OK kids, give it to me straigt on the housing issue

Alright, there has been a ton of discussion about what to house BP's in for the life of their existence. Some say that the 116qt sterilite is good enough for an adult, some say that it is STILL too small. I want to get Hissy in her life long digs within the coming months. I am not worried about gettin her a tub that is too big because I love the interior decorating portion of the enclosure set up so I will fill it with lots of stuff to make sure she feels safe. I cannot really afford to go out & drop a rock & a half or more on an "official" herp cage. So, talk to me kids, where can I find that ever elusive & oh so sought after sterilite or rubbermaid that has the six feet of floor space needed & still has a bit of height to it!!?? Hissy likes to climb from time to time so I want her to have that option. Lay it out for me kiddies!! :P

Ok please dont take this as me knocking on you but why not the official herp cage ? after all your ball will be around a long long time if properly cared for why not give it an enclosure you both will enjoy. How long can it take to save up $150-$200?

I don't take it as you knockin me and it isn't the fact that I couldn't find a way to drop the buck fifty on a cage, but if there are easier, FAR less expensive alternatives, why not go that route?? I am in the process of trying to graduate college. To do so I have to student teach this semester. This means I have to pay the school like I am going to regular classes but actually I am going to a job. I have all the same responsibilities as a regular teacher. However, I do not get paid. Because I have to be available for nite time activities just like a regular teacher, there is no time for a part time job. So, I pay to work & not get paid but I won't have enough time to work a job where I do get paid. If you were able to follow, you would know that saving money is extremely important right now!

Add to that the fact that I have rent & utilities every month AND the fact that I just got engaged & you can hopefully see why, at least right now, spending 15 or 20 bucks on a cage big enough for the rest of her life is far more appealing than 150-200. :)

Also, I am told that rubbermaid & sterilites are FAR easier to deal with when it comes to maintaining heat & humidity.

Or if you are handy with tools, you could consider building yourself a cheaper version of the "professional" cages with the sliding doors in front and a closed top. I have one that I bought for a song, that's basically an aquariumlike acrylic box with sliding doors in front. Wood could be used to frame the acrylic. You could build something like that for probably 1/3 the cost of the high end cages, and it really does the same thing.

For me $150 is more than I could get in year! Thats why I'm going with rubbermaids!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

Or if you are handy with tools, you could consider building yourself a cheaper version of the "professional" cages with the sliding doors in front and a closed top. I have one that I bought for a song, that's basically an aquariumlike acrylic box with sliding doors in front. Wood could be used to frame the acrylic. You could build something like that for probably 1/3 the cost of the high end cages, and it really does the same thing.

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I would LOVE to go this route Ginny but I am more apt to pull a Tim "The Toolman" Taylor than anything else & blow myself & my snake up if I tired to make my own tank! :lol: :lol: I am NOT at all handy with my hands. I will probably need to call in reinforcements just to set up the rubbermaid correctly!!

Kinda makes me wish my grandpappy was still alive. He was phenominal with his hands. He would be able to craft me the perfect cage!

Rubbermaids rock! They are cheap and work well thats another reason chose to go with them.

I'm using rubbermaids, but when Norbert gets adult size, I'm planning on getting an animal plastics cage.

I'm going to use rubbermaids for life. Those animal plastics are way to expensive for me.

I understand money issues totally, but you would be surprized how much pocket change adds up over time , and to first time herp , I dont know how old you are but if your old enough to push a lawn mower there is no reason you shouldent be able to make a couple hundred $$$ in the next 3 months much less for the whole year

Thanks for the financial consultation Robert, I will keep that in mind because apparently I hadn't thought of that already. All of my pocket change currently goes towards doing the laundry. I figure clean clothes is kind of important, right?

Big steralites huh?
Check this site out. (also may I mention ball pythons dont like big open spaces, so dont go too big)

Reptile Tubs

wow , well sorry for trying to offer some friendly advise , maybe if money is such an issue you maybe should not have invested the money on an animal your not financially able to properly care for?

No need to get upset guys :)
To each his own. I think Robert is just looking out for animals wellfare. Rubbermaids work great, but snakes are an expensive venture (ie vet trips). One thing new herpers should realize before getting into reptiles is how expensive they really are. Buying the animal is just the beginning.
I dont think anyone is questioning your husbandry eddie :) Im sure you take great care of your snake.

Well yeah, I currently am working to earn some money by doing like yard owrk and stuff. I would just rather buy soemhting thta is cheap but works. And maybe I'll conciter buying a animal plastics cage in the future.

I wasent questioning any ones husbandry. rubbermaids and sterilites work fine but as a matter of asthetic appearance if I only had one snake I would rather have it in a nice display enclosure.

And thanks green man for posting that link! That site rocks! I'm certainly concitering buying from there.

my pleasure ;) . I havent had much of a chance to poke around on that site yet. Just make sure to get the proper dimensions. I know they have some good ones that would hold a bci for a few years.

the man asked to for yall to give it to him straight, yet all i see is a bunch of beatin' around the bushes. eddie, if you want a good enclosure that is going to keep your ball python nice and happy as well as meet all of the care requirments, my best suggestion is definitely a rubbermaid container. I say this bc I have experienced with ALL types of enclosures, from glass to wooden to plastic to freakin rasamatastic. go with rubbermaid d00d, best 12 bucks you'll ever spend in your life. If you go to wal-mart, somewhere around the kitchen section there will be all sorts of "snake cages" to choose from.
here is a pic that i took JUST FOR YOU of my bci's enclosure (it was closer, cig for size comparison. that'd be your standard sized newport boss). my ball pythons are set-up very similiar, and everyone is perfectly happy.
https://ball-pythons.net/modules/cop...rubbermaid.JPG

Well than, Wizill just summed up everthing in just one post.

that's usually my goal, first time herp.. :)

Somehow it seems liek anytime I go to answer I question it takes me quite a few posts to say what I want to.

Will, you are the man!!

Robert, I am not gunna get into a urinating match with you. Trust me, I know how much it costs to properly care for my snake. I am not on of these people that gets one for the cool factor without knowing what they are getting into. I have the funds to give her the food she needs, to buy any new enclosure accessories she needs & to get her to the vet if she needs it. I just have other things that NEED my money at this point. So, I take the idea that there is no need to spend a couple hundred bucks on a tank when I can get a rubbermaid for 15 bucks. I understand that you probably weren't trying to come off as though you were lecturing or trying to be snooty in any way, but that is how I initially took it. Trust me though, I take very good care of my little angel.

More to the point though, Will, while I appreciate your post, it isn't a matter of whether or not I will get a rubbermaid/sterilite style container, it is where can I find the one that I need. I have not been able to find the proper size!

And to Green Man, I will check that site out shortly. I know that BP's don't want too much space. I do want to get the tub that she can live in for life but believe me, i WANT to decorate, I enjoy it. So I will put a TON of stuff in there so that she can feel secure in her enclosure. Then, as she gets bigger, I will take some things out so she has a little more room to get from thing to thing. As a matter of fact, I will probably just get bigger stuff when she gets bigger! :P

By the way, on the site posted by Green Man, VE175 looks like a good one! What do ya'll think about that!!??

That's what I was thinking. That tub looks pretty awesome. Also cheap too. Great for all of us budget-minded people. :) Those hides are pretty cool lookin too, did you check those out? I think I'm going to email them and ask what shipping would be on that big ol' tub.

FWIW, if you can just hold out a few months, the big retail chains will have the tree-storage bins available in Nov or Dec, and they'll be perfectly-sized.

Here it is for ya - I'm giving it to you straight - 36longx24deepx12high should be as big as you need to go to house anything but a huge female BP. Before anybody cries foul - I would rather the cage be 36x24x18 but hey we can't have everything - where would we put it. Anyways you can really get as big of an enclosure as you want as long as you put enough accessable water dishes and hides. Some may say that even smaller is fine - but there's my two cents :) *and lots of people here have much more experience than I ! :)

EDIT: Disclaimer: "You can't have everything, where would you put it?" is a quote from comedian Steven Wright (check him out he's hilarious)

EDIT 2: and just to chime in, I know none of us college types have any extra money - that's for sure! Plus we got loans to pay when we get out - but a one time puchase of 150 really isn't too bad considering it'll last you the life of your snake and if you get a quality one like vision or animal plastics it'll last the rest of your life as well! That's just something to tack on there - if you can afford it I think it's well worth it - if you aren't in a position to drop that kind of cash you can make a much more inexpensive one that works just fine :)

I think the bottom line is that if you provide your snake with a properly-sized, secure enclosure that will hold the proper levels of heat and humidity, it doesn't matter whether the enclosure costs $12 or $1200. When Smulkin and I first started keeping snakes, we figured it was glass tanks or nothing. 12 snakes later, we've learned that rubbermaid-type enclosures beat glass hands-down for holding humidity. Currently, we use both types of enclosures with equal success, the glass containers just take a little more effort, which we are willing and able to put forth. Would we like to spend $150 on an enclosure for each of our 14 snakes? Sure! But it's not going to happen. We need to buy other things - like food for our kids. It doesn't make us irresponsible keepers - or parents, for that matter - on the contrary, we take our herps seriously and do what we know will work best for them. The people on this forum use many different types of enclosures, but we're all here because we care about our pets and want to do all we can for them. So whether someone spends $15 or $150 on an enclosure, they should be commended for being here, learning all they can.

Green Man - thanks for that link!

Indeed Green - kickass resource there - they'll wind up with some of our dinero I am sure!

And now a word from our sponsor:

http://www.chocolatemilkhavesome.com...311-simmah.jpg

im ordering from reptile tubs.

Eddie, I would def go for a sterilite system. Trust me man, it's way much easier than a tank and your BP literally blooms in front of ya :D

Blooms eh? Sweet! My choise is made!

Aint it the shiz, Wiz? Lemme know how the shipping runs for ya if you beat me to it.

will do.

I remember posting about reptile tubs months ago and nobody seemed that impressed, but I have as yet to find a larger plastic tub than their biggest, if you need a specific size,or an odd size I think its great.(provided they ship promptly)

Rubbermaid, Glass tanks, Animal Plastics etc there all good It's all in what you can afford or what you prefer.
I have seen some pretty big rubbermaid type containers at Lowes and very reasonable prices.
I agree with JJ 36x24x12 or 18 is all you need for the normal size adult.
One thing I have to disagree on with most is the "trouble" it is for temps and humidity in glass tanks. I spent 12.00 for a Tropic-Aire and another 10.00 for the pump and have never looked back on temp/humidity problems.
22.00 not a bad investment.

I never have humidity probs in my tanks either. The waterbowl provides all the humidity I need during shed times, when I cover most of the airholes in the plexiglass lid with tape to conserve humidity. During nonshed times, I just leave a few more airholes exposed.

Ours glass-kept are perfectly fine with steady humidity levels, beautiful sheds no regrets.

I have a glass tank now & I have to work a little harder than most to keep my humidity levels correct & the temps fluctuate a ton. I also live in a very dry environment. I could go with a glass container because i have gotten good enough at maintaining proper husbandry that we have perfect sheds & no feeding troubles. I would just like a sterilyte or rubbermaid or what have you because it would be less expensive & require less work.

Yeah - it sucks losing the transparency - try taking a picture through tupperware. But it IS a LOT easier to maintain from a few angles.