Set up for new snake

So things are still moving along.

Tracking says my herpstat 2 will be here monday. I went with the new redline one and added a pack of extra fuses. I figured for the extra few bucks the redline would look cool with the red LED lighting we are planning.

I have ordered the following from Amazon and with prime it will be here Monday as well.

Nubee® Temperature Gun Non-contact Infrared Thermometer w/ Laser Sight
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Etekcity Ultra Thin 22lb (10kg) Professional Digital Multifunction Kitchen Food Scale
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Extech 445815 Humidity Meter with Alarm and Remote Probe
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Zoo Med ReptiTherm® Under Tank Heater, Small
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And just in case the ZooMed does not work or give enough heat I got the following as a backup:

Exo Terra Heatwave Desert
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Petco has the the coconut husk substrate. I was hoping to find cypress mulch locally, but can not. As it is pretty dry here I need something that will hold moisture well and coconut and cypress seemed highly recommended here so I'm going to give it a try. If it does not work well for us, we will try something else.

So tomorrow we head to down and pick up the tub and the substrate.

A few questions, will the audible alarm of the hygrometer scare the snake or should I just not use that feature?

Probes??? I know this has been covered but I am still a little confused. I have read the probe should go directly on the pad. Wouldn't it make more sense to put the probe on the inside of the enclosure on the floor so the herpstat could be set to keep that area at 90 degrees? What is the benefit of putting the probe outside the tub and setting the herpstat to 100 degrees so it is 90 degrees inside when I can just set the herpstat to keep the the exact temperature I want. If it needs to go on the outside does it go between the enclosure and the pad or under the pad?

And yes, I know I am high maintenance. Thank you for sticking with me :) I just want to get this right the first time.

Yes you will have to get bigger sizes as it grows. On the Reptile Basics site under each size of hide it has a description of the size ball it will best house.

If you find yourself with hides that are a bit to large I have had success putting moss inside to make it feel smaller. This also works well during sheds as you can dampen the moss and create a humid hide to help the shed process.

You certainly can make hides and the dollar store or thrift shop can be a good place to find bowls for it. Just cut a door, round the edges, and your done.

You want the probe outside the cage so it can not be moved or flooded. I put my probes between the mat and cage floor.

If the snake moves it up or off the floor the tstat will register low temps and ramp up the power there by causing the tstat to run away and get to hot putting your snake at risk.

Also if the snake flips its water or urinates on the probe the tstat will again register low temps and ramp up like above.

Snakes do not have ears. That's why they never come when called. So the alarm should not be a problem. Your Herpstat also has alarms you can set to let you know if the temp gets to hot or cold. I use mine, they are handy. I'll let you google how they detect things.

You could pick up ecoearth at any garden center aswell... its just a block of compressed coco substrate that you submerge in water and it expands! IT is extremely good for humidity aswell as its resistance to mold/harbor bacteria unlock some other wooden mulch's

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Originally Posted by CORBIN911

You could pick up ecoearth at any garden center aswell... its just a block of compressed coco substrate that you submerge in water and it expands! IT is extremely good for humidity aswell as its resistance to mold/harbor bacteria unlock some other wooden mulch's

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Thanks! That sounds as if it will be cheaper then petco and can probably be purchased in larger quantities. My husband has brought up a concern, if it is gotten at the garden center is there any quality control in respects to it having insects or whatever in it?

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Originally Posted by KMG

You want the probe outside the cage so it can not be moved or flooded. I put my probes between the mat and cage floor.

If the snake moves it up or off the floor the tstat will register low temps and ramp up the power there by causing the tstat to run away and get to hot putting your snake at risk.

Also if the snake flips its water or urinates on the probe the tstat will again register low temps and ramp up like above.

Snakes do not have ears. That's why they never come when called. So the alarm should not be a problem. Your Herpstat also has alarms you can set to let you know if the temp gets to hot or cold. I use mine, they are handy. I'll let you google how they detect things.

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Makes sense to me.

I also considered the Herpstat 4 which would allow me to run the two heaters and by the humidity probe, so everything would be monitored by the one unit. Maybe that will be an upgrade :)

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Originally Posted by moorea

Thanks! That sounds as if it will be cheaper then petco and can probably be purchased in larger quantities. My husband has brought up a concern, if it is gotten at the garden center is there any quality control in respects to it having insects or whatever in it?

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Not really with Ecoearth, its compressed dry brick really all it is. Worst case youll get 2 types of "bugs" and they are 100% unharmful but they actually help by "eating" any fecal left over from spot cleans, i forget what they are called but someone could chim in if they knew! but i buy mine from there its about 10$ for a brick of it, then just expand under water... Even at pet stores that subtrate is still "cheap" compared to others

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CORBIN911

Not really with Ecoearth, its compressed dry brick really all it is. Worst case youll get 2 types of "bugs" and they are 100% unharmful but they actually help by "eating" any fecal left over from spot cleans, i forget what they are called but someone could chim in if they knew! but i buy mine from there its about 10$ for a brick of it, then just expand under water... Even at pet stores that subtrate is still "cheap" compared to others

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the little helpers would be springtails, they eat bacteria and fungus, and amphibian keepers and people with vivariums actually pay to get the right ones. they often come with substrate because you can find them in every place where wood or leaves are rotting.

getting one kind of insect or another with the substrate is common. but its incredibly rare for these insects to be harmful in any way. the dangerous reptile mites dont occur randomly in nature, they are found on reptiles and around the hiding places of reptiles and nowhere else.

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Originally Posted by Pythonfriend

the little helpers would be springtails, they eat bacteria and fungus, and amphibian keepers and people with vivariums actually pay to get the right ones. they often come with substrate because you can find them in every place where wood or leaves are rotting.

getting one kind of insect or another with the substrate is common. but its incredibly rare for these insects to be harmful in any way. the dangerous reptile mites dont occur randomly in nature, they are found on reptiles and around the hiding places of reptiles and nowhere else.

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I've often wondered where the mites come from. When I had my Bernese Python backin the 90's we woke up one day and he mysteriously had mites. We had no other pets, he rarely if ever left the apartment. Took him to the vet, they suggested we rub olive oil all over him. All the mites pretty much fell off and died. We cleaned his tank really well and never had another problem again. I was at Colorado State University at the time. They have a really good veterinary school so that is where I took. It was kind of cool, it seems they do not get many snakes (or at least didn't back then) so when I made the appointment they made sure as many students would be free to watch. We were in a huge room made for viewing and my snake got a VERY thorough examination, probably much more then needed for a visit for mites!