake..got plastics!!

ha that should be rubbermaids new slogan...."If you plan on owning more than one snake....make it rubbermaid!"

cool....so i think i am going to move Nag into a plastic bin, and have Nagaina;s ready to go for when she gets here.

few more questions if you dont mind...
can you use a heat lamp for temp controls? if yes, how without melting the plastic? is flex-tape or a uth better for plastic? am I going to need some sort of artificial light for them? if yes, do I go incandescent or fluorescent?

If you have room temps of 78 or so, you shouldn't need heat lamps. I don't particularly like them, but you could use them if you cut out the lid of the rubbermaid and put some hardware cloth there. I would just use flexwatt. That is what is in my racks. Belly heat rocks!!

You shouldn't need any artificial light if your room has a window and has good old sunlight available. If you wanted to create artificial light, I don't think it would matter between the two. Your preference?

well, we've had are firts (possibly second) really nice day today, I think summer has finally arrived. thermostat says its 82 in here today lol (no A/C)

so if its that warm in the room, do I still need heating assistance? looks like I might only need the heating units in wintertime

so would I put nag near the window, in direct sunlight, or just near it?

flexwatt tape wont melt the plastic of a bin?

The warm room is only to keep the cool side temps at about 82 or so. You will still need the flexwatt to create a warm side of 92-94. You don't want the room so hot that the entire cage is 92. It doesn't allow the snake to thermoregulate. You also need the be able to keep those temps up at night too. :D

Just having it in a room with sunlight is fine. It doesn't need to be in direct sunlight. Mine are across the room, so that the sunlight doesn't affect my temps too much.

so if the ambient temp reaches 90 or more, which is not unusual in the summer here with no a/c, do I need to think about cooling down the inside of the cool side of the tank? i mean, if its bad for the whole thing to be "hot" how would I cool things down so that he still has a cool side of the tank to go to if he needs to?

Dont heat your whole bin if not neccessary

I keep a uth on half of the bin and a heat bulb (yucky i know) outside the tank (about a 60w) which helps heat up my hot end and doesnt get my plastic hot. The rest gets to be the right temp just from your warm end getting in the 90's.

Cooling it down is easy...Just open the cage...turn on a fan!
You should be checking on your enclosure often throughout the day. I do it a few times in the morning and my boyfriend checks on it in the evening.
We have weird weather here so its a must...no temp stays the same for to long in WI!

Once it gets warm outside all you'll need is your flex watt or your uth. I keep an extra heating pad around just incase my middle temp isnt warm enough, and I also use it for my back! gots those pains..need backeyotomy! (thank goodness my grampy has those old heating pads without the 2 hour shutt off.)

Oh and your do infact need a cooler side. Remember if your bp was in the wild it would be in a den chillen most of the day not drying up in the heat.

youll get it all right...just keep messing around and trying new things to see what works best!