Question on setup

soooo im getting my new baby ball sunday (hopefully) nowww instead of a glass tank im thinking of going with the plastic tub route because 1 its alot cheaper, 2 it helps hold humity, 3 its not see through so maybe it'll help him feel secure, 4, easier to hide, seeing my parrents wont kno about him lol. Now i been seeing that they dont need a tall setup, but more lengthy, so i saw this tub at walmart but want your guys' opinions.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-...ndingMethod=rr
also yes im im using a heat pad, buuut how would that work for plastic? i saw somewhere they have a hard time sticking to plastic so put some ducktape buuut idk, what you guys think?

Honestly the one main thing I am concerned about is the fact that your parents aren't going to know about it...how are you going to get food inside to the snake or if needed get it to the vet? Worse yet, what if it were to escape and your parents kill it because there is a snake in their house?

well honestly if they new i had a snake they'd make me get rid of it ASAP, i already have 1 that they dont kno about, and i have frozen pinkies for it in my mini fridge upstairs soo frozen food isnt a problem cause i cranked the coldness in it, so food = no problem. If it gets sick i can find a right time during the day to take it. I love animals and beginning to like snakes and have always wanted 1 buuut parrents are scared of them and say i have to wait till i move out, but that could be a while with the economic problems... and the snake wont get out of my roo, i make sure of it by putting things under the door to block it off. so hiding it is no problem.

I did the same thing as you when I was a kid. My mother is terrified of snakes and despite having wanted one since I was a baby I was not allowed to keep one. Eventually my dad found my snake and gave him to some random dirty pet store and I was kicked out of my house for several weeks. I was immature and irresponsible I regret it every day because that poor snake probably died or was sold to another teenager that took even worse care of it. Now that I'm an adult I work in fostering animals partially to make up for what happened with that snake.

Seriously consider your actions and the consequences of what may happen to the animals you are taking care of if you break your family's house rules.

honestly i already thought about it, and i kno what they will say cause i believe i heard them say it " Either snake goes or you go" aaand i can give to my friend which is like down the street so im not worried about parrents finding or anything cause i got the best spot ever, buuuut enough about my parrents and rules and what not, what about the plastic tub in the pic? good not good or what?

I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to say here and now...this is me, going on record here...getting a snake and hiding it from your parents, be it a tub OR tank, is a Very Bad Idea that will probably not end well for you or, more importantly the snake.

I wanted a pet snake for my whole childhood...getting to "temporarily" have "pet" snakes when my dad would catch a garter snake for me from time to time wasn't enough...I wanted one I could keep forever. Yet my mom was phobic of snakes.

I waited until I was in college and moved out, and got myself my first Ball Python. :D I actually did have him at my 'rent's house for a while, too...since I ended up moving back in with them some time later. But I was up-front about it...and it ended up being okay.

Now I'm an adult, I live in my own space, and I have a freakin' PILE of constrictor snakes. Heck, just brought the newest addition home tonight...asked no-one's permission and needed no-one's permission. Patience pays off, wait until you get permission or until you live on your own and don't NEED their permission! ;)

Maybe there's a reason your 'rents don't want another snake in the house. Maybe they see you as being immature or irresponsible and thus not deserving of being in charge of a living being, especially what ammounts to a delicate exotic pet. I mean, after all, if you are considering hiding your Ball Python from them, then you can't possibly be all that mature or responsible. Yeah, parents can suck sometimes when it comes to restrictive rules but it's often for a reason. :P

Here's something else to consider...what happens if your snake gets an infection? Do you have the funds or transportation needed to get it to a vet? What happens if the snake hurts itself (hey, it can happen, know a guy who had a little newborn Boa who tried to push her nose through an airhole and cut her face) and needs treatment?

Getting a pet is a big decision. If you haven't got your parent's permission...please, for the sake of the snake, don't. If you REALLY want a Ball, do what I did: wait until you move out. :P (this, btw, is totally the same way I went about getting tattoos and piercings. XD)

honestly i appreciate your guys' thoughts and opinions but ima do what ima do, like either way ima get it and take care of it cause if im this passionate about wanting it, ima make sure i take care of it and keep things proper, i got piercings and tattoos, aswell. My parrents said i had to wait till i moved out. i came home ears pierced, then told my mom i was getting my eyebrow done, eventually and total iv'e had 6 piercings, 4 remaining, they're tolerant of them now but i went off and did it anyways, same with tattoo i went off did it and came home. So either way im going to get ANOTHER snake, seeing i already have 1 and hes in fine condition and everything. Id love to wait till i move out, buuut that could be a long time and i really dont want to have to wait for possibly years seeing my town has the highest unnemployment ratings in the state.... That being said, like i stated, i appreciate your thoughts and concerns, but im getting it anyways, now seeing im getting it regardless, can i just get tips/info about a plastic tub. Thats the reason i came here, to get as much info as i can so i dont have to worry about making mistakes and all the things u guys listead that could happen with the snake itself.

I was living at home and keeping a Iguana hidden from my parents. They had no clue I had this thing, I was careful about bringing him out and getting supplies into the house. He was a yearling when I went camping with a friend, my mom had found him :O Well she was more worried about the light (on timer) and the under tank heater, this was left on. My mom had thought I forgot to turn these things off! So she unplugged it all during mid winter, closed the heater vent in my room since nobody was going to be in their. Needless to say my Iguanna froze to death :( It sounds to me like you could keep your snakes as you seem to have some control over your parents. Whatever you do, your going to do what you want anyway, dont make the mistake I did! Maybe once you get the BP tell them you have had BOTH of them for a year already, they might just let it go as they had no clue that they were even in the house for so long ;)

Good Luck!

the tub looks fine, make sure it has good flow of fresh air!

We are mentioning what could possibly happen to the snake itself because we are worried about the future welfare of the snake. I am going to wait for the day when you make a thread on here that is something along the lines of this "HELPPPPPP! My snake has a (insert problem here) and I don't know what to do!" Like Kyle said, what are you going to do if something happens to this snake and it requires a pricy vet bill? Could you afford it? Do you have a way to get the animal there? If you were worried about making mistakes, you would take the time to COMPLETELY think this out instead of just getting what you want. What you want isn't always what you need.

The BP you may be getting could have something it could pass on to your other snake. So, do you plan to quarantine your new snake? You say you block off the door to make sure they can't get out. Do you put a towel underneath your door on the outside or something?

Now, my answer to your question is; that tub looks just fine. You can secure the UTH to the tub with foil tape instead of duct tape. Are you going to use a thermostat to control the temperature of the UTH?

The pricey vet bill depends on parents. My parents for instance would look at the costs, a $30 dollar python requiring a $200 vet bill would be a new python for me. And being a kid I would have been OK with that. My Iguana got replaced, I even got a better set up out of the deal. At the time I was happy, today being more responsible and compassionate to animals something like that would not be acceptable. I guess what they are trying to say is once you have your own place to stay YOU become a different person. You are way more responsible, make better choices, and will take things into consideration. Hiding a snake is not the responsible thing to do, neither was hiding my Iguana. I did it, you are doing it, would I do it over again? Yes, reason being I was a kid, I knew best, lol. Its a part of growing up, all we ask is you take responsibility for your animals. I hope you have a job, even a paper route, lol.

Okay okay. Enough with all the lectures...jeeze. While it will most likely turn out bad (aka their parental units will FREAK), keep in mind the origional question. Nothing yall say will prob make them change their mind about getting a snake...

So moving on to the origional question...
Yeah, looks good. I went to WalMart to get my tubs too. I did the Rubbermade "Roughneck" or whatever brand because it's more for outdoor storage, so you can rest assured it won't melt/warp from the heat coming from the UTH(s) under the tub. I really like the locking lids too. I do use a bungee cord around the middle when transporting the cages and to make sure they can't escape. Be sure to burn lots of tiny air holes all around them though (as I'm sure you already planned).

Well...good luck with your snake and with you parents! Hope I helped

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Originally Posted by tiny_tiger60978

Okay okay. Enough with all the lectures...jeeze. While it will most likely turn out bad (aka their parental units will FREAK), keep in mind the origional question. Nothing yall say will prob make them change their mind about getting a snake...

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I have a little brother and he has the same mindset as this kid does, so I know that nothing is going to make this kid change his mind. I don't think that asking pertinent questions is considered "lecturing". He has the right to ask for help, so we have the right to make sure that this kid is going to do right by the snake.

I did answer his question at the end. I can only hope that even though he is too impatient to wait to get another snake and is going against his parent's rules, that he can afford to and will give the snakes the care they deserve.

"Ima do what ima do?" Seriously? My inner former-English-major just died a little. ;)

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We are mentioning what could possibly happen to the snake itself because we are worried about the future welfare of the snake. I am going to wait for the day when you make a thread on here that is something along the lines of this "HELPPPPPP! My snake has a (insert problem here) and I don't know what to do!" Like Kyle said, what are you going to do if something happens to this snake and it requires a pricy vet bill? Could you afford it? Do you have a way to get the animal there? If you were worried about making mistakes, you would take the time to COMPLETELY think this out instead of just getting what you want. What you want isn't always what you need.

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...THIS. This right here. Quoted because it needs saying over and over again.

Snakes are cool as heck. They're awesome. Total freaking potato-chips...can't have just one! Look at me, sweating to death since I'm heating my bedroom for the comfort of my snakes. I drove two hours out and two hours back to pick up my new little Retic last night. My snake count is high enough that people at work ask "hay Kyle, how many you got now" and I have to actually stop and count. Having snakes is awesome, I love them and reccomend them as pets to a lot of people.

HOWEVER.

They are living beings. Their WHOLE DANG LIVES are dependent upon us. We decide, for good or ill, their quality of life. Our choices affect them and choosing badly or unwisely can be disastrous for that innocent little legless animal. Choosing to get a snake because "ima do what ima do" doesn't sound like this person has the snake's well-being in mind. Wanting a snake is fine...wanting a snake at the potential cost of that snake's well-being is not cool.

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Id love to wait till i move out, buuut that could be a long time and i really dont want to have to wait for possibly years seeing my town has the highest unnemployment ratings in the state....

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Yah, no sympathies here. When I lived with my parents, I had a conservative haircut, no tats or piercings, and the most exotic pet I owned was a large irate black cat. I wanted a snake in the worst way.

And I waited for it. FOR YEARS. I was maybe four or five when I asked for a pet snake for the first time, when my dad started letting me follow him on trips into the swamps and bogs up north. He'd catch me little river snakes and garter snakes...and I could keep them for a week but then he always made me let them go. I wanted to keep a snake as a pet forever in the WORST WAY.

Know how old I was when I bought my first pet snake? TWENTY ONE. So that's...what. Maybe fifteen years or more?

Patience is a virtue, dude.

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Thats the reason i came here, to get as much info as i can so i dont have to worry about making mistakes and all the things u guys listead that could happen with the snake itself.

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So you do have a contingency plan for if the snake gets sick? Or if your folks find it when you aren't there and potentially chop it into pieces?

See...what I want comes second to what the animal(s) needs. Always has and always will. Hence my worry when I see someone who is possibly putting their wants before those needs.

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My parents for instance would look at the costs, a $30 dollar python requiring a $200 vet bill would be a new python for me.

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Heh, my dad kindof still has that sort of mentality. Should have heard the ruckus he made when I put myself into debt to save my puppy. Adoption fee for little Cricket was like $60. Two broken front legs and about two thousand dollars later... ;)

And I must say my little mutt is worth every penny. :D

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Okay okay. Enough with all the lectures...jeeze. While it will most likely turn out bad (aka their parental units will FREAK), keep in mind the origional question. Nothing yall say will prob make them change their mind about getting a snake...

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Bolded emphasis mine.

I'm certain this kid is gonna do what he's gonna do, hence the "ima do what ima do" part (I seriously had to sit back and re-read that a few times) but when the nasty brown gunk hits the fan, I'd like the moral high ground to say "yeah we told you so."

For the sake of his hypothetical Ball Python (whom I sincerely pity) I cannot keep from voicing my concerns over his incredibly dishonest, irresponsible plans.