First Snake

I'm hoping to get my first BP in a couple weeks. I've been looking at a few local breeders, I'm near Dallas, TX, and if anyone has breeders to recommend please let me know. Before I get my snake I want everything set up correctly though. I'm thinking about going with the tub route for housing since everyone seems to be saying its easier and cheaper ;)

I'm curious though because from what I've seen on UTH packaging is that they are only supposed to be used on glass aquariums. Yet I've seen people using them on the tub cages, so is it ok to use on a tub or is only a certain brand ok?

Does any brand of tub matter? Like is there a snake version or can i just go to target and get a sterilite bin?

Do I need two thermometers or just one over the hot side?

Honestly any help or tips you wish you knew when you got your first snake would be great, thanks guys!

Welcome to BP.net :colbert2:

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Originally Posted by kendracandraw

I'm hoping to get my first BP in a couple weeks. I've been looking at a few local breeders, I'm near Dallas, TX, and if anyone has breeders to recommend please let me know. Before I get my snake I want everything set up correctly though. I'm thinking about going with the tub route for housing since everyone seems to be saying its easier and cheaper ;)

I'm curious though because from what I've seen on UTH packaging is that they are only supposed to be used on glass aquariums. Yet I've seen people using them on the tub cages, so is it ok to use on a tub or is only a certain brand ok? Your flexwatt will only be heating up to 90ish degrees, it won't melt the plastic tub.

Does any brand of tub matter? Like is there a snake version or can i just go to target and get a sterilite bin?Any sterlite will do :)

Do I need two thermometers or just one over the hot side? Definitely 1 for the hot spot, you could also use another one for cool side or ambient temps. Your best bet is an IR temp gun.

Honestly any help or tips you wish you knew when you got your first snake would be great, thanks guys!

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Alright so i'm probably getting a 30-40 qt bin, one of the long under bed varieties. What size UTH should I get? I'm going to go with the Zoomed heaters
( http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2752652 ) Should I get the 10-20gallon one?

ETA: Also the snake i'm looking at is a baby, only 2 months old, so is that bin size too big? Should I go with something smaller for now?

That tub size is going to be waaaaaaaaaaay too big for that young of a ball. I'd say go with a 28 quart or so or smaller yet. You want to be able to provide a thermal gradient (warm area and cool area) so you want enough space to be able to do that correctly. As for that type of heat mat, I'd steer clear of them. I had one for my corn on his tank before I switched to tubs/racks and they're basically junk. I had great luck with a Cobra T-Rex heat mat for a UTH after I got rid of the ZooMed but that's just me. Do what works for you.

Here's the caresheet for a ball python and it has a lot more in-depth info that what I could write out without forgetting something.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...s%29-Caresheet

If you elect to use a tub/Sterilite, make sure to solder holes in the sides of it or drill them out to allow ventilation and heat exchange in the tub. You'll also want some way of securing the lid as they can push themselves out and the latches on those tubs shouldn't be the only thing securing them. Lot to digest, I realize, so hang in there and keep asking questions! This is the place to learn and there are great people here to help, so good luck!

Should've included this in the previous post but then if my head weren't attached most days...anyway, here's some info on setting up a tub and what you'd need to do it:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...Basics...*DUW*

That's what I've been following to get it set up but there's been a couPle things I still had questions abOut bin size fOr a foot long bAby Bp and what size uth mat would that size bin need?


Sorry about the awful typing...

I would look into other heat recomended here, especially since you plan on getting set up ready before hand. At the moment I have a zoomeds for lizards and snake, yeah they work, but honestly I will be switching over. For all these pets they were rehomed with me and that is what they had when we got them. We have made good use of of them, but I feel they only provide just an adequate job. They seem kind of spotty on heat, and I feel like I am constantly checking them, hotter in the middle, not so much on the edges, etc.


Good luck and welcome, this place pretty much saved me and snake. I had to rush to get his set up stablized and he was a bit of mess. Now a bit longer than a month later, I have nice healthy ball. BTW I am just north of dallas.

That length of snake, I'd say 28 quart with two hides (warm side and cool side) and you should be fine. If he/she is nervous, you can always black out the sides of the tub with posterboard cut to fit and then taped over it to give it a more secure feeling. As to UTH size...4 quarts in a gallon and with a 28 quart tub, that'd be 7 gallons?, so if anything, a 10-20 gallon size UTH heater would be more than you'd need but that way you wouldn't be maxing out a smaller unit trying to heat the tub. Whatever you do, ABSOLUTELY get a thermostat to regulate the heat output/temperature of the UTH.

What about heat cables like these?
http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=3716152

Or this UTH http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...uctId=2752561?

Are there any stores I can buy the T-Rex Cobra one in or do i have to order it off the internet?

Alright so I ended up getting 32qt bin at target, it was on sale and they didn't have anything between 16qt and the 32qt so I'll just make sure I get nice tight hides.

Since I didn't get any thumbs up on the zoo-med UTH, I'm now thinking about the Exoterra 8x8 heat mat.

I can't drop 100+ on a thermostat right now and I have the one everyone hates, the reptitherm or whatever, left over from my sisters red tail boa she had for a couple months. Again I know you've all given it bad reviews but if I get the hydrofarm could I use the other as a back up or just junk it?

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Originally Posted by kendracandraw

Alright so I ended up getting 32qt bin at target, it was on sale and they didn't have anything between 16qt and the 32qt so I'll just make sure I get nice tight hides.

Since I didn't get any thumbs up on the zoo-med UTH, I'm now thinking about the Exoterra 8x8 heat mat.

I can't drop 100+ on a thermostat right now and I have the one everyone hates, the reptitherm or whatever, left over from my sisters red tail boa she had for a couple months. Again I know you've all given it bad reviews but if I get the hydrofarm could I use the other as a back up or just junk it?

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I use a zoo-med UTH. They work just fine, but they NEED a proper thermostat (I use a hydrofarm). My Zoomed heats to 112F without any temperature contol.

I wouldn't junk the the other thermostat. Just keep it around in the case that the hydrofarm would quit on you (has never happened to me).

Zoo-med is fine, we use them on 32 quart sterilites without issue. Obviously dont plug it straight into the wall though or it'll get too hot. And I have 2 hatchlings in larger tubs right now and they do fine, but I fill the outer edges with either plastic vines or crushed newspaper to shrink the "conceivable" size of it to the snake quite a bit. With younger snakes it seems that having a hot and cool side hide is the most important thing.

If cash is an issue get a lamp dimmer from your local hardware store (10 bucks), just make sure that your temp gradient is good using it before you introduce the snake.

Thank you everyOne for answering my questions. Fingers crossed I'll be able to pick up my snake this weekend. I'll get pics up tomorrow of the cage all set up.

I use 16 quart sterilite sweater boxes + the smallest Zoo Med heat pads for my hatchlings right now, at least until I get a rack.

Can't wait to see pics when you get your new snake. :)

If you already have the repti-therm thermostat, hook it up. There's nothing WRONG with that thermostat per se, but it's not the top of the line. It works for what it is. I used one for 3+ years with no problems and it's a heck of a lot better than nothing or even going the lamp dimmer route...

After looking at the thermostat I have its the Zilla one not the repti-therm. I don't know if its much better but looks better than the reptitherm one.

I think I've found the snake I'm getting, I'm going to check him out this Saturday, he's a really pretty mojave :]

If I get him Saturday how long do I need to leave him alone before I start handling him? Usually I leave a new pet alone for 24 hours, but I'm used to pet rats and snakes are clearly different. I read something that said don't mess with him for 2 weeks except to check for mites and stuff but that just seemed really long to me.

He's also been feeding live, but I would much prefer to go the F/T route. He should be easy to switch over since he's still so young, 2 months, right? Should I feed him live the first time and then switch over or just F/T right away?

I've also heard rats are more nutritious than mice, is that true should I make the switch to rats as soon as he's big enough?

The recommended acclimation period is 1 week, or until 24 hours after the first successful feeding before you start handling. For that first week, you pretty much want to leave him alone and only get into the enclosure to change water and spot clean if needed.

If he's been feeding live you may want to keep him on live for the first couple feedings once you get him home. Moving into a new environment is pretty stressful for a bp in and of itself, so trying to change from live to F/T at the same time might be enough to trigger refusals. Once you have him acclimated and eating live consistently, you can start working on converting to F/T.

I haven't seen any real scientific studies on the nutritional value differences, gram for gram, between mice and rats. If the breeder has him on rats already, I'd keep him on rats. If you feed mice, you're eventually going to have to feed multiple mice per feeding, which can also be stressful, as opposed to one rat per feeding.

So I got the cage mostly set up yesterday, forgot to get the water dish, but we're improving one right now. Anyway my cage doesn't seem to be heating up enough, I had the thermostat set to like 95 but it still shuts the UTH off at 88? The cool side isn't getting much above 75 right now either.

I have a 32qt tub with a 10-20 gallon UTH on it. Should I take the sticker off the UTH and actually attach it, right now I have it taped on the tub so its easier to clean the cage. The thermostat prob is taped to the bottom of the UTH, do I need to have that between the bottom of the tub and the UTH, would that help? I used the little rubber feet the UTH came with and the cage is sitting on a desk, but maybe its getting too hot under the cage and so the UTH is getting turned off?

Since you have your probe mounted outside the enclosure and directly to the UTH, you will probably have to set it a little higher to get the proper temps inside the tub. Just bump it up a couple degrees, let it stabilize for a while, read the temps and readjust accordingly until you find the sweet spot. Your UTH really won't do anything for cool side temps, so just make sure your warm side is getting up to where it needs to be. What did you end up getting to measure the temps? And where are you measuring them?

One of the Accurite thermometers from Walmart. The probe sits over the UTH in the hide and the actual thermom is on the other side of the cage.

So its been set up and I've finally got the hot side hot, its up to 92. My cool side is 75 and that seems a bit too cool from what I've read. After adding the water dish the humidity has raised to 80%, I can drill more holes to lower that though. It should be 50-60% right?