Enclosure Advice

I am getting ready to upgrade the enclosure for my 3.5-year-old BP.

PetCo is having a great sale right now & I was thinking about getting a 40 gallon breeder aquarium.

The plan was to lay it on its side so I can access it from the front. I figured I would block off most of the screen with plexi to retain heat, use a lower wattage bulb for lighting to keep the top glass from getting too hot, and use a substrate heater in the bottom.

The thing is, I've hard a hard time finding examples where other people have done this, so I was concerned that there might be a problem with this plan that I hadn't thought of.

Any advice?

The one thing I would be most worried about would be the BP rubbing his nose on the abrasive screen. It could get raw and possibly very badly infected.

if i understand you right, your going to put a heat light on the glass? if so dont do this you stand a good chance of the heat braking the glass. :colbert: and i also agree that it will rub its nose. set it up the right way you get more floor space, and safer for the snake and you wont be upset if the tank cracks.

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Originally Posted by lmartelli77

The one thing I would be most worried about would be the BP rubbing his nose on the abrasive screen. It could get raw and possibly very badly infected.

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I thought about that, but I wasn't too worried, since I was going to cover most of the screen with plexi anyway. The plan was to leave enough open mesh at the top part of the lid for good air circulation and cover the rest.

Plus, she's not much of a busybody. :)

Of course its your decision, but I would NOT get any glass enclosure. There is just so many things that speak against it...

For one, for about the same price you should be able to get a reptile cage with front door. Something made out of a lightweight material.

A glass cage is heavy. It is difficult to clean because of that. You will get hard water spots from misting and eventually that looks very unattractive. A snake will feel far safer when 3 sides are non see through. A reptile cage is easier to heat and keep humidity in.

There are now many reptile cages that are great for display, but still far easier then glass to maintain...

However, if you are set on the glass cage, I would definitely NOT use any kind of screen material in the front, like its been said, your snake will end up with bad nose rubs...

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Originally Posted by smd58

if i understand you right, your going to put a heat light on the glass? if so dont do this you stand a good chance of the heat braking the glass. :colbert: and i also agree that it will rub its nose. set it up the right way you get more floor space, and safer for the snake and you wont be upset if the tank cracks.

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Like I mentioned, I figured I would use a low wattage (low heat - maybe florescent?) bulb to keep the glass from getting hot - I'm not using the light for heat, just for light.

As for nose rubbing, check my other reply post and see what you think.

I think you are better off going with an actual reptile enclosure from somewhere like The Boaphile or Animal Plastics. You will then get a front opening enclosure, with a plexi glass front. No nose rubbing, no need for lamps.

Its a much smarter choice than buying a huge 40g tank (which is too big anyway) and trying to rig it to be a front opening enclosure.

You might not get enough heat off of the low wattage bulb to allow it to warm the tank up to correct the ambient temperatures.

I'd replace the whole screen with plexi and make enough holes/slits in the plexi for air exchange.

I used a 40 gallon breeder with the screen top for awhile a few years back and had no problems except the humidity issue as almost all tanks have.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

I think you are better off going with an actual reptile enclosure from somewhere like The Boaphile or Animal Plastics. You will then get a front opening enclosure, with a plexi glass front. No nose rubbing, no need for lamps.

Its a much smarter choice than buying a huge 40g tank (which is too big anyway) and trying to rig it to be a front opening enclosure.

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x2...But I'd suggest RBI aka: Reptile Basics...They have cages and tubs and the turnaround is faster than other companies...And the customer service it great too...

RBI's 3' cage would be more than enough...Or you can order their 3 tub CB70 rack system too...With the tub system, all you'd need is a t-stat and you'll be good...With the cage, you'd need heat and a t-stat...I have both set-ups and love them both...Different types of snakes in each though..LOL

The CB70 starts around $200. I think the OP is suggesting this because he's getting the 40 gallon breeder for $40. Significantly less.

There are tutorials online for doing what you're talking about. There are also sites that do the work for you like JungleBox, but they don't stock what you need. You'd have to contact them and get a quote for it.

@jfreels

You're right - I can get a new 40 gal breeder tank right now for $40. I doubt that I'm going to find any similarly sized enclosure in that price range, and spending a few hundred dollars just isn't in the cards right now.

Considering she's right at 4ft long, it doesn't seem like 40 gal is too big, but maybe it is. I find a LOT of conflicting info on enclosure size. She's in a 30 gal. tank now. Is that big enough to be her permanent home? I don't want to impede her growth...

Regardless, it sounds like the benefits of making this project a front opening enclosure just aren't going to outweigh the possible detriments, so I think I'll forget that idea. If I go with the 40 gal. breeder, I'll sit it upright...

Professionally made reptile cages are a little more pricey, but well worth the money. I would suggest to the OP that they just save up a little more cash and go for the nicer professionally made cage and save the headache of trying to convert a 40g.

Edit: In my opinion, a 30g is just fine for an adult female. Cage size will not "impede her growth" as cage size is not determinant of growth. How much you feed her does though.

As you go up in tank sizes, usually its the height that increases the most, which is not really what you want for a terrestrial snake like a ball python. So those extra couple inches of floor space won't really make a difference, but the extra height will make it harder to heat and hold humidity.

Thats why I love reptile enclosures, I have one with lots of floor room, but still decent height. I have never noticed any negatives with a larger cage, quite the opposite. As long as it is heated correctly and it holds humidity well, and has hides in both warm and cool end all is well. I prefer a more naturalistic setup. I know its not for everyone, and that is cool.
However, it certainly can be done, if done right. With a "display" cage that is of some size, it really makes a huge difference when its a professional cage, as it makes cleaning and maintaining easy.
I've kept my Ball Pythons in 4 foot neodesha cages without a problem. They did very well, were calm and curious, and ate without a problem. I fed inside the cage, frozen thawed. They weren't shy or stressed.

These are the cages I love. They make everything so easy...plus they stack nicely and are well thought out, design wise. Easy on the eyes as well :)
I have the 48 L in red.

http://www.showcasecages.com/cage_pictures.htm

@Kaorte
Well, sticking with what I have will certainly save some money, so I'll go with that option for now! :)

@Zina10
I'm also a fan of more naturalistic environments and I really like the looks of the Showcase cages - and the prices seem pretty reasonable. Since it sounds like I don't need to be in a hurry to go larger, I think I'll take your advice and save for one of those.

Thanks!
David