My reptile setting

This is my first snake.I have a 20 gal tnk with one hide and a water dish.I know i have to get another hide and will do so tomorrow.I was wondering if i should add anything else.I want to add branches for him to climb on...and was wondering if it would be ok to add fake plants in there to.My temp is at about 85-90 and working on the humidity.Any ideas of changes or the plants???I have my hide on my hotter side of the tank.Im trying to make my guy feel at home can anyone please tell me what they think???

Get yourself a second hide for the cool side so he won't have to choose between security and the temp he's looking for. Fake plants are ok but you have to clean them along with the tank when you go to disenfect. Make sure also you have a good thermometer (ie digital) so you can stay on top of your warm/cool side temps. If you're dealing with a screen top you'll also want to make sure you can keep the humidity where it needs to be. What are you heating with?

Ditto. :)

A heat lamp and a 75 watt bulb i also put a heater in my room becuase it was so cold in there

You're going to have humidity problems. Do you have an under the tank heater or a human heat pad? Belly heat is very important for digestions.

What are you using to measure your temperatures, and humdity? You can pick up an accurite digital that will measure both temperatures and humdity from walmart.

Im going to go buy a heat pad tonight and the digital for both hum and temp.I have one for temp but its not digital

what should i use for the bedding??

paper towel, aspen, stuff like that, but no pine or cedar.

As far as substrate goes, i perfer newspaper. Its cheap, easy to clean, and doesnt look all that bad.

as for fake plants in aquariums, I love the suction cup ones you can hang hither and thither... they look really good. Most reptile stores have em.
Congrats on the snake!

if you are going to use a heat lamp, a bulb and a heat pad i would get a thermostat to regulate those so it isn't too hot.

vaughn

If you're really wanting to provide climbing as well as decoration, I highly recommend the garland-like vines at Wally World. They imitate natural foliage, provide a climbing apparatus and gives lots of "cover". Royal almost never uses his hides anymore and instead, just curls up where the leaves are most dense. Plus, the vines add wonderful ascetic appeal.

do i tear up the newspaper/paper towels????For the humidity do i sray water in the cage 2 times a day???

for the newspaper or paper towels, you just put down some layers, you don't have to shred them.

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Originally Posted by Schlyne

for the newspaper or paper towels, you just put down some layers, you don't have to shred them.

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Bingo. I go with at least 4 layers. Its a personal preferrence, but i would defintiely not go with less than two.

As for humidity, what is your humidity at now. If you are not measuring it as of yet, it might not be a bad idea to cover a good bit of your screen top ( if you have one ) and at least spray once a day. The cage doesnt have to get soaked, but it does need to get a bit humid. If you are measuring your humidity, do you even need to mist?

My apologies to megan. I forgot that some people even have the problem of having too much humidity (before they mist or anything). It might even be fine, but I suspect it isn't :P