New enclosure - Shopping list

Before I place the order, I thought I should maybe get some opinions on anything I'm missing or see if anyone would advise against a specific product.

My enclosure will be a 36x18x22 aquarium (yes, aquarium, so it has a centre brace and the glass is about 3/8ths thick). It's what I have, and it's what I intend to work with. That's the only thing I have already. Some of the stuff I may have gone overkill with the Watts, etc. If I didn't know then I just went on the high-end cause I wanted to gauge a price estimate. Nothing has been purchased yet though.

My list:
Heat
- 11"x17" Exo Terra Heatwave Terrarium Substrate Heater

- 150W Exo Terra Ceramic Heat Emitter

- Fluker black 10 inch ceramic clamp lamp with switch

Temp Control
- Zilla 500W Temperature Controller
http://www.petsandponds.com/en/repti...p17644478.html

OR Zoo Med Repti-Temp 500R Remote Sensor Thermostat
http://www.petsandponds.com/en/repti...p16749870.html

- Zilla Terrarium Hygrometer Thermometer
http://www.petsandponds.com/en/repti...p17144050.html

- Zoo Med REPTITEMP Digital Infrared Thermometer
http://www.petsandponds.com/en/repti...p17644328.html

Other
- 2 pairs (so 4) Zilla Locking Screen Clips (are these reliable? Or are they flimsy/loose locks?)

- Zilla Screen Cover (36x18) (are these durable enough?)

Also considering a lamp stand for the CHE... But the Zilla clips say the lamp can be mounted to them?

I've included links to the products that have a little more variation between one and the next.

Hope I've formatted enough to spare your retinas.

I know I haven't included anything like substrate, water bowl, hides, etc. Those are somewhat more straightforward...

Thanks, I'd be lost without a place to bounce to for input, and I'd probably end up buying a bunch of stuff that would be useless to me.

Well first off there are one too many heat sources going on here. It will be impossible to keep humidity up (50-60% & 60-70% during shed) with all this heat hitting the tank. The heat mat is good and a thermostat. You want to shoot for about 88 to 92 degree hot spot. also provided ahide over the heat mat and one on the cool side. That being said you may want to purchase 2 digital thermometers or visit the Accu-Rite website. There you will find a digital thermometer with 2 sensor probes (measure hot and cold spot) and a hygrometer all in one. If you have to have a heat lamp then ok, but I would do away with the ceramic. What is usually your ambient temp in the room where he will be? Ever look into a radiator? Just throwing that out there. Being that you are using a fish tank you may also want to think about covering about half of the tank or even more with a damp wash towel. You don't want to get the humidity too high, but you don't want it too low either. A humid hide would also be good to place in the tank so the BP can retreat there whenever it feels the need to...

Humid hide: get a plastci container that big enought for the BP to get in (not too big), leave the lid on and cut a small hole in it. Then dampen paper towel or some moss and place it in there. That's it nothing to it. Hope I helped a little,. If I left anything out hopefully someone will add to this... Good luck!! :)

I agree that all those lamps will cause some bad sheds unfortunately. I suggest (which will probably save you some money too) getting the UTH you chose, and getting a real thermostat. Personally, I bought the ZooMed reptitemp thing and it almost went out the window. It sucked. Some people use them without issue, but IMO it's just too much guessing. You can get a thermostat as cheap as $26 on amazon.com here I use three of these (along with a Herpstat, and a Johnsons, both are more expensive).

As far as the ambient temps, I do use a low watt lamp in the winter because I live in a drafty apartment in Massachusetts, BUT I use it with a dimmer. The plug in lamp dimmers are Home Depot or Lowes are only $10. It's always more than enough to heat as needed.

Hope I helped! I'm just giving my opinion, and things I've used and really didn't like. I'd hate to see you come talk about a horrible shed after wasting all that money :( I brought back A LOT of stuff when I first started.

Edit: Just wanted to add, I live by my temp gun as well. It was cheap and accurate. I got the PE-2 but the PE-1 is nice too.

I'll probably scratch the bulb then and just run the enclosure without an animal for awhile to see how stable the termpature is like that. If needed I can always get a bulb later before getting the snake.

I heat my apartment generously since it's included in my rent. I just didn't think the UTH would provide much warmth on its own. My experience with this sort of equipment is old and unreliable at best, heh.

Looking at that thermometer I see that the two probes are separate for temp and humidity, at first I skimmed and thought they read temps from two zones. your recommendation sounds more sensible with that in mind, I'll look into that, thanks.

Should also mention, people are saying "all those lamps". There's only 1 lamp on that list. I listed the housing and the bulb separately. Not sure if that's causing confusion?

Thanks for the heads up on the thermostat. That's exactly the sort of experience I was hoping someone would chime in with before I placed the order for anything and was stuck with it :)

The UTH will provide plenty of warmth as long as you don't coat the bottom with tons of bedding.

Don't worry about the lamp if you have a nicely heated apartment, it'll dry everything up.

Hmmm I'm getting the idea that this is the same situation with reptiles as it is with fish... All these companies will make things like RO/DI systems or CO2 regulators, or in this case, thermostats and temp-guns... But you end up paying for the word "reptiles" or "aquariums" on the packaging, and the brand name, so 9/10 times you're probably better off spending the same money on something that isn't necessarily marketed for pets...

As tempting as it is to get everything in one order from one site located in Canada, I'm well aware that good equipment can last a lifetime, whereas finicky equipment will last maybe 6 months (if you're lucky) before it becomes relentless obsessive irritation :P

Save yourself some time and money. Go to Reptile Basics and buy a heated rack and a thermostat. Throw in some paper towels and a water bowl. Add snakes. Done. :D

Don't get the Zoo Med Repti-Temp 500R it doesn't have numbers on it just a gradient of colors.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by babyknees

Don't get the Zoo Med Repti-Temp 500R it doesn't have numbers on it just a gradient of colors.

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Wow... That's pretty useless...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wiggy

Wow... That's pretty useless...

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Yeah, don't you love how none of the sites that sell it tell you that?

ok the repti-temp 500r is getting slammed here & i have one so i have to jump in & add my input.
1) yes the gradient colors on the dial have no numbers & i see how some people can think of that as bad but...i have certain spots on my dial that i know will give the certain temp range i maintain. knowing where these spots are is as easy as marking it with a simple line with a pen.
2) yes, there is alot of continuous adjustments needed with this t-stat, especially when going through major season changes but...i personally monitor my snakes temps religiously because i will not put blind trust in any device, especially a heat source & its "controller". i have the time to check temps like that so it doesnt bother me too much.
3) the thing is, those more expensive digital t-stats - johnson, herpstat, etc...they're designed to control heat devices putting out high hundreds to low thousands of wattage, like what you would see with large racks but they're wholly overkill for something putting out way less then that in a single cage set up. if i'm ever able to get up to 3 bp's like i want, i will invest in one of those more expensive t-stat because by that point i'll be running numerous heat pads adding up to the wattage that would require a more expensive control.

Is anyone familiar with the lids/lock clips?

http://www.petsandponds.com/en/repti...p17160428.html

http://www.petsandponds.com/en/repti...p16346278.html

Seems like a pretty straightforward thing, but I've found some complaints about different zilla lids/locks out there, and it wouldn't be the first time a "universal-fitting" product didn't fit.

My concern would be whether the tank's brace would be an issue fitting the lid (lid says universal fitting for terrariums AND aquariums), and whether the locks are gonna turn out to be cheap and useless.

idk about all the other stuff, but i have a 100w light bulb on my 55g, and if i dont regulate it, it gets my tank at 110+, so 150 seems really unnecessary, and its the same height as yours too so i feel it would do the same

Hey,
If you are just setting up now I'd just start here...

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...arium-Solution

Forget the top screen systems this will help with heating and humidity.

T-stats, I am not a fan of any of the ones PandP sells. If you have the cash I'd go with a herpstat or helix or VE300. If you do not have the money I'd suggest a hydrofarm from amazon.com yup .com not .ca they will ship it. It is not an accurate probe and will need to be compensated for but on glass it will work not the best but it will be ok. It is about the same price as the 500R with is crap. If you really want to go that route don't buy one I'll give you the one I have. I am hesitant not because I think I'd use it but I don't think anyone should use it. Junk.

A

http://images42.fotki.com/v1374/phot...sLounge-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

The zilla temp/hygrom is quite poor. One probe is temp one humidity just not a good product, the exo terra is better.

there are other options too the cheap ESU thermometers for aquariums and a brass hygrometer from a tobacco shop (downtown) can make a good option.

Personally I like the zoo med pads over the Exo ts but that is personal preference.

I second that idea.

I second both of kitedemons ideas But I would go with the hydrofarmtho because it's cheaper. And the aquarium solution Works like a charm and it only costs about 20$.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JohnNJ

buy a heated rack and a thermostat. Throw in some paper towels and a water bowl. Add snakes. Done. :D

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Doesn't exactly make for a nice pet display, though.

third lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

Hey,
If you are just setting up now I'd just start here...

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Nice. I'd been wondering how well that would work. Good to know it's already working for someone else.

Now I wonder if it's practical for a 40-gallon.

That's actually an amazing idea, kite...

It's late and I'm kinda tired cause I just got off work... But I thought I'd share the grief...

So I checked out the temperature guns at tempgun.com...

"IMPORTANT NOTE: We had a facility fire on Sept. 26, 2011, and we lost all of our inventory. We will not be able to fill orders until further notice."

.... Anyone else appreciating the irony? -_-

Well, I'm gonna try to get some sleep so I can re-read these when I'm more awake, lol

I have found that depending on what you want as far as asthetics in your tank, and the kind of environment you want for your snake, the possibilities and different combinations are limitless. I personally use lots of substrate so I do use lamps as well as an UTH. I just got my twenty long aquarium squared away, and have already been given a 50 gallon with stand that I can use once my baby grows another foot or two. If you want to go for a natural look in your tank with lots of nice mulch or coconut dirt, read my post about humidity problems. Once I got my setup dialed in to propper humidity/temperature consistently, I posted details about how I did it.

i bought my temp gun from pro exotics & i love it.
now, again on the trashing of the 500r t-stat...
please people, try to acknowledge the fact that this device is not a "set & forget" deal. some people dont mind the constant adjustments & temp checks...whereas others want something a little less time consuming.
to each his own of course, but it's not fair to say the device is trash or crap or whatever because mine works just fine for me & does what i need it to do & my very close monitoring of the temps will ensure that i'm able to catch temp spikes before they get out of hand.
i understand everyone's gonna have their own opinion & thats fine but please be more clear that your just stating your personal opinion based on experience with something you dont like & acknowledge that just because something didnt or doesnt work out to your needs & wants doesnt mean its not gonna work for someone else.