1st BP

I got my first BP today, my buddy could no longer keep it so I told him Id take the snake. Its about 3 feet long ,right now im keeping it in a tub thats 34 5/8ths x 18 3/4ths x 7 with a 1ft uth 2 hides and 1 large water dish. Is this right for this animal? I also need to learn how to control the humidity with this setup.

Thanks in advance
chris

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Originally Posted by Climb2Glory

I got my first BP today, my buddy could no longer keep it so I told him Id take the snake. Its about 3 feet long ,right now im keeping it in a tub thats 34 5/8ths x 18 3/4ths x 7 with a 1ft uth 2 hides and 1 large water dish. Is this right for this animal? I also need to learn how to control the humidity with this setup.

Thanks in advance
chris

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That set up its perfect chris... & try to make some holes all around the tub on the top at least an inch away from each other & thats should lower the humidity... also what kind of substarte are you using?

By the way i would recommend a digital temp reader with a probe or a tempgun... if you dont already have one

Hello, and :welcome: to BP.net...

To control the humidity in tubs, you can add more vent holes if it is too high, or cover some if the humidity is too low. You can also use a ceiling fan or an oscillating fan to circulate air through the tub if it is too high.

Do you have a thermostat or rheostat to control the Under Tank Heater? If not, you need one to prevent the possibility of a burn to your new buddy. Some pet stores carry the rheostats for about $15-$18, or you can order a thermostat online, and some of them start at around $25-$30.

Welcome to the addiction...:gj:

Im laying pieces of newspaper flat and do I just mist it to make it humid?

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Originally Posted by Climb2Glory

Im laying pieces of newspaper flat and do I just mist it to make it humid?

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I would try moving the water bowl closer to the Heat Pad first. If that doesn't work then you might need to lightly mist, but usually you shouldn't need to mist tubs.

What type of hygrometer do you have in the tub to measure humidity?

:welcome::welcome:

Im going to pick up a hygrometer today

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Originally Posted by Climb2Glory

Im going to pick up a hygrometer today

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Try to get a digital one if possible. They tend to be more accurate than the little dial ones. Alot of people use the Acu-Rite Indoor/Outdoor thermometer w/ hygrometer. Some Wal-Mart stores have them in the Home Hardware section. Lowes and Home Depot may also have them in the Outdoors section. They cost about $12-$15. The base unit will measure cool side temps and humidity and it has a probe that is used to measure warm side temps. Depending on what model is available it will look something like this:

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...8/hpim0473.jpg

Sweet deal, Ill go pick up one of those today, Also the holes I cut are smaller then yours, How many holes should I cut in and what sizes should they they ? Again guys thanks for the help in this venture, Ive owned prolly close to 75 reptiles in my life, 1st snake, And I have to say im in love, my BP sat and just slithered around my body for about 2 hours yesterday...He didnt want to go back into his bin, im guessing its because my buddy held him pretty often.

I like to make my holes about an 1/8" or maybe a little bigger. I just use a soldering iron to poke them. I make all my holes on the side of the tub. That allows for a good amount of ventilation, without a huge loss in heat or humidity.

Poke as many holes as you need to maintain the correct humidity with everything you normally have in the tub + heat. You shouldn't need to mist or do anything extra to help with humidity in tubs since they hold it so well.

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Originally Posted by Climb2Glory

Sweet deal, Ill go pick up one of those today, Also the holes I cut are smaller then yours, How many holes should I cut in and what sizes should they they ? Again guys thanks for the help in this venture, Ive owned prolly close to 75 reptiles in my life, 1st snake, And I have to say im in love, my BP sat and just slithered around my body for about 2 hours yesterday...He didnt want to go back into his bin, im guessing its because my buddy held him pretty often.

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Pic Heavy Reply:
Here is how I do a stand alone tub set-up. There are some different ways to do it. This is just the basics.
You can make your holes however you want to. Depending on where you live, and the seasonal humidity, you may need more or less holes. I keep my snakes in a room with a space heater to maintain a stable ambient temperature and I use an oscillating fan for ventilation to control the humidity in the tubs. In the Summer, when humidity is high, I run the fan on a higher speed. During the Winter, I run it on Low, or not at all. I don't use a specific number of holes. I use the same pattern for each tub, and however many holes it makes, that's what I get. I put 2 rows of holes on the front and back sides. I use a ruler to space out my holes every 2 inches, so on the top row I mark each odd number(1,3,5,etc). For the second row I do the same thing except I mark each even number(2,4,6,etc) which gives it an offset look.

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...8/hpim0302.jpg

I use a soldering iron to melt the holes. You can get them at Wal-Mart or Lowes for about $5-$7, and they make about a 1/8" hole.

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...8/hpim0303.jpg

Once I have the holes done, I flip the tub over to the bottom. First, I tape the thermostat probe in place.

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...8/hpim0446.jpg

And then tape on the Heat Pad.

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...8/hpim0448.jpg

Once that is done, just add substrate and furnishings.

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...8/hpim0476.jpg

Depending on what type of lid you have on the tub, you may need to add some binder clips or straps to help prevent an escape. Hope this helps...

This thread is sweet :O just had to say that and kudos to Vypyrz for an amazing picture response now i know how I'm making my tub when my snake outgrows this ten gallon =P

Sweet deal guys! Thanks so much for the responses! I have to ask now, I keep my bin under my bed I was told NOT to let the heat pad touch the carpet, is this truth or fiction?

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Originally Posted by Climb2Glory

Sweet deal guys! Thanks so much for the responses! I have to ask now, I keep my bin under my bed I was told NOT to let the heat pad touch the carpet, is this truth or fiction?

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I want to think that is true. If I remember correctly, one of the members on here damaged their carpet a while back. If you can't find something like a piece of plywood to set it on, you can go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy a piece of Melamine and have them cut it to the size you want and set the tub on it. That is what I have my tubs setting on. I have my heat pads and thermostat probes mounted to the Melamine so I can just lift the tubs off to move them without having to mess with the wires.

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Originally Posted by Climb2Glory

Sweet deal guys! Thanks so much for the responses! I have to ask now, I keep my bin under my bed I was told NOT to let the heat pad touch the carpet, is this truth or fiction?

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It probably won't start a fire or anything, but be smart. Put it where you can have good ventilation along the bottom, this prevents it from overheating.

I couldnt find the hygrometer you guys suggested I bought a zoo med thermometer/humidity gauge and stuck it right over the hot pad on the wall next to /above it and stuck another thermometer on the other side by the cold hide. Then I misted the entire cage. Will post my temps/humidity in the bin when I get the readings. Thanks again yall!


Chris

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Originally Posted by Climb2Glory

I couldnt find the hygrometer you guys suggested I bought a zoo med thermometer/humidity gauge and stuck it right over the hot pad on the wall next to /above it and stuck another thermometer on the other side by the cold hide. Then I misted the entire cage. Will post my temps/humidity in the bin when I get the readings. Thanks again yall!


Chris

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is the gauge digital? If it is analog, it is probably no good.

Ya its analog, It reads a 83 degrees on the wall above the uth, and 67 humidty, is this ok? I figure the spot where the pad is , has to be around 10-12 degrees hotter on the surface for basking.

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Originally Posted by Climb2Glory

Ya its analog, It reads a 83 degrees on the wall above the uth, and 67 humidty, is this ok? I figure the spot where the pad is , has to be around 10-12 degrees hotter on the surface for basking.

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"Figuring" isn't really what we want. You want to know the exact surface temperature where your UTH is and the exact temperature of the air.

Those stick on dial gauges are not accurate. They can be off by as much as 10* in either direction. Do yourself a favor and return them for something digital.

Did you check home depot and walmart for the accurite unit? It is $12 but contains all the sensors you need.

For sure, Ill go try and return it real quick, Hopefully they will take it back.

They wouldnt take it back, so I re-velcroed(spelling?) the temp/humidity gauge right onto the plastic where the heat pad is and slid the back of the hide against it, ill take a pic tomorrow but its reading currently at 87 on the basking spot, with 80% humidity (He had a little bit of a wheeze when I got him and I saw no bubbles in hit mouth so I up'ed the humidity ( hope this was the right thing to do ), If I see no improvement in 2 days to the vet my new found friend goes. I would take him tomorrow but I have a VA appointment I cant miss. I fed him today, He devoured a rat pup, then crawled into my lap and fell asleep, I dont know if thats normal but I put him back in the tub and he went into the hide for about a hour then was out and about crusing around the tub. I figured I shouldnt handle him till about 24 hours after eating, Is my research/common sense correct?

You're on the right track. For a three foot ball though you could give him a larger meal. Unless I'm just mistaking my version of pup for yours. I've got 3 foot yearlings on rats that have been weaned for a couple of weeks. The rats are somewhere around 6-8 inches nose to tip of tail. A pup to me is a crawler eyes still closed on mothers milk. It does still depend though on your animals girth. I usually feed the same size rat for how big around at the largest point the snake is. If the snake has a bit of a wheeze watch it carefully for any signs of it getting worse. You could try bumping up the heat maybe two degrees at most as well. Some snakes have a natural whistle in their nose when they are expelling a hard breath of air. Also a stuck nose shed could cause a whistle. A wheeze is more constant and consistent. It will be there with every breath. Hope this helps.

Thanks so much for the wheeze thing, I misted the heck out of the bin to bump the humidity and the temp of the basking point is 2 hot(97), what do I do? Hes not moving off of it, I take him off he goes back? Hes hot side hide is over the heat pad and he is laying on the out side of the hide,

It should normally be 92.f when I see a suspect RI I bump it to 94.f. There is a variable depending on each set up and equipment of a degree or 5 so you are going to have to get a thermometer that is really accurate and play around with it. Try placing the probe on the substrate and see what temps he's feeling. There's no exact way to tell unless you are using really accurate thermoms and thermos. I didn't read through some of this thread so maybe I'm just stating what's already been said. I wouldn't go as high as 97 like I said you're aiming for like 94-95 but there is that unknown variable.