First time BP owner setup + ordering?

Spyder Robotics is doing a 10% off summer sale.

http://spyderrobotics.com/

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Originally Posted by BrianDallek

I'm not sure why everyone (KMG & Corbin911) have such a hard on for my wording and choice of a "great cheap thermostat". First off the thermostat this person used was not named in that thread and not all sub $50 thermostats are the same. Second off the thermostat I recommended DOES HAVE a safety feature that shuts it off the unit upon failure. So let me once again say the tstat that I recommended is in fact within the parameters of cheaper thermostats a great cheap one. And it would be a disservice to not mention which options are best at different price points. I happened to present a good cheaper option. So rather than bash anything that you deem not the right choice, please just try to present your own options for her without generalizing anything cheap as bad.

From Zilla's website: "An added safety feature automatically shuts off the heating system if terrarium temperature exceeds 110°F due to heater malfunction or excessive sunlight."

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Not ONCE did we BASH what you said, were TELLING her best investment... Your thermostat should be your Best investment in snake keeping as a 110$ piece of equipment, can and will hold Thousands of dollars of snakes, Mines roughly protecting over 35,000$ of snakes, on just 1.... So yes dont cheap out if you dont need too.. it will HOLD its value!

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Originally Posted by CORBIN911

Not ONCE did we BASH what you said, were TELLING her best investment... Your thermostat should be your Best investment in snake keeping as a 110$ piece of equipment, can and will hold Thousands of dollars of snakes, Mines roughly protecting over 35,000$ of snakes, on just 1.... So yes dont cheap out if you dont need too.. it will HOLD its value!

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Well I said you had a hard on for my wording, which you two did. You used it in quotes a few times as if I was committing some sort of sin, lol. Second I didn't say you bashed what I said. I said you bashed a product before you even took the time to look at it. You saw that it was cheap and made assumptions like that it didn't have a safety off feature, which it does.

This thermostat does have a safety off feature. You do not put the probe in the tank so usually the probe is higher than the actual inside temp. That said if it were to fail it isn't going to jump up to 109 degrees and sit for hours. If it fails, which any thermostat can..including yours, it will probably jump up to 110 within a few minutes and then shut off causing no damage to your snake. Is your thermostat recommendation better...Absolutely, but is mine bad..nope. I'm not sure how in the heck this came to me defending a great cheap thermostat option, but dare I say there may have been some opinion bullying. I mean geese KMG is keeping his ball in an aquarium and is making up phrases like "Naturalistic glass tanks". I sense some insecurities and therefor I will just step away from this conversation and probably trying to help anybody on this site if the BPnet veterans are going to police it day and night.

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Originally Posted by BrianDallek

Well I said you had a hard on for my wording, which you two did. You used it in quotes a few times as if I was committing some sort of sin, lol. Second I didn't say you bashed what I said. I said you bashed a product before you even took the time to look at it. You saw that it was cheap and made assumptions like that it didn't have a safety off feature, which it does.

This thermostat does have a safety off feature. You do not put the probe in the tank so usually the probe is higher than the actual inside temp. That said if it were to fail it isn't going to jump up to 109 degrees and sit for hours. If it fails, which any thermostat can..including yours, it will probably jump up to 110 within a few minutes and then shut off causing no damage to your snake. Is your thermostat recommendation better...Absolutely, but is mine bad..nope. I'm not sure how in the heck this came to me defending a great cheap thermostat option, but dare I say there may have been some opinion bullying. I mean geese KMG is keeping his ball in an aquarium and is making up phrases like "Naturalistic glass tanks". I sense some insecurities and therefor I will just step away from this conversation and probably trying to help anybody on this site if the BPnet veterans are going to police it day and night.

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The fact remains that cheap tstats are far more likely to fail and when they fail to cause problems. You also don't seem to understand that I OWNED the very tstat you are recommending and it FAILED on me and when it failed it still had power. It did NOT shut off.

As for your comment about my naturalistic keeping. Take a look at my profile pics and you will see that I prefer to keep naturalistic cages when possible. That means I present the animals in more than just a box with a hide, bowl, and mulch. I keep two glass tanks still, they are in my living room. Why? I prefer the way they look so I keep them. I also have several pvc cages and a rack. Different types of housing for different kinds of snakes with different needs. There are several books on the topic, a topic you obviously didnt know existed.

To expand you knowledge on this google words like terrarium and vivarium. Im not the only keeper that does this and it can be very complex and advanced to do so.

From Merriam-Webster:
nat·u·ral·is·tic adjective \ˌna-chə-rə-ˈlis-tik, ˌnach-rə-\

: looking like what appears in nature : not looking artificial or man-made
: using naturalism in art or literature : showing people or things as they really are

Check out this book = The Art of Keeping Snakes

"From author Philippe de Vosjoli, “art is the actualization of a personal vision or message,” and de Vosjoli’s passion is snakes, which he believes are among the most beautiful animals on earth. Incorporating snakes into a naturalistic vivarium, the way lizards and amphibians usually are, adds a new element to snake keeping, elevating the hobby to a true art form."

http://www.amazon.com/Keeping-Snakes...listic+keeping

This is also a good book
http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Terrar...ral+terrariums

I am not trying to bully anybody and do not feel that I have. However, you trying to insult me and my keeping just showed your ignorance on keeping.

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Originally Posted by jdhutton2000

I agree with Corbin, which I am coming to find I normally do..., Get the enclosure set up first. Ensure it is stable. Play with the thermostat in your house and see if it can hold temp/humidity based on that fluctuating. Take it from me, WAIT until a reptile show in your area. Small breeders are the way to go. I found a guy here in Denver and I will probably be going to him for everything. Great prices, more personal service and more willing to work one on one.

Congrats and good luck!!

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Thats exactly what I'll be doing as far as setting up before I get the snake. I wanna make sure everything is perfect BEFORE I put a living animal in there lol. I have HIGHLY considered going to a reptile show, but 1) Most of them are a pretty long drive from me and I don't drive. And most importantly, with so many animals on display I KNOW I'll end up buying more than one or ones that will push my budget lol When I go shopping for inanimate objects, I have no issues, but when it comes to animals.....Especially when you get to hold them >< I'm still considering, if I can get someone to drive me up as it would be great to talk to all the breeders.

Wow, thats not a bad total :D Thanks!

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Originally Posted by CORBIN911

Well alot of people dont fully know, and AT LEAST she said thermostat many people here dont have anything regulated so that too boot is a good start! Her being told of simpel yet extremly effective husbandry well let her set aside of all that crap pet stores throw at you and buy a nice tub/herpstat for equal if not less value! secondly checking forums, many people already sell racks+heat+thermostat, for many reasons upgrading to new rack, lowering amount of snakes or leaving hobby! she could get a steal possibly and find all three for a good 250-350$

And lastly super pastel are nothing shy of pricey, they are simple morphs now drowned out by everything else, a pastel is 50$... a super pastel maybe 100-200$ (young) And this is why i said EXPO itll let her see sooooooooo many morphs, style, paintjobs because even the same morph can ALL look soo different. 2 different line of super/pastel morphs can be low to bright yellow!

My biggest advice as already said is perfect your husbandry for the future if she wants multiple snakes, fork out that 430$ she has right now on a Rack+Thermostat because 1 rack will hold 5+ snakes... 3 pvc enclsures will hold 6+ but the price/value diffrence is emence, and well 1 tank is 1 snake! Hell she could even do a DIY rack like many others do for 100$ and spend 200$ on setup and have 250+(savings) for reptile show, put away 50$ a paycheck or however her income happens and save ahead for her Expo.. BHB is by no means bad, and as i said i would love for them to be here, but you WILL never ever get a deal from them as you will from a small local breeder/hobbyest paying for expenses. I was lucky enough to meet a medium sized breeder at an expo who wasn't selling lives 20mins from me i buy/barrow morphs all the time from him make my breeding program better! But that is my 2cents, I wish you best of luck with w.e direction you choose =)

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Thanks! As I said, I would love to go to a reptile show but I'm a little leery on my self control xD I'm really in no rush, as I'm just looking around online at prices and such. Nothing is really set in stone for me atm except the fact that I will be buying a BP sometime in the near future. I'm really still up in the air about morphs and breeders and all that haha

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Originally Posted by KMG

Talk about timing. This burn was created by a tstat in the same quality range as the "great cheap" one. The money saved on that tstat just went into vet bills, not cheap. That money could have gone into a great tstat and prevented the whole thing.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ners-Pic-heavy

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Wow wow wow. That is NOT good. I will def be getting a Herpstat 1 basic or Intro + I do not want to be frying my snakes. And when I get the cash I'll be replacing my Corn's thermostat as well. His heat mat states that it shuts off if the temps go over 90 so I'm not *too* worried but don't wanna risk it anyways. Thanks!

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Originally Posted by RedCloud

Thanks! As I said, I would love to go to a reptile show but I'm a little leery on my self control xD I'm really in no rush, as I'm just looking around online at prices and such. Nothing is really set in stone for me atm except the fact that I will be buying a BP sometime in the near future. I'm really still up in the air about morphs and breeders and all that haha

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Well thats good let it be that way, keep your eyes open, And possibly like i said consider a rack, Visually i like them, some like tanks/pvc cages for there appearance to "see snake" but in the end my happy snake is a pet rock in pvc cage all id see is the stuff inside, he was in his hide, And again Racks are just so nice to clean, put snake in lower tub, throw stuff in garbage, spray bleach mixture rub down, take to sink scolding hot water, wipe down again, clean as the plates i eat off of if not cleaner! THAT WAY ASWELL when you loose Self control.. which well WE ALL do at expo's youll have room for the 2+ babies you bring home :D

But like both I and K said will work check for your online reptile forums for "used" thing many people sell stuff for 50% less and its same quality just used, which wont effect you as long as you can use a damp rag. I spent over 3800$ to get my first ARS rack Shipping/duties/rack cost (US>canada) about 2 months ago i was able to buy 8 levels of the 7030 (no wheel base which i ordered for 280$ shipping and heat pannel) for 1500$ So i saved 2000$ and only missed out on 2 levels, Which was amazing deal Plus it came with a new in box herpstat 2 (redline edition) So its ALWAYS worth your time to skim over all classifieds and auctions on local forums over in the US

=)

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Originally Posted by bumblebee1028

We have used the Sterilite ClearView Latch tubs (clear bins with purple latches) with no escaping issues since we got our boys in December. I know some people use bungee cords, luggage straps, or binder clips to help keep the lid secure, especially with larger bins, but we have not needed to use anything other than the latches. We started them in the 15 qt bins, and recently switched them to 32 qt bins. We purchased them at Target - I'm pretty sure if you buy them online, you have to buy like 6 of them, so it'd probably be better to just look in the store. I think the 15 qt bins were about $5-6 each, and the 32 qt bins were about $8 each, but I'm not positive. They look like these: http://www.sterilite.com/SelectProdu...=252&section=1 and http://www.sterilite.com/SelectProdu...=252&section=1 An adult male ball python should be fine in a 32 qt bin, but an adult female will probably need a 41 qt bin.

Wherever you get your baby, ask the breeder what she's eating. It'd definitely be easiest if she's already on frozen/thawed rats, if that's what you want her to ultimately be on. I also would recommend going to a reptile show to purchase her, because it's cheaper (prices are generally lower and you save the cost of shipping), and you can actually see and handle her before you make a final decision. Shipping is also fairly stressful for them, so if you can avoid shipping, it's generally easier on the snake.

We have a Herpstat 1 and love it, and the Vivarium electronics thermostats are also supposed to be really good. They're pretty similar in price.
http://www.spyderrobotics.com/home/products.html
http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermostats

We built our own rack out of melamine, and we're using 4" THG heat tape. We purchased it from Reptile Basics, and it came pre-assembled at exactly the lengths I requested, so it was really easy.
http://www.reptilebasics.com/heat-tape

This thread is really helpful for setting up a tub: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...e-Basics-*DUW*
You can use the second method of attaching the heat mat (or in your case heat tape) to a piece of melamine so it's easier to clean the tubs, and when you switch tub sizes, you don't have to worry about moving the heat tape at all. I hope that makes sense.

To answer your last question, you shouldn't have any issues with housing her in the same room as your birds. There are several people who successfully keep mice, rats, etc. in the same room as their snakes. I have noticed that my bearded dragons (who are in the same room as our ball pythons) seem to notice and watch the snakes sometimes when they are moving about their tubs. I have no experience with birds, but you may want to consider if they can see each other when you're deciding where the snake's tub will be in relation to the birds.

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Thanks very much thats very helpful! I'm REALLY surprised you never had any escape issues with those tubs! I was looking at them and the sides and corners can VERY easily be pulled up. And BP's look like very strong snakes. I keep hearing they have a rep for just sitting in one place most of the time and don't move around much, but other people say they can be very active and good escape artists. I think I'll get a similar tub but also use some cords or velcro JIC I get a crazy Houdini snake.