So Stinkin Confused!!! (tank related!)

ok..
We bought a BEAUTIFUL Ball Python today!
'It' is aprox. 6 months old, bred in captivity by a reputable breeder in the area, but then sold from a pet shop.

We bought
a 20 gallon tank
a water bowl
a hide
a thermometer/hydrometer
substrate
a reptifogger, that isn’t working, going back tomorrow, but this is something we really wanted, maybe not 'needed'
a lamp
a 75 watt red bulb for the lamp
moss, that I soaked in water.
a handheld pump mister
an under tank heater

Tomorrow I plan to exchange the fogger and get the hydrotherm thermostat and another hide.

My IDEA.. that I THINK is right.. but not positive..

The UTH is on the right side of the tank, with a hide over it. I have the thermometer probe under the substrate on top of the UTH.

Then the light is on top of the screen, in the middle of the tank, with the waterbowl under it, surrounded by moist moss.

then on the left side, I was gonna put the other hide, and the tube of the fogger..

Not sure where to put the thermostat, because honestly Ive never used one..

Im so mad the petstore even LET us leave with no thermostat...

Does this set up seem right??

i would say bring everything back and get into tubs right away, it will save u money.

I dont think 'tubs' are an option for us because we have 6, 7 in march, children who would get into it! :)

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Originally Posted by mpkeelee

i would say bring everything back and get into tubs right away, it will save u money.

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You put the thermostat probe inbetween the glass and the uth because you don't want the snake moving the probe and making the heat kick on. Put the thermometer probe on the glass under the substrate and set the temp on the thermostat to 90-94 and the cool side should be 80-84 with a hide and the water bowl in the middle. You should not need the lamp unless the ambient temp in the room is below 75! A 20 gallon is way to big so clutter it up with lots or plants and stuff. Also cover the sides and top with black paper, insulation foam(keeps heat in) or newspaper to add security for the snake. I recommend the foam board to help the temps! Here is a great caresheet to help you out: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

-You do not need the fogger and I'm not real sure what a hand held mister is. I think most of us just use the plastic spray bottles from Wal-Mart or the Dollar stores.
-You are going to need 2 hides, snug and dark. Preferrably not the half logs. Cave type hides work best, and there are a variety of them availble, or you can use small flower pots or cheap plastic bowls with a hole cut in them. I prefer plastic hides because they are easy to clean.
-As was said above, you don't need the lamp unless the ambient temperature of the room gets below 75 degrees. There is nothing wrong with using a lamp, but you will need to be more vigilant with the humidity. One thing you can do to keep it up is to cover most of the the screen top with aluminum foil. When I was using screen top tanks, I wrapped foil around pieces of cardboard so that I could add or remove them as needed.
-For the Under Tank Heater, I do not recommend permanently sticking it on, (some come with adhesive to do this). Using Aluminum tape to hold the thermostat probe and UTH in place works great. It will hold and is also easy to remove if needed. I also recommend when taping the thermostat probe in place, to put the tape on the robe wire instead of the probe tip.
I hope this helps some...

FYI not on the care sheet. Do not use tape anywhere in the tank for any reason. I think tanks are fine as long as the husbandry is right. Tubs are definitely cheaper if your planning on more snakes. (Be careful this hobby is addicting) Also most pet stores dont know jack squat about the care of reptiles. I get disgusted when I see unhappy looking or even ill looking reptiles at local petstores. And I know everyone has there own opinion and uses for reptiles but when I see baby leos on sand substrate :mad: or when their tails are so thin, I just want to take them home and plump them up. Anyway good luck!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by corgigirl9

FYI not on the care sheet. Do not use tape anywhere in the tank for any reason. I think tanks are fine as long as the husbandry is right. Tubs are definitely cheaper if your planning on more snakes. (Be careful this hobby is addicting) Also most pet stores dont know jack squat about the care of reptiles. I get disgusted when I see unhappy looking or even ill looking reptiles at local petstores. And I know everyone has there own opinion and uses for reptiles but when I see baby leos on sand substrate :mad: or when their tails are so thin, I just want to take them home and plump them up. Anyway good luck!

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http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...48#post1412648

I have notices the vast majority of pet stores will have under tank heaters but not a single thermostat to control. it. this will more than likely be something you need to order online.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Maverick67

I have notices the vast majority of pet stores will have under tank heaters but not a single thermostat to control. it. this will more than likely be something you need to order online.

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They sell the zoo med, hydro therm controler, which I wanted to get ORIGINALLY! But they said waste of money! They also said waste of money to the UTH.

Ive already stucken the UTH to the bottom of the tank.. not sure how Im gonna solve this! espically getting the thermostat probe inbetween it! lol

They SENT me home with.. The snake, the tank, the lamp and bulb, substrate, a water bowl, 1 hide and a mister pump (like a normal spray bottle, but this was on clearance 90% because they updated the color, and was cheaper than the plain spray bottle) thats it.. LOL Not even a THERMOMOTER!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by corgigirl9

Tubs are definitely cheaper if your planning on more snakes. (Be careful this hobby is addicting)

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Ive been literally, reading these forums almost all night!!
Ive already hubby the pictures of the 4-3 underbed tubs stacked on top of each other with a UTH under each, plugged into a surge protector, plugged into a thermostat :)

Lets try my luck on uploading a pic!!

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...8/IMG_5417.jpg

Here ya go:

How I set up my glass tank.

Please read all the comments before you follow it. There is a tape inside the hide that holds down the thermometer probe. That tape shouldn't be anything but a painters tape (blue tape) - or just don't use tape at all.

Also, what I have found - the thermometer probe wires can get wound up around the snake - I have made it so that the probe wires are held down by the heavy "decor" stuff under the bedding and then run up behind the corkboard. I kept the corkboard inside the tank even after the comments against it. I don't have problems with it.

This is a "designer" set-up but should have the elementary requirements for a glass tank set-up. The decor is not just there for prettiness. They are there to provide "clutter" that is necessary for security. Open spaces in a glass tank are high stress areas for the snake. I added a lot more decor to this set-up before I put the snake back in. Just more of the fake plants hanging off the sides and providing a "canopy" kind of thing going. A lot of people cover all 3 sides of the tank with corkboard or dark paper.

Hope this helps.

If you use an indoor/outdoor thermometer with probe the box goes to the cool end to read that temperature, the probe snakes over to the hot spot and lays under the substrate to read the hot spot temp.
If you use aspen or other substrate and don't want to see the wire just tuck the wire under some substrate so it's out of sight.
If the wire runs under a heavy object as strong as they are I'd be worried they would pull the wire and knock over the heavy item possibly hurting themselves.
I've seen them move large heavy pieces of ornamental wood by pulling wires that were running under the wood.
The thermostat probe does not need to go between the UTH and the glass, just use strong tape and tape it against the UTH without taping over the probe(If the room is drafty then do cover the probe).

When you have the thermostat in place and the thermometer in place turn up the t-stat till the thermometer read 90-92 on the hot spot.
Then with your overhead heat move it from hot end towards the cool end till you get the ambient temperatures where they need to be.
78ish cool end and 87ish warm end.

Cover the rest of the lid with saran wrap or foil or both! for added humidity and heat retention.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

If you use an indoor/outdoor thermometer with probe the box goes to the cool end to read that temperature, the probe snakes over to the hot spot and lays under the substrate to read the hot spot temp.
If you use aspen or other substrate and don't want to see the wire just tuck the wire under some substrate so it's out of sight.
If the wire runs under a heavy object as strong as they are I'd be worried they would pull the wire and knock over the heavy item possibly hurting themselves.
I've seen them move large heavy pieces of ornamental wood by pulling wires that were running under the wood.
The thermostat probe does not need to go between the UTH and the glass, just use strong tape and tape it against the UTH without taping over the probe(If the room is drafty then do cover the probe).

When you have the thermostat in place and the thermometer in place turn up the t-stat till the thermometer read 90-92 on the hot spot.
Then with your overhead heat move it from hot end towards the cool end till you get the ambient temperatures where they need to be.
78ish cool end and 87ish warm end.

Cover the rest of the lid with saran wrap or foil or both! for added humidity and heat retention.

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Good point SnakesRKewl. I don't put anything inside the tank that could topple over. Even if it is "hard to topple", if it topples, it can crush your snake, especially if it is heavy, even without a wire for it to pull. A ball python's strength can amaze you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by corgigirl9

FYI not on the care sheet. Do not use tape anywhere in the tank for any reason. I think tanks are fine as long as the husbandry is right. Tubs are definitely cheaper if your planning on more snakes. (Be careful this hobby is addicting) Also most pet stores dont know jack squat about the care of reptiles. I get disgusted when I see unhappy looking or even ill looking reptiles at local petstores. And I know everyone has there own opinion and uses for reptiles but when I see baby leos on sand substrate :mad: or when their tails are so thin, I just want to take them home and plump them up. Anyway good luck!

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The tape is one thing I didn't really think about. I just assumed that I would tape down the probe inside of the tank, over the UTH which would be outside the tank, of course. But if not tape, then how else are people keeping the probe in the right place? I've seen a guide using hot glue, but what if I want to take everything out of the tank for cleaning?

...sorry this is probably a pretty dumb question, haha. I hope someone can point me in the right direction.

Here is an example of why I don't put any of the hot-side stuff on top of the substrate in my set-ups. Note, my hides are the ones with bottoms on them. (Has pros and cons on that type of hide).

If you notice, my cold-side hide is on top of the substrate and the snake sometimes likes to go underneath it. If it was on the hot-side she could get too hot because my temp probe is under the substrate INSIDE the hide.

Just something to keep in mind.

Anyway, most hides don't come with a bottom, so your temp probe should be stuck to the glass under the substrate so that it is reading the hottest point of the tank that the snake can get to.

Check out my very pretty pastel curled under the hide.
http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/l...s07/curly4.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by franken_stein

But if not tape, then how else are people keeping the probe in the right place? I've seen a guide using hot glue, but what if I want to take everything out of the tank for cleaning?

...sorry this is probably a pretty dumb question, haha. I hope someone can point me in the right direction.

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Not a dumb question at all.
Just bury the wire and the probe under the substrate, the probe gets moved then you will notice it when you check the temps and place it back where it belongs.

Permanently gluing or affixing the thermometer probe makes it difficult to clean unless you want to re-glue it over and over each cleaning.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

Not a dumb question at all.
Just bury the wire and the probe under the substrate, the probe gets moved then you will notice it when you check the temps and place it back where it belongs.

Permanently gluing or affixing the thermometer probe makes it difficult to clean unless you want to re-glue it over and over each cleaning.

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Oh, thanks a bunch! :) I guess as long as the probe is still on top of the UTH area instead of way on the other side then it shouldn't be a big deal. I'll keep my eye on things and see how this goes! I'm setting up my tank for the very first time in the next couple of days, since that's when I'll be moving into my new pets-allowed apartment!

Sweet, let us know how it goes :)