Cheap Reptile Terrarium

Hello,

Well hes starting to get too big for the 10 gallon tank he's in. And i was wondering if anyone know where there is a website that sells them pretty cheap im on a budget.

Switch him to a tub. Can't get cheaper than that.

If you absolutely can't do without a tank, you can try to find something off craigs list that you can afford. But you'll have to disinfect it carefully. You can really do up tubs nicely though and they hold humidity much better. Having said that, I do use a tank for my BP and I like the Zilla Critterkeepers. A 20gal would be a good choice for a long time and it is going to run about $80 but it comes with a locking screen lid which is very nice. But I still recommend a tub....

wal mart and buy 28qt sterilite tub for $8.

Tubs are so much nicer for the bp. I do use some aquariums but i love the tubs. They are like 6-10 bucks at walgreens and target. If u live near a walmart prob less. he nice ones that have locking lids are like 10 at target and work great. otherwise ya criagslist might have somethin. i have a couple large ones i got for free so keep lookin around. Yard and garage sales are great 2

True, when do you think he needs move to a bigger one? hes over 20 inches (Very rough estimate) and is going into shed right now so yea i need a little help and what kind of UTH would be good for a tub?

male will never out grow a 28qt tub. its rare to see or have one that needs bigger.

You can build your own. Buy one sheet of melamine and make a 3ftx2ftx1ft cage and hell be set for LIFE,

Im not very good at building things haha unless theres very good instructions. Also i dont know his sex i just call him my baby boy

If "he" turns out to be a "she" you might consider a 32qt tub. Shouldn't be too big for a male, but it would give a female a bit more room. You can clutter it up if its a bit big for him now by adding a couple extra hides and/or crumpled newspaper to hide under. If you are able to find one with a locking lid, you don't have to put it in a rack - it can stand alone. Drill a couple (like literally just 1 or 2) small holes in the ends for ventilation.

For a UTH, I recommend the Ultratherm from Reptile Basics. Call or email them to inquire on the appropriate size depending on the type of tub you go with. You need to make sure the tub is sitting on "feet" so that air circulates under the UTH. And you MUST use a thermostat! Not just because they can get too hot for your snake, but because you are now working with plastic and plastic has the ability to melt. But an Ultratherm regulated by a good thermostat should be fine and I've certainly never heard of plastic melting at 90 degrees...

Another option would be to use a Radiant Heat Panel also from Reptile Basics. They are a bit more expensive, but worth it imo. This would attach to the inside of the tubs lid and will heat the area like sunlight would. Many folks recommend belly heat and so do I - but this product does provide belly heat - heat is emitted from the panel and radiates to the surface, warming it. The snake gets its heat from the warmed surface it lays on. Its just a different way of warming the surface. The benefit here is safety - no burn worries. Just a thought....

Hope this helps! :gj:

Evenstar gave some great information, a very good post.

Thanks i'll be looking into it. Now any advice in bedding? hes on paper towels now

Also and added thought he likes to try to push on the lid of the ten gallon now so id be worry with the heater on the lid

I have my 2 adult males in 40 qt sterilite containers with locking lids. The sides still come up kinda easy so I jus use binder clips to hold the sides down. Works very well for me. Cheap, takes up little room (so you can have more snakes!), easy to clean and cheap. lol. Have fun!!

If you have a petsmart anywhere around, you can sign up for their rewards program "its free" and you can get a 20 gallon tank for about $35. I just signed up and saved a ton off heat mats, substrate and stuff.

The only thing I comment on about tubs is they are an absolute nightmare to control the ambient and cool end temps in cool rooms. They are very very poor at holding any heat and typically will have ambient and cool end temps that are the same as the room temp. They should be 80ºF so it depends on what you call expensive if heating a room to 80 year round is expensive than tubs are on the top of the list. Custom enclosures run about 200$ for an appropriate size and can be easily set up to self heat the cool end temps to a degree it might cost less in power in the long run.

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Originally Posted by OokamiReyuu

Also and added thought he likes to try to push on the lid of the ten gallon now so id be worry with the heater on the lid

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You need to read about the radiant heat panels on the Reptile Basics website. The panels do not get hot enough to burn your snake when he noses it or brushes against it. These panels are totally differernt from UTHs and do not work the same way. They are safe and are meant to be inside the enclosure.

For 20 inches, a 10 gal tank is enough for now






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Well im gonna need a cage eventually even if its too big right now theres always ways to clutter it to be better. What are your guys opinions on acrylic cages?

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Originally Posted by OokamiReyuu

Well im gonna need a cage eventually even if its too big right now theres always ways to clutter it to be better. What are your guys opinions on acrylic cages?

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Expensive.

acrylic is super expensive, although it is lighter. if you really would prefer an actual tank, ive always like the 40g "breeder" tanks, theyre 36Lx18Wx16H, since hes small, you would need to bush it up so theres tight spaces in there, add a few hides throughout spaced kinda close together also, then as he grows you can thin it out in there, and that tank is big enough to last his whole life:twocents:

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Originally Posted by cmack91

acrylic is super expensive, although it is lighter. if you really would prefer an actual tank, ive always like the 40g "breeder" tanks, theyre 36Lx18Wx16H, since hes small, you would need to bush it up so theres tight spaces in there, add a few hides throughout spaced kinda close together also, then as he grows you can thin it out in there, and that tank is big enough to last his whole life:twocents:

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This is exactly what I use and what I had mentioned in my first post. The 40gal Critter Cage by Zilla is about $90 or so from PetSmart. Love the locking lid. If you cover the screen with wax paper or foil, this makes a very nice tank to use. I cover my screen with wax paper and my humidity is pretty consistant at 60% with cypress mulch as substrate. I do mist about every 2 days when Ella's in shed, but otherwise, its fine as is. This is a good size for an adult BP and is as big as you should ever need - male or female.

in most cases, everyone finally gives in and decides that tubs are the answer - it took me a while too - i use 25 quart sterilites with locking lids about 10 bucks for youngs, juvy's and subadults with dual side hides - aspen is not necessary - paper is fine - balls really dont care as they do not burrow - i use big apples bah1000 tstat about 40 bucks and their intellitemp mats about 25 bucks - THEY WILL NOT GET OVER MID NINETIES - even if plugged directly in wall so no melting issues - i put them inside tub - and use a plastic oscar meyer sandwhich meat container (thin plastic) for water and set it directly on the heat mat - every time it heats it is creating humidity - i can maintain 55% humidity with this setup - also the bah1000 can power multiple mats - it works for me perfectly

paper towels are perfect especially on a budget. if you want aesthetics i use aspen wroks great for me.

paper towels are not a great substrate, they can easily stick to damp prey items and be ingested as well. My vet has done 3 operations to remove paper towels from snakes insides and only one survived. Just a word of caution.

Tubs are certainly not the only option, they are one of many methods and like all others have pros and cons. The biggest issue is they are a very poor option for normal room temps, they simply do not hold heat well at all. I find it bothersome that someone will trade in a tank to fix humidity issues and end up with much more serious heating issues.

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

Tubs are certainly not the only option, they are one of many methods and like all others have pros and cons. The biggest issue is they are a very poor option for normal room temps, they simply do not hold heat well at all. I find it bothersome that someone will trade in a tank to fix humidity issues and end up with much more serious heating issues.

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thats good to know, ive never heard about the heat issue with them, although now that its stated it makes perfect sense

It is easy to prove just place your hand behind a lid and check the temp where you hand is and then remove it and see how fast it drops. I have heavy blue lids and starting at 70º get to 90º and back down to 70º in under 4 mins. That is very poor insulation, in cool rooms you need something that is slower than that. I have purpose built enclosures that take hours to drop from 90 to 80 with no power.

Well i have time yet since im saving the money i need for one i noticed there are some cages made with wood too

Isn't melamine toxic?

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

It is easy to prove just place your hand behind a lid and check the temp where you hand is and then remove it and see how fast it drops. I have heavy blue lids and starting at 70º get to 90º and back down to 70º in under 4 mins. That is very poor insulation, in cool rooms you need something that is slower than that. I have purpose built enclosures that take hours to drop from 90 to 80 with no power.

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How much would a custom enclosure run a guy? I'm trying to move away from tubs.

If you burn it it is. I don't believe so for normal usage. The particle board it is often attached to (melamine is just the plastic stuff on the out side) is toxic with prolonged contact for people snakes are not but in the void of real information I'd assume that if it is bad for people it is bad for snakes. It is not often used bare but sealing the corners and gaps if the animal has direct contact isn't a bad idea. particle board sucks when wet anyway so if nothing more keeping liquids out is a good plan.