new to BP's need some help.

Hi,
I just got my first BP or snake for that matter. i need some help getting his cage setup right. first let me say i have had him for about a week now, he is about 3 months old about a foot long. what i have so far... 20g long tank with screen top, zilla UTH connected to a light dimmer switch, repti bark bedding, a digital thermometer, a hydrometer, 2 hides, and a water bowl. i also use a heat gun to measure temp. i just put the UTH on today and my temps read for belly heat 85ish on the hot side, 80 on the cool side with ambient air about 80 all around. i have the zilla UTH turned up all the way so far to see if it will warm up more. humidity is 50%. just need some advice on where to go next. are my temps ok? humidity good? let me know what u guys think. ill try and get some pics when i can.

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Originally Posted by nlutfi

Hi,
I just got my first BP or snake for that matter. i need some help getting his cage setup right. first let me say i have had him for about a week now, he is about 3 months old about a foot long. what i have so far... 20g long tank with screen top, zilla UTH connected to a light dimmer switch, repti bark bedding, a digital thermometer, a hydrometer, 2 hides, and a water bowl. i also use a heat gun to measure temp. i just put the UTH on today and my temps read for belly heat 85ish on the hot side, 80 on the cool side with ambient air about 80 all around. i have the zilla UTH turned up all the way so far to see if it will warm up more. humidity is 50%. just need some advice on where to go next. are my temps ok? humidity good? let me know what u guys think. ill try and get some pics when i can.

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I try to keep my hot side between 89 and 91 but im having an issue getting my uth to stay below 95. And thats with the dimmer way down. If ur only gettin 85 i assume you have the rainforest. And from what ive heard they will never get hot enough for balls.

If you ask me, the ambient/cool temps are perfect. When you measured the hot side, did you take the temp directly on the glass underneath the substrate? And did you take the temp outside or inside the hide on the warm side? Just for reference, with my enclosures, the floor temperature inside the cage but outside the hide is around 85, but inside the hides it's closer to 89. It's worth checking both inside and outside the hides.

Aside from adjusting the hot side temp (you want it 88-92) which you only needed to turn up ever so slightly, not all the way like you said you did, your setup sounds fine. The nly other thing I'll add is that a 20gal can be a bit big for a smaller bp like yours, so you may want to grab some fake plants to "clutter" up the cage, and some black construction paper to black out the sides and back of the tank. It'll make him feel more secure.

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Originally Posted by Simplex

I try to keep my hot side between 89 and 91 but im having an issue getting my uth to stay below 95. And thats with the dimmer way down. If ur only gettin 85 i assume you have the rainforest. And from what ive heard they will never get hot enough for balls.

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I've used both the rainforest and the desert for balls and never had an issue. You just have to run it a little higher, but you should be able to get the right temperature.

to test heat on the hot side i am using the heat gun straight to the bedding but not to the glass underneath. im getting about 83-83 inside and outside the hides on the substrate. i do have a small bonzi tree in the cage and some fake plants and branches. do u think i need a more powerful UTH to get the hot side warmer? also i offered a meal for the first time today, a live hopper mouse. but he seemed to have no interest. last time he had eaten was about a week and half ago at the breeders. how often should i offer food? thanks for the fast replies.

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Originally Posted by nlutfi

to test heat on the hot side i am using the heat gun straight to the bedding but not to the glass underneath. im getting about 83-83 inside and outside the hides on the substrate. i do have a small bonzi tree in the cage and some fake plants and branches. do u think i need a more powerful UTH to get the hot side warmer? also i offered a meal for the first time today, a live hopper mouse. but he seemed to have no interest. last time he had eaten was about a week and half ago at the breeders. how often should i offer food? thanks for the fast replies.

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Check the temperature on the glass. If that's in the right range, then you're golden. The snake will more than likely end up pushing the bedding out of the way and sitting directly on the glass anyways, so you want to make sure that temperature isn't too hot. I don't think you'll need a different heater, just play around with the dimmer until you get it to the right temperature.

Since he didn't take the hopper, try again in about a week. It's important that you give him time to settle in, so don't mess around with him or handle him until he's eaten a meal (you can take him out if you need to clean and such, but don't handle unnecessarily). If he still doesn't go for it, then you can either contact the breeder and ask them how they were feeding him and try to mimic what they were doing, or come back on the forum and ask. There are lots of people with great answers on here. :)

Sounds like you have a good set up and I agree with the other comments. I'd just like to add that I like the humidity a little higher. I shoot for 60%, then if it drops a little lower, that's ok. With a screen lid, I like to keep a damp cloth covering about half of the top. In the winter, I stuff a towel around the back and sides to insulate the glass.

so directly on the glass im getting 101 degrees, scary! i turned the UTH down to drop the temp. i do have about an 1 1/2" -2" bedding should i take some out on the hot side so hes closer to the heat.

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Originally Posted by nlutfi

so directly on the glass im getting 101 degrees, scary! i turned the UTH down to drop the temp. i do have about an 1 1/2" -2" bedding should i take some out on the hot side so hes closer to the heat.

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Most substrates insulate against a UTH, it works better only having about 1 inch loose substrate (aspen) or 1/2 inch dense substrate (bark).
You really only need enough to soak up any mess they leave.

You could remove some bedding if you want, that way you won't have to run your heater as high either and you won't have such a big difference between the glass and the bedding temp. You really don't need a whole heck of a lot, just enough to cover the bottom of the tank a bit. Other than that, you've got it perfect! :)

i think im getting the heat under control. i thought id share a quick pic of the set up. cool side is left in the picture.http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z...utfi/photo.jpg

That's a LOTTTT of substrate!

You can thin that out so much.

That is a lot of substrate. I prefer papertowels for ease of clean up but the bark def looks better. Other than that it looks pretty good.

I'm assuming theres a water bowl in there somewhere. I know you said you had one.

Aside from checking temps and cleaning if you leave him alone for a week or so, he will settle right in and begin to investigate and feel comfortable.

yea there is a water bowl in the back on the cool side. does the water bowl need to be big enough for him to soak in? the one i have now is one of these http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=3945030, and should it be on the hot or cool side? temps seem to be under control, 78-80 belly heat on the cool side 88-91 hot side,78-80 ambient air and about 53% humidity. he seems to like the cool side better, but at night he is always out and investigating. i have 2 hides on the warm side to make sure there is one he likes. but he really seems to like the huge log he can squeeze under on the cool side. i will take out some substrate to a thin layer see if that helps. thanks for all the advice ill keep you updated.

Wow, what a lucky snake! That's a great snake home! Looks & sounds like you've got everything covered. About the water, I keep it on the cool side and I like it big enough for a soak, but not too big. I also like to provide a humidity box. My BP's spend most of their daylight hours in their humidity box. :snake::snake::snake::snake:

where can i find a humidity box? or any good ways to make one?

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Originally Posted by nlutfi

where can i find a humidity box? or any good ways to make one?

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What you can do is get a tupperware that will fit your snake inside, cut out a hole big enough for it to crawl inside and melt the edges of the hole so they aren't rough. Then buy some organic moss from either a pet store or a gardening store, wet it so that it's damp, but when you sqeeze it no water comes out. Put that inside the box and whamo! You've got a humid hide :D Just replace the moss every now and then so it doesn't get dingy. I'd suggest putting the humid hide on the warm side of the enclosure.

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Originally Posted by Alexandra V

What you can do is get a tupperware that will fit your snake inside, cut out a hole big enough for it to crawl inside and melt the edges of the hole so they aren't rough. Then buy some organic moss from either a pet store or a gardening store, wet it so that it's damp, but when you sqeeze it no water comes out. Put that inside the box and whamo! You've got a humid hide :D Just replace the moss every now and then so it doesn't get dingy. I'd suggest putting the humid hide on the warm side of the enclosure.

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Exactly the way I do it, except I use paper towels. I place mine close to, but not right on the warm area. I've never melted the edges, but that's a good point. Next time I have my BP's out, I'm going to check them real close for scrapes. :)

Oh, I almost forgot, I use half a broken pot arched over the top to keep the humidity box from tipping over when they climb in & out. :snake:

thanks for all the advice, i will try the humid hide. also just got a great deal on a 40 breeder that I'm picking up later this week so he will have plenty of room to roam. i will make sure i clutter it up real good though so he feels secure. is the such thing as having to many hides? i figured i put a few in there so he doesn't have to feel left out in the open anywhere. on a good note he has been coming out every night as soon as the lights go out to investigate. but the poor guy will have to readjust again once the new tank gets here. thanks again for all the help. any more would be greatly appreciated.