Need help setting up a 10 gallon tank

hello,
sorry if this is in the wrong forum but i'm new here and was wondering if i can get some help from you guys.
i will be getting 2 baby ball pythons hopefully within the next week me and my gf got 10 gallon tanks since petco was having a deal we plan on upgrading after we move out from our apt. now i was wondering how do i exactly heat this up? i was planning on using a heating pad and also a 60watt with zoo med eco carpet. I was planning on putting the light on the opposite side of the heating pad with the water bowl underneath the light. i was also wondering do i need to put another hide under the light? is the light even needed?

First and for most you need 2 tanks. And if you don't want to spend the money 6 qt will work find til about 250 gram then you need to upgrade to a 15 or 16 qt tub, but it really all depends on each snake.
You will need each one of these things twice b/c u have 2 snakes:
paper towels for bedding as babies
UTH (flexwatt or zoomed)
Hide
water bowl
(no light no eco carpet)
THERMOSTAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A cheap one is the Reptitemp 500R and it has 2 plugs to work both snake tanks

thanks for replying i should have specified ya we have 2 10 gallon tanks. we are getting 2 Zilla Digital Thermometer / Hygrometer with probe. Should we get a Rheostat? and just wondering why no light or eco carpet?
thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by xfactor831

thanks for replying i should have specified ya we have 2 10 gallon tanks. we are getting 2 Zilla Digital Thermometer / Hygrometer with probe. Should we get a Rheostat? and just wondering why no light or eco carpet?
thanks

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No light because it isnt needed, belly heat is fine. Also a light will dry out your tank and will make it harder to keep your humidity right. Eco carpet...ehhh paper towel is cheaper and you can throw it out after being soiled instead of always washing it. I would definately recommed a thermostat or if you dont want to spend to much on a thermostat, lowes has light dimmers that do the same thing for 11 bucks.

Hi, I will give you 2 options here... (there are lots of stickies in here and in the DIY section on proper set-up of ball pythons).

The 2 options depend on your preference:
1.) Display vivarium = a set-up that is nice to look at and intended to be displayed but will need a lot of maintenance. (Take into consideration that your bp is nocturnal, therefore, they will spend most of the time in their hides once you get them comfortable with their environment - so the display is mainly for the "forest" look of the viv).
2.) BP habitat = a set-up that is designed for maximum comfort of the snake, easy to maintain, but not intended for display.

As far as cost go - option 2 is the cheapest route.
As far as maintenance go - option 2 is the easiest to maintain, option 1 can be a pain in the ass.
As far as snake comfort go - both are good as long as you do the proper maintenance
As far as "looks" go - option 1 is pretty, option 2 is crappy looking.

Okay, option 1 is the glass tank.
Option 2 is a plastic bin.

Let me know your preference and I'll guide you through the proper set-up of the one you pick.

P.S. I know you already got the 10gal tanks, but I just want to let you know there's an alternative in case you haven't looked into it yet.

Light isn't needed?

Don't BP's benefit from a day/night cycle? I know they don't need UV.

I only ask this because I keep my house as dark as a cave during the day, so I have a light in the tank on a 12-hour timer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by eracer

Light isn't needed?

Don't BP's benefit from a day/night cycle? I know they don't need UV.

I only ask this because I keep my house as dark as a cave during the day, so I have a light in the tank on a 12-hour timer.

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Light is not needed unless you live in a cave... obviously.
Most rooms have windows that provide sufficient light for a day/night cycle, or the room lights or table lamp is sufficient if it doesn't have windows.

thanks for the replies. i looked at some of the stickies but i noticed they werent for 10 gallon and wasn't sure if the same rules applied and it was hard for me to find anything about housing them in 10 gallons online unless i just over looked it.

I kinda looked into putting them in plastic bins but i think i would like it more to kinda have them out in the open and show them off which is why i got the tanks. Having to do maintenance doesn't bother me or my gf at all. so i think option 1 will be good for us.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by xfactor831

thanks for the replies. i looked at some of the stickies but i noticed they werent for 10 gallon and wasn't sure if the same rules applied and it was hard for me to find anything about housing them in 10 gallons online unless i just over looked it.

I kinda looked into putting them in plastic bins but i think i would like it more to kinda have them out in the open and show them off which is why i got the tanks. Having to do maintenance doesn't bother me or my gf at all. so i think option 1 will be good for us.

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to each their own, i use tubs. you'll notice they wont come out much. ball pythons are lazy snakes that hide alot.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by groki21

to each their own, i use tubs. you'll notice they wont come out much. ball pythons are lazy snakes that hide alot.

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haha ya i will most likely switch to tubs when i end up getting more or run out of space. thanks for the help though

You still need 2 tanks, you can't house BP's together. Yes SOME have had success but most have failed and one snake died or both. A 20 gallon that has a divider in it would work great. When they get older u already have the tank that a snake will live it's life in. And all you have to do is buy another instead of buying 2 new tanks and having the sell the old ones.

Okay here's the 10gallon set-up instructions:

1.) Turn the tank upside down and stick a Zoo-med UTH or similar (sized for 10-20 gallons) to the bottom of the tank towards one end. It should cover about 1/3 of the bottom of the tank from one end. If your UTH comes with a sticker, don't bother with peeling off the sticker. Use aluminum tape (found in hardware stores) to stick the UTH onto the tank. You will find that once that UTH is stuck to that tank, it is almost impossible to take out. You would need to take it out to move it to a bigger tank/tub.

2.) Turn the tank right-side up. Get an Indoor/Outdoor Digital Thermometer/Hygrometer with probe (the acu-rite brand can be found at Walmart for $12). Put the probe on top of the UTH inside the tank. Cover the bottom of the tank including the probe with an inch of substrate (Aspen is good and it's nice to look at, Cypress is good if you need to raise the humidity).

3.) Put one hide on top of the probe on the UTH side. The hide needs to be a "cave like" structure that only has one entry and small enough so that the snake can coil in there with the hide's sides touching the snake's body. Don't use those half-log things. Then put another hide of the same kind on the other end of the tank.

4.) Put a good-sized water bowl in the middle. If you need to raise humidity, you can put half of the waterbowl on top of the UTH. It is better if your water bowl is big enough so that the snake can coil in it. A big water bowl in a glass tank is necessary to provide humidity.

5.) Clutter up your tank with decorations - plastic plants, crumpled newspapers, etc. - so that your snake can move from one hide to the other without feeling too exposed. The decorations is what you would be looking at most of the time so go wild with it. The lesser empty air space, the better. Don't put anything that you can't wash off easily. You'll notice they'll get poop stuck on it sometimes, and shed stuck on it sometimes. Don't put anything heavy that can topple over. These bp's can be surprisingly strong.

6.) Cover 3 sides of the tank with construction paper/aquarium background/styrofoam/corkboard, etc. This provides added security and acts as insulation.

7.) Get a screen cover for your tank and get durable clips. Cover most of the screen with 3 layers of tin foil. Or you can get a piece of plexiglass. Just leave a half-inch space around the sides of the screen for airflow.

8.) Plug the UTH to a thermostat. The Reptiterm 500R ($30) is sufficient and it can hold 2 UTHs of the same size and manage it properly. Use aluminum tape to attach the thermostat probe to the UTH on the underside of the tank (outside). A lot of people also put the probe in between the UTH and the tank. Either way is okay. Plug the thermostat to the wall.

9.) Using your Indoor/Outdoor thermometer, lay the thermometer somewhere inside the tank on the cold side. Don't use any tape inside the tank - it could hurt your snake. So, just plop the thermometer on the substrate or lean it against the wall. Make sure the probe wire is buried under the substrate out of the way. Monitor the temperature so that the indoor temperature is around 80F and the outdoor reading (comes from the probe) is around 90F. The hygrometer should read between 50-60%. If it goes down to 45% it's okay. If it goes up to 65% it's okay. Just check that it doesn't go too far below 50 and too high above 60. You can raise the humidity to 70% if the snake is in shed.

10.) If the indoor thermometer reading (also known as ambient temps) is too low, you can add a heat lamp (red bulb or moon bulb) to raise the ambient temperature on top of the screen. The heat lamp will lower your humidity a lot. You will have to punch a hole on your tin foil/plexiglass big enough for your lamp. The lower the wattage needed the better. So, get one that has a dimmer so you can get a 75W bulb then lower it with the dimmer until you get up to 80F ambient temps. You might need to play with the water bowl, substrate, and lamp to get proper humidity.

That should be it. I think I covered everything. Oh, if you are feeding live, you might need to move your snake to a feeding container. The rat will find too many stuff to hide in, poop on your substrate, etc.

Here's a picture of my 10 gallon:
Please note that in this picture, the lamp looks like it is inside the tank but it is completely not... That's just a reflection of the lamp that I used to shine into the tank so I can get a picture without the flash going off and reflecting off the glass. The heat lamp, if needed goes outside the tank, on top of the screen. The heavy wood thing does not move. It is stuck between the sides of the glass and the floor. It "hovers" over the water bowl so that when the snake is getting a drink it does not feel exposed from above.
http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/l.../sunshine1.jpg

Hope this helps.

For a tstat, don't get the reptitemp 500r. It's a piece of junk.

P.S.

Get this set-up completed before you get your snake. It will be much easier to twiddle with it when there's no snake in there yet. Once you put the snake in there, leave him alone for a week before you start feeding him. Then after he has eaten, leave him alone for 2 more days, then you can start handling the snake and getting him used to you.

Good luck!

This set-up may be maintenance-heavy (have to take everything out to clean, then have to twiddle with the temps/humidity again everytime you do so) but it will give you lesser headaches with getting the snake settled and comfortable than just putting 2 hides and a bowl in there. And it is enjoyable to look at even when the snake is out of sight. Moving the snake to a bigger tank is easy, just follow the same instructions but with more stuff - bigger hides, more decorations, bigger water bowl... and the snake should switch over without problems especially if the new tank is set-up completely before he is moved.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Camarokidz28

For a tstat, don't get the reptitemp 500r. It's a piece of junk.

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I beg to differ. I've used one for 2 years. It's not a ranco but for 2 tanks with the same size UTH, it works just fine.

go on utube and put in Ralph Davis Reptiles..he goes step by step on 10 gallon set up..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anatess

I beg to differ. I've used one for 2 years. It's not a ranco but for 2 tanks with the same size UTH, it works just fine.

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Yea I mean it's not GREAT. It's no herpstat or anything. But it's a decent on/off thermostat that keeps temps in my quarantine tubs just fine.
Ok I would rather have a "piece of junk" than nothing at all or a light dimmer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anatess

Okay here's the 10gallon set-up instructions:

1.) Turn the tank upside down and stick a Zoo-med UTH or similar (sized for 10-20 gallons) to the bottom of the tank towards one end. It should cover about 1/3 of the bottom of the tank from one end. If your UTH comes with a sticker, don't bother with peeling off the sticker. Use aluminum tape (found in hardware stores) to stick the UTH onto the tank. You will find that once that UTH is stuck to that tank, it is almost impossible to take out. You would need to take it out to move it to a bigger tank/tub.

2.) Turn the tank right-side up. Get an Indoor/Outdoor Digital Thermometer/Hygrometer with probe (the acu-rite brand can be found at Walmart for $12). Put the probe on top of the UTH inside the tank. Cover the bottom of the tank including the probe with an inch of substrate (Aspen is good and it's nice to look at, Cypress is good if you need to raise the humidity).

3.) Put one hide on top of the probe on the UTH side. The hide needs to be a "cave like" structure that only has one entry and small enough so that the snake can coil in there with the hide's sides touching the snake's body. Don't use those half-log things. Then put another hide of the same kind on the other end of the tank.

4.) Put a good-sized water bowl in the middle. If you need to raise humidity, you can put half of the waterbowl on top of the UTH. It is better if your water bowl is big enough so that the snake can coil in it. A big water bowl in a glass tank is necessary to provide humidity.

5.) Clutter up your tank with decorations - plastic plants, crumpled newspapers, etc. - so that your snake can move from one hide to the other without feeling too exposed. The decorations is what you would be looking at most of the time so go wild with it. The lesser empty air space, the better. Don't put anything that you can't wash off easily. You'll notice they'll get poop stuck on it sometimes, and shed stuck on it sometimes. Don't put anything heavy that can topple over. These bp's can be surprisingly strong.

6.) Cover 3 sides of the tank with construction paper/aquarium background/styrofoam/corkboard, etc. This provides added security and acts as insulation.

7.) Get a screen cover for your tank and get durable clips. Cover most of the screen with 3 layers of tin foil. Or you can get a piece of plexiglass. Just leave a half-inch space around the sides of the screen for airflow.

8.) Plug the UTH to a thermostat. The Reptiterm 500R ($30) is sufficient and it can hold 2 UTHs of the same size and manage it properly. Use aluminum tape to attach the thermostat probe to the UTH on the underside of the tank (outside). A lot of people also put the probe in between the UTH and the tank. Either way is okay. Plug the thermostat to the wall.

9.) Using your Indoor/Outdoor thermometer, lay the thermometer somewhere inside the tank on the cold side. Don't use any tape inside the tank - it could hurt your snake. So, just plop the thermometer on the substrate or lean it against the wall. Make sure the probe wire is buried under the substrate out of the way. Monitor the temperature so that the indoor temperature is around 80F and the outdoor reading (comes from the probe) is around 90F. The hygrometer should read between 50-60%. If it goes down to 45% it's okay. If it goes up to 65% it's okay. Just check that it doesn't go too far below 50 and too high above 60. You can raise the humidity to 70% if the snake is in shed.

10.) If the indoor thermometer reading (also known as ambient temps) is too low, you can add a heat lamp (red bulb or moon bulb) to raise the ambient temperature on top of the screen. The heat lamp will lower your humidity a lot. You will have to punch a hole on your tin foil/plexiglass big enough for your lamp. The lower the wattage needed the better. So, get one that has a dimmer so you can get a 75W bulb then lower it with the dimmer until you get up to 80F ambient temps. You might need to play with the water bowl, substrate, and lamp to get proper humidity.

That should be it. I think I covered everything. Oh, if you are feeding live, you might need to move your snake to a feeding container. The rat will find too many stuff to hide in, poop on your substrate, etc.

Here's a picture of my 10 gallon:
Please note that in this picture, the lamp looks like it is inside the tank but it is completely not... That's just a reflection of the lamp that I used to shine into the tank so I can get a picture without the flash going off and reflecting off the glass. The heat lamp, if needed goes outside the tank, on top of the screen. The heavy wood thing does not move. It is stuck between the sides of the glass and the floor. It "hovers" over the water bowl so that when the snake is getting a drink it does not feel exposed from above.
http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/l.../sunshine1.jpg

Hope this helps.

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good luck showing them off, you won't see them 90% of the time. All they do is hide during the day and come out when your asleep.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RichieBoo

go on utube and put in Ralph Davis Reptiles..he goes step by step on 10 gallon set up..

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i did but he was using a light and a heating pad and i was wondering if that was too much for just a 10 gallon which is why i came on here to ask.

thanks anatess this really helps a lot. I was wondering how do i tape the UTH to the tank? do i tape the edges? or just put the tape in the middle?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by xfactor831

i did but he was using a light and a heating pad and i was wondering if that was too much for just a 10 gallon which is why i came on here to ask.

thanks anatess this really helps a lot. I was wondering how do i tape the UTH to the tank? do i tape the edges? or just put the tape in the middle?

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Tape down the edges on 2 sides.