Few questions about and Racks/Cages

Hi,

Background

I'm relatively new to BPs I have only had one for a about a year now. I have a large 40g glass tank and it takes a ton of work to keep the humidity above 55%. I have tried all the tricks, foil top, moss, automatic mister etc.

When I first got him Benji was a great feeder never missed a meal. In the past 4 months his eating habits have gone sporadic. Sometimes when I put him in the feeding cage get ready to be feed and sometimes he just tries to escape. It looks like he has lost some weight and I'm little concerned. I'm attributing his change in eating behavior to the lack of humidity and perhaps the dryer season. He also rarely sheds and when it does it takes a while.

TL;DR Snake not eating/humidity issues.

Questions
1) I'm thinking of switching to a PVC rack http://www.animalplastics.com/ t3 or http://www.dragons4you.com/Cages.html any suggestions?

2) Can I use my UTH on these types of cages?

3) Can I put my glass tank on top of these cages?

4) What kind of snake would you suggest for a beginner that would work well in a 40g glass cage?

5) No shedding enough? Due to lack of growth and or humidity issues?

Thank you for taking time to read and answer my questions.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by narist

Hi,

Background

I'm relatively new to BPs I have only had one for a about a year now. I have a large 40g glass tank and it takes a ton of work to keep the humidity above 55%. I have tried all the tricks, foil top, moss, automatic mister etc.

When I first got him Benji was a great feeder never missed a meal. In the past 4 months his eating habits have gone sporadic. Sometimes when I put him in the feeding cage get ready to be feed and sometimes he just tries to escape. It looks like he has lost some weight and I'm little concerned. I'm attributing his change in eating behavior to the lack of humidity and perhaps the dryer season. He also rarely sheds and when it does it takes a while.

TL;DR Snake not eating/humidity issues.

Questions
1) I'm thinking of switching to a PVC rack http://www.animalplastics.com/ t3 or http://www.dragons4you.com/Cages.html any suggestions?

2) Can I use my UTH on these types of cages?

3) Can I put my glass tank on top of these cages?

4) What kind of snake would you suggest for a beginner that would work well in a 40g glass cage?

5) No shedding enough? Due to lack of growth and or humidity issues?

Thank you for taking time to read and answer my questions.

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1). Animal plastics is awesome for either racks or cages (so I've heard)

2). I suppose you could use your UTH. Usually you get flexwatt with a thermostat though.

3). I have. I laid a towel down before I placed the small tank ontop.

4). Dunno. I only keep bps.

Did Benji hit the 100gm mark or around this weight recently? BPs in my experience often stop reliably feeding at this mark. I prefer enclosures to racks, racks really do better in rooms at or near 80º they also are a pain to clean, many say other wise but I personally seem to spend forever doing mine. Reaching in to a 6 inch opening two feet deep is very difficult to thoroughly clean I have never found it easy or fast.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by narist

1) I'm thinking of switching to a PVC rack http://www.animalplastics.com/ t3 or http://www.dragons4you.com/Cages.html any suggestions?.

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I prefer tubs;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by narist

2) Can I use my UTH on these types of cages?

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Yes

Quote:

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Originally Posted by narist

3) Can I put my glass tank on top of these cages?

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Yes

Quote:

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Originally Posted by narist

4) What kind of snake would you suggest for a beginner that would work well in a 40g glass cage?

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King or better yet a Dragon;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by narist

5) No shedding enough? Due to lack of growth and or humidity issues?

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I would say growth. What is his weight?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

Did Benji hit the 100gm mark or around this weight recently? BPs in my experience often stop reliably feeding at this mark.

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I haven't weighed him in a while, but I'm pretty sure he is over 100g.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

I prefer tubs;)


King or better yet a Dragon;)


I would say growth. What is his weight?

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Since he is in my bedroom, I like the look of the cages over the tubs. I was thinking about getting a Dragon before I got my BP.

I think Kitedemon meant 1000g, as that is normally the "wall" I hear about.

Get yourself a food scale in the kitchen section of walmart/target, they run around $20 and are an invaluable piece of equipment for keeping an eye on weight and growth.

As far as racks vs glass cages vs pvc cages, I would go with a PVC Cage (like the t3 mentioned) as it is a gem at holding humidity, and maintaining ambient temps while still getting the display aspect from glass. Racks are great for multiple ball pythons, but if you are content with your single, pvc cage all the way.

Have you always moved him into another enclosure to feed? That is generally not recommended for BPs because it can stress them out. They can be more interested in finding security / safety than eating when moved to a new area for food. Not to mention, the whole "Cage food aggression" that pet stores like to tell you is a complete myth (at least with bp's, feel free to correct me as I thought it was a complete myth with all species but I'm not personally familiar with the more aggressive feeding species)

The growth could also be attributed to how often / size of prey. You say you have had your bp for a year, what is he eating / how often?


Edit: I see you mentioned you haven't weighed him in a "while" so disregard my part about the scale. Oopsie for misreading :)

I agree with roseyreps that it is better to feed in there enclosure. Look up snakebytes on YouTube. They had a myth episode where they did a not that scientific experiment on feeding in and feeding out of the enclosure.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RoseyReps

I think Kitedemon meant 1000g, as that is normally the "wall" I hear about.

Get yourself a food scale in the kitchen section of walmart/target, they run around $20 and are an invaluable piece of equipment for keeping an eye on weight and growth.

As far as racks vs glass cages vs pvc cages, I would go with a PVC Cage (like the t3 mentioned) as it is a gem at holding humidity, and maintaining ambient temps while still getting the display aspect from glass. Racks are great for multiple ball pythons, but if you are content with your single, pvc cage all the way.

Have you always moved him into another enclosure to feed? That is generally not recommended for BPs because it can stress them out. They can be more interested in finding security / safety than eating when moved to a new area for food. Not to mention, the whole "Cage food aggression" that pet stores like to tell you is a complete myth (at least with bp's, feel free to correct me as I thought it was a complete myth with all species but I'm not personally familiar with the more aggressive feeding species)

The growth could also be attributed to how often / size of prey. You say you have had your bp for a year, what is he eating / how often?


Edit: I see you mentioned you haven't weighed him in a "while" so disregard my part about the scale. Oopsie for misreading :)

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Yes I have always fed him in a separate cage. Though recently I did try feeding him in his cage and it worked the first time, but twice after that it did not. I knew about the food aggression myth, I did it so he wouldn't digest substrate. Also it made it easier to do some spot cleaning/full on cleaning etc.

I was feeding him more frequently when I first got him, now I feed him (or try to) once a week. He eats large mice f/t. I haven't tried feeding him rats yet because he is too small and none of the local pet stores carry frozen rat pups.

I will weigh him when I get home and let you guys know.

I'm pretty set on getting the PVC, I'm just going to wait till I save up a bit of money.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by narist

Yes I have always fed him in a separate cage. Though recently I did try feeding him in his cage and it worked the first time, but twice after that it did not. I knew about the food aggression myth, I did it so he wouldn't digest substrate. Also it made it easier to do some spot cleaning/full on cleaning etc.

I was feeding him more frequently when I first got him, now I feed him (or try to) once a week. He eats large mice f/t. I haven't tried feeding him rats yet because he is too small and none of the local pet stores carry frozen rat pups.

I will weigh him when I get home and let you guys know.

I'm pretty set on getting the PVC, I'm just going to wait till I save up a bit of money.

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I think it's a if its not broke dont fix it type of thing. If you feed outside of enclosure and it works and you like it great. It's just not necessary. But why change what works.

I did mean 1000 gm. oops.

Carpets can live in a 40 gallon (the smaller ones.) I think

i use a A.P t3 for my ball python and my blood python and they are great for holding heat and humidity its almost no work at all.
i got mine with the flexwatt, the light, the stand, and glass doors and locks. i have the flexwatt hooked up to a herpstat 4 and the temps hold steady with no problems. i say if you got the cash go for it you will not be disappointed at all. here is a couple of pics of my set up

http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/...ewcages012.jpg
http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/...ewcages011.jpg

I have two tanks 3 PVC enclosures (well two pvc and one poly carbonate) and a 5 hole rack. I prefer my custom poly carbonate first and then the PVC, Tanks, and then the rack. The rack is the hardest for me to heat and with my rough knees the hardest to clean (i am a big guy 6'4" and 230 fitting into a 6 inch by 18 inch opening and reaching back almost two feet is not easy) The only advantage the rack has is space saving.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

The rack is the hardest for me to heat and with my rough knees the hardest to clean (i am a big guy 6'4" and 230 fitting into a 6 inch by 18 inch opening and reaching back almost two feet is not easy) The only advantage the rack has is space saving.

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Easy to fix..........
#1 Heat the room
#2 Use the lids that your tubs came with :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

I'm 6 foot and 220 pound and can clean under the lid with no problem :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 05kas05

i use a A.P t3 for my ball python and my blood python and they are great for holding heat and humidity its almost no work at all.
i got mine with the flexwatt, the light, the stand, and glass doors and locks. i have the flexwatt hooked up to a herpstat 4 and the temps hold steady with no problems. i say if you got the cash go for it you will not be disappointed at all. here is a couple of pics of my set up

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Yeah, I get a pretty nice Xmas bonus so money won't be that big of a problem. I have a UTH with a "repti temp 500r" thermastat, can I just use this? Should I switch to flexwatt and get a better termasat?


Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2

Rub it in Rob, I bought my rack... :rage:

yes heating the room works fine my room that is not easy (2x oil heaters on max to hold 80º) in my case it is very expensive.

im sorry if i am wrong but your are feeding a year old bp mice equal to the size of a rat pup??? i know it probably doesnt look like it can but try to bump up the prey size to a weanling/ small rat he may like that alot better :D i know my year old bp is sitting at 1200grams well he is a little over a year now but he has pnly ever refused around 6 meals in his life *knock on wood* also what state do u live maybe some people on here could help you find a new feeder source if u cant get rat pups for future help

The good news is that he did strike at the mouse, the bad is he became uninterested shortly after.

I just weighed him. 512g

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spud6

im sorry if i am wrong but your are feeding a year old bp mice equal to the size of a rat pup???

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No. Sorry if that was unclear. I feed him large adult mice




Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2

Quote:

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Originally Posted by narist

Yeah, I get a pretty nice Xmas bonus so money won't be that big of a problem. I have a UTH with a "repti temp 500r" thermastat, can I just use this? Should I switch to flexwatt and get a better termasat?


Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2

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yes i would definitly recommend getting the flexwatt from A.P its like an extra 30.00 and comes wired and ready to plug in, as far as the thermostat goes i would definitly get a herpstat i would recommend the herpstat 2 or the 4 this way if you get another enclosure you can just plug it in and your done. or if you need to add a radiant heat panel along with your flexwatt to the one enclosure you get your covered either way. i use a herpstat one on my 4 tub rack also and it works great.

my enclosures stay around 80-82 0n the cool side and 87-92 on the hot side with just the flexwatt and the flourescent light that it came with from A.P i keep my house around 76 if it gets colder at night i use a radiator heater in the front room by the enclosures to keep the temps in the room up a little.

Benji finally ate. I saw him poking his head out of his hide foremost the day so In waited till night and feed him in his cage, he took bit like a champ. Anyway I just placed an order for a custom Animal Plastics cage. Similar to the T3 but a little narrower. Too bad it's going to take 8 weeks.

That's for all the great advice.


Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

Did Benji hit the 100gm mark or around this weight recently? BPs in my experience often stop reliably feeding at this mark. I prefer enclosures to racks, racks really do better in rooms at or near 80º they also are a pain to clean, many say other wise but I personally seem to spend forever doing mine. Reaching in to a 6 inch opening two feet deep is very difficult to thoroughly clean I have never found it easy or fast.

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you clean the top and the side of each compartment in the rack? sorry if this is a dumb question but wouldn't that be redundant? bp general don touch the top of the compartment that much, the sides are never dirty because of the tubs and unless there was an exploding defection is it necessary to clean the inside of the rack?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by threezero

you clean the top and the side of each compartment in the rack? sorry if this is a dumb question but wouldn't that be redundant? bp general don touch the top of the compartment that much, the sides are never dirty because of the tubs and unless there was an exploding defection is it necessary to clean the inside of the rack?

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If you dont use lids the snake can touch the bottom of the shelf above it. From there the germs/mites/(whatever) can move all over the rack;)

At 512 grams he could easily take a small rat. You may want to consider switching him over to rats.