Been awhile, back this time with a housing question

Sorry it's been awhile since I've stopped by, so I'm not sure if this is the proper place to post or not.

Anyway, my male BP is currently pushing over four feet in length. I had some feeding issues with him a few months ago, but after I discovered he only eats live rats in his cage, everything has been going smoothly. (Yes, I take the neccesary precautions before putting a rat into his domain, and no I don't have any qaulms about live feeding. So please no lectures. :P )

Anywho, its gotten to a point where I'm afraid its time for a cage upgrade. Right now he's in a glass terrarium with 36x24x12 dimensions. The poor guy can't even stretch all the way out and / or up fully.

So what size cage dimensions would be good to fit his needs for the rest of his life?

Also, does anyone have any good reccomendations on whether I should stick with glass terrariums or perhaps try something else? I'm all about his comfort first and foremost. Price really isn't an issue to me. I would like something thats easy to clean and at the same him keeps temp / humidities proper.

Anyway thanks for your input in advance.

EDIT: Almost forgot, my BP loves to climb is seems. He's always slithering up branches I put in his cage, and I'd like something that would give him more height as well.

hey tray, what do ya say?
(hehe sorry you must hear crap like that all the time)
I am a firm believer in steralites!
ALL HAIL STERALITES!
check this site out:
reptile tubs
Look at model VE 175. Looks like a good one.
And for 30 bucks ya cant lose! :)

OoOoo Looks nice, couple of questions though.

Where would the heat lamp be placed, and I wonder if they come in a more clearer complexion? (I like to watch my bp =p )

Well heat pads work best sterilites or tubs. But I guess is you really wanted a heat lamp you could cut a hole in the top.

check out our do it yourself section steralite do it yourself
It explains it all pretty well. First time herp is right on heating pads being your best bet. BP's need under body heat to help with digestion. Depending on the temps of the room though you may need a light to add to your ambient temp. The do it yourself section explains lighting.
Good luck!

edit: oh yeah, those are about as clear as Ive seen them. If you really wanted to get inventive though, you could cut out a large section of the side and replace it with plexyglass.

Actually I checked out the VE above the one you showed, and they're both somewhat opaque enough I can see inside.

As for lighting, I use a red bulb during the day and have an undertank reptipad on 24/7 (hot side).

Looking at that set up it really didn't mention anything about overhead lighting unless your specific reptile needs UV.

I think you kind of sold me on the tub. If you use one, what kind of undertank heater do you recommend that would keep the right temps? I notice they list a huge undertank strip, if you have something similar do you have it on 24 hours a day? Thanks again for you help!

You dont need UV for BP's but if your temps arent high enough you should add a light for heat. Just cut out a hole big enough for the lamp (and a couple of extra inches so you dont melt the plastic) Then put mesh on the hole and your good to go.
The first things I would do are get the tub, go to wallmart or taget and buy a human heating pad (make sure it doesnt have an auto turn off). The human heating pads come in different sizes and have 3 different settings so you can usually get your heat right. Once you have your tub and heat, put in a water bowl and measure your heat and humidity. Then start drilling holes accordingly. Once you have enough holes to where your humidity and temps are where you want them, you should be good to go. Keep in mind before drilling that lights lower humidity and you can always drill more holes, but you cant undrill holes you've already made :)
Hope Ive helped...

ps I keep my heat on 24/7. I let my house drop a few degrees at night so their heat drops as well.

I know they don't need UV. :P The do it yourself just mentiones UV lighting for general reptiles.

Sounds like this will be a doable project. I'll try ordering from them on Monday. (Or just head to wally world and do it myself)

I understand about the auto-turn off, that would be annoying.

Thanks a lot for your help, I think this is just the thing. Honestly I didn't want to go buy another huge glass terrarium and haul it all the way back to my house if I could avoid it. But I figured I check into what best for my BP first.

Thanks again for your help!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tray

(Yes, I take the neccesary precautions before putting a rat into his domain, and no I don't have any qaulms about live feeding. So please no lectures. :P )

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A rat isn't much of a threat to a full grown BP, even during constriction. The smaller BPs are more vulnerable to being bitten during constriction. However, most feeding injuries occur when an owner leaves a live rodent alone with an uninterested bp, and the rat does its damage at that point. Regardless if its right or wrong to feed live, it must be done under close observation.

(I'm not really addressing you Tray, just making a statement for those out there that read all of the live vs. f/t debates on here.)

I really would like to feed him F/T, about four months ago I did try. He ate one, after that it all went downhill.

I tried f/t, and he wouldn't bite. I tried mice, he wouldn't bite. I went a month trying everything I could think of. He used to eat outside of his cage in a rubbermaid I had set aside, then one day he just stopped.

Now he did shed during this time, I figured that might be the reason. One day he was just slithering around all crazy like, so I bought him a small rat and put it in his cage. Within ten seconds it was all over with. No matter what else I try, he will only eat live prey in his cage. It boggles my mind. It's been four months, now he eats every two weeks at 8 pm on thursday's. Hasn't skipped a meal yet. I figure if it works, who am I to argue.

But don't worry, I always watch him when I put a rodent in with him. I've seen pictures of bitten BP's and I swear that I won't let that happen to him. I do get a tad nervous during the initial few seconds of the contriction, but he seems to always have the rats head pointing away from his body.

I'll have to be careful when I introduce him to his new cage. I'm assuming switching his environment will be stressful. I wonder if I should keep his feeding schedule to normal or wait until he seems to adjust.

Im a fresh killed man myself. I do however have a backup stock of frozen in case I cant get the mice and rats from the local stores.
I just give the mouse a good wack, then do a little mouse dance with tongs in front of Jaggy or bones and WAM. Done deal :)
Frozen is great and all but I figure a mouse that has just died 2 minutes prior to is the perfect temp. Sometimes its hard to tell with frozen thawed.

My oldest BP, approx. 3 years old, never would except anything but live until about a month ago. Now he has had 3 nice plump f/k rats since then. Still cant get him to take f/t though. So dont give up, I was just about ready to give up (been trying for 6 months off and on) when he finally took it, and hasnt looked back since (knocking on wood). My younger BP, dont know how old, will eat f/t or f/k and without doing the mousy jiggle. All I have to do is toss it in his tank and he will take it.

Hey Tray,
If money isn't a issue check out APcages ( Animal Plastics) at www.wantapet.com
I just got mine Wednesday, a T11 48"x24"x18" with belly heat routed in the bottom. They also have several options for lights.
Nice sturdy cages that hold temps and humidity real well and clean up is a breeze.
They make out to be a good display case as well. Easy for viewing.
Mine ran about $319.00 w/shipping.
Check it out and let me know what you think

Interesting. I didn't care for the website layout much, but the products look amazing. I really wish I knew about them back when I had bearded dragons.

Couple of questions. I didn't see any examples of the belly heatpad you mentioned (just as an option to buy). How much of the cage does it cover, and can you adjust the heat on it or does it regulate temps well enough as is?

Also, how hard is it to put together? I'm always enjoy a good project, but I'm planning on moving in about a year and I'm just curious if it would be a pain to take it apart.

Now a question for all you freshly killed rodent feeders out there. How do you get a fresh kill? Personally I hate rats, but I'm a wuss in the fact that I don't think I could bash it's brains in myself. Of course I find it fine and dandy to feed it alive to my snake, guess I'm a hypocrite.

But if you guys have a more humane way you kill your rats, how do you do it? I'd be willing to try fresh killed so long as no bashing is involved. What are your methods?

I would definitely recommend using Carbon Dioxide. According to a study done at Stanford, it is the most humane way to euthanize rodents/small mammals. I'm sure you can find information on it through google, but here's the quick, easy version from me.

You will need a tall, airtight container. A tall rubbermaid or garbage can should be fine. You will also need a margarine or similar small plastic container with a lid and dry ice (CO2).

First, cut a hole in the lid of the small container. Then, fill it part way with water and set the dry ice inside as well. Set the small container down on the bottom of the large container, and partly seal the larger container. Wait several minutes, to allow the large container to fill with carbon dioxide. Once it is ready, just put the rodent inside the larger container and it should be instantly knocked out followed by death. Be sure to only use your gas chamber on one rodent at a time. Also, air out the dead rodent before feeding, so the smell of the carbon dioxide will dissipate. Also, be careful not to inhale the carbon dioxide yourself as it could knock you out cold.

I was going to use this method, but the last feeding before I was going to make the switch from live to prekilled, the pet store was out of mice so I just bought a frozen one just to try, and I got lucky and my BP took it. Most likely, I will use still use CO2 in the future for other snakes though.

RE: ANIMAL PLASTICS - the routed in heat option is fantastic - these guys keep snakes and designed these enclosures specifically to cater to reptiles. Animal Plastics is great if you have the money to get a cage from them and the routed in heat is a great option. You will need a thermostat for the routed in heat - I recommend the BAH-1000 http://www.bigappleherp.com

Also check out www.boaphileplastics.com Very nice cages and affordable. Perhaps the 422D would work for him?