my noobie setup- need some feedback

this is my setup for a bp im pickin up at a show in 2 weeks. after a month of studying i decided to start settin up to get everything right before i get him.
i spent a decent amount of money buying different things to see what will work. right now i have an 11x11 uth (1 inch over 1/3 of tank) on the left side(on rheostat). 75 watt light on a dimmer. digital thermo/hygrometer. for belly temps i use an infrared temp gun, i use them at work so i know they are very accurate. ive got it hooked up and heatin right now been about an hour and air temp isnt getting there, i also have a 100 watt setup with day and night bulb thats in the mail, in case the 75 wont do it. does this look decent for starting? what should i add/take out/change? lemme know!

http://i45.tinypic.com/jk7qm0.jpg

Tank might be alittle big depending on the size of the BP. Also if you do get away with keeping it in the tank you need to cover all sides except the front with something. Cork board is the best to keep the heat in. Also tin foil the lid except the place where u have the light to keep humidity up. Might need a bigger water bowl or 2 to keep humidity up as well.
Also might need to add some foilage to make him seem more safe. Once you do those things I think you should be set.

Add:

2 Accurites in the tank. Probs go in the hides and the units will measure the humidity and temps on the sides. Also a cheap thermostat would work sooo much better than what you have and it's only 30 bucks. Look into the ReptiTemp 500R. Good for just a single tank setup. I use it for my rack system and love it.

thanks for th advice i just went and bought black duct tape for the foil for the top, black paperboard for the glass.

i dont see the point in putting thermostats on such a small cage. if i set my rheostats to the right temp and check it daily which i will, there shouldnt be a problem. if i ever get real serious and get a rack setup then of course ill rock it all. i just think keeping things simple prevents other problems. just my thought- correct me if im crazy!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ls1goat04

thanks for th advice i just went and bought black duct tape for the foil for the top, black paperboard for the glass.

i dont see the point in putting thermostats on such a small cage. if i set my rheostats to the right temp and check it daily which i will, there shouldnt be a problem. if i ever get real serious and get a rack setup then of course ill rock it all. i just think keeping things simple prevents other problems. just my thought- correct me if im crazy!

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That's good.
Ppl here are all gonna say Thermostat. The 500R doesn't but the Ranco's, Helix and what nots have a fail safe on them to not over heat devices their heating. As long as you check the temps youll be fine. Thermostats just keeps my mind at ease knowing if I'm gone awhile it won't get to cold or hot. I had my Spider in quarantine with a dimmer on the UTH so you should really be fine. All that really matters is that it's controlled seeing they reach temps around 132 my accurite read one time when testing the UTH.
As long as you ball eats, poops and pees and you meet the normal husbandry temps and humidity requirements then you all good.

BTW side note:
Im guessing you own a 2004 5.7L GTO?

thanks bud- my humidity is up from 18% to 50% by foiling the top and cardboarding the sides and back(temporary). air temp is 85, inside cool hide is 82 and i am still setting the hotside. its at 100 right now, turned it down tryin to fine tune to around 92 or so.

i use to have an 04 gto, had the ls1(5.7l) with a lunati g5x3 cam, fuddle 3600 stall, kooks lt headers into slp catback with catless mids, custom built cai. dyno tuned at 391rwhp 356rwtq and put down 12.46 at 108 in the 1/4 mile. miss the car a bunch but at the time couldnt handle 6-8mpg! now drivin an 06 titan 4x4. still shoppin for an 05-06 with the ls2, had one of those as well and loooovvvveddd it!

The problem I have with rheostats is that they can still spike, even when dimmed down. A thermostat will prevent heat spikes and keep the UTH at a constant heat regardless of room temperature.

I used to use a rheostat but I was constantly adjusting it and it would often reach dangerously high temps.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ls1goat04

thanks bud- my humidity is up from 18% to 50% by foiling the top and cardboarding the sides and back(temporary). air temp is 85, inside cool hide is 82 and i am still setting the hotside. its at 100 right now, turned it down tryin to fine tune to around 92 or so.

i use to have an 04 gto, had the ls1(5.7l) with a lunati g5x3 cam, fuddle 3600 stall, kooks lt headers into slp catback with catless mids, custom built cai. dyno tuned at 391rwhp 356rwtq and put down 12.46 at 108 in the 1/4 mile. miss the car a bunch but at the time couldnt handle 6-8mpg! now drivin an 06 titan 4x4. still shoppin for an 05-06 with the ls2, had one of those as well and loooovvvveddd it!

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Glad the foil and board helped. After awhile it the lamp won't need need to be on that often either.
And nice numbers on the GTO. 6-8 mpg or not that thing sounded nasty.
Anyways haha. Sounds like once you get the final fine tuning done on the hot hide you should be good.

got all my temps set perfectly. humidity where im at sucksss. i just bought a humidifier and sealed the room up so we will see if that helps. also bought a sponge if all else fails.

If you decide after owning yours for a while that BP's are for you, then check out these websites (in no particular order):

http://www.repti-racks.com/index.php...&id=1&Itemid=1

http://www.constrictorsnw.com/home.html

http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermostats/

http://www.boaphileplastics.com/

http://www.petmountain.com/

http://www.herpsupplies.com/index.cfm

http://www.rodentpro.com/index.asp

These are just a few of the best resources and people to deal with that I have found in the 2 years I've been keeping snakes. The plastic enclosures are much easier to control temps and humidity in than glass (that's how I started too).

Good luck with your first snake! I hope you learn from it and share your knowledge with others.

Thanks for the advice. I know I made a bad choice. I should have bought a tin setup would have Ben way cheaper. Now I'm stuck with this setup. Kinda mad. I cannot get my humidity up over 50 for more than an hour. Around 45% all day with a mist goes to 55 for an hour. Before the humidifier was only 20. So if I buy a rack setup there's 500 down the drain for this tank. What would yall do? Money doesn't matter but the point is I wasted a bunch!

sorry bout that last post my phone sucks. neway my air temp is 81.6. humidity is 49% without spraying, just from the humidifier on all day. hot side is 92.3 cool side is 79 inside the hide. is this adequate for my new pet?from allll the stuff ive read this is pretty good. ive read some overkill setups and some definite neglect ones so i think im ok. still gonna do a rack when i have some more room!

get rid of the dimmer switch , its not worth the hassle of constantly adjusting it.
I had the dimmer switch setup for a while but found it very time consuming to keep adjusting it since the ambient temp of the room fluctuates too much.

I ended up spending more in the end since I had to buy a ranco anyway.

they do the job if you don't have any choice , or if you're waiting for one to be delivered. But I wouldn't use one long term.

so redid the tank. fixed the humidity problems with changing the substrate from carpet to aspen. went from 35 to 70 with a light mist, settled at 60%. All i need now is to fill it some more with plants or something. temps are 83.4 ambient, 93.8 hot side and 78 on the cool side. sound ok? also changed to a red light so i can run it 24/7. i have a timer but im afraid if i cut 2 holes in my foil for 2 lights itll kill the humidity.

i am awaiting my ranco thermostat. should be here this week. take out the hassle of adjusting like you said.

heres a pic, whacha think so far? got it almost perfect for next week when i find a bp. sorry bout the mess lol got the moss everywhere!

http://i47.tinypic.com/rwhpol.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BeastMaster

If you decide after owning yours for a while that BP's are for you, then check out these websites (in no particular order):

http://www.repti-racks.com/index.php...&id=1&Itemid=1

http://www.constrictorsnw.com/home.html

http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermostats/

http://www.boaphileplastics.com/

http://www.petmountain.com/

http://www.herpsupplies.com/index.cfm

http://www.rodentpro.com/index.asp

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I will add this link. It is always good to keep a can of Provent-A-Mite on hand...
http://www.pro-products.com/

thanks for all the replies guys. i filled the cage, hopefully this will be a perfect setup even tho i know the tank is a little big for a baby. thanks again!

http://i48.tinypic.com/2ur9ifs.jpg

It looks great :)

Such an improvement on the first picture posted!

thanks a bunch! allll i need is my ranco thermostat then ill be done. only about 400 dollars later. should have done tubs! lol ill build a rack this spring if i end up lovin my snake.

Kaorte mayb ill see ya out at the tinley show~ thats where im pickin one up.

NICE!! That looks GREAT. Glad you go it good now. Have fun picking out your new little guy/girl.
Any kind of morphs in mind or getting a nice normal?

mojave or lemon pastel have got my interest so far. most likely a bright pastel so if i get into it enough to breed i can go for a super, one of my favs. nice and simple lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ls1goat04

thanks a bunch! allll i need is my ranco thermostat then ill be done. only about 400 dollars later. should have done tubs! lol ill build a rack this spring if i end up lovin my snake.

Kaorte mayb ill see ya out at the tinley show~ thats where im pickin one up.

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Cool! I think I am getting a rainbow boa at the tinley show if I can find a nice one for a decent price :) :D

Just do a wet hide with some spaghum moss, directions are on the site or google it. That will bring up the humidity quite a bit, and when more is needed they go inside. It works for me, but I'm leaning towards a tub when mine outgrows the 10 gallon tank.