New To Snakes - Ball Pythin Environment Setup

Hello all,

Very long story short. I have been interested in keeping a ball python for a while now. In my older years I have become slightly more wiser and therefore have slept on this idea for about 3 months. The urge is still there so I am going to bite the bullet.

I want to setup an environment that is both good for the snake and pleasing on the eye. So I am looking to buy some sort glass vivarium type setup. My question is do you have advice on where to purchase. I am looking at a 40 Gal enclosure and the only 2 contenders I can see are Exo-Terra or Zoomed. I really would like some advice on which of their products to buy or here about something I may have missed.

Many thanks Everyone.

My advice is to buy a animal plastics or other xpvc type enclosure....they work way better and you will have far less hassle keeping correct husbandry..... they are lightweight can stack multiple cage should you chose to. Just my two cents

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Originally Posted by frostysBP

My advice is to buy a animal plastics or other xpvc type enclosure....they work way better and you will have far less hassle keeping correct husbandry..... they are lightweight can stack multiple cage should you chose to. Just my two cents

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Thanks for the advice but I really do want a glass type setup. I considered plastic and its not the way I want to go.

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Originally Posted by ShaggyRS6

Thanks for the advice but I really do want a glass type setup. I considered plastic and its not the way I want to go.

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Just curious as to how you ended up at that decision? There are fantastic displays that can be done with PVC enclosures which are significantly easier to maintain proper husbandry in than glass aquariums. You said for yourself that you would like "to setup an environment that is both good for the snake and pleasing on the eye".

Here's just one example of an Animal Plastics display enclosure by one of our own members:
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...a9327a5a81.jpg

Eric, explain a little more about that then. How do I fit the lights to that? could I just put that on top of a table I have at home? What's the little box of tricks I see in the picture? And could you detail what I would need if I went that route to get a nice setup?

Just another thought to consider. Ball pythons do best if their caging grows with them. You don't want to put a hatchling into the cage you intend to keep for life. An adult cage is way to big for a small snake. I used to say that you need four cages over the lifetime of a ball python. But I realize that is hard for people, so three should work as well. But I've also seen people do it with just two. A "baby" sized tub that the baby feels secure in and will eat, and once 1000-1200 grams transition to an adult tub/tank. Usually these are small on width and height but long on depth so the snake has room to grow/move.

I've never tried the two cage approach, All mine have gone through my four sizes (except those bought as adults, etc). Although there is one catch with changing tubs/cages. It can sometime spark not eating. You might have to put them back to get them to eat again and wait until they are a bit bigger to try the move again.

The box is a thermostat(most important part) second is a radiant heat panel or under tank heater hooked up to the thermostat.....how you decorate it is up to you..as for light I have under cabinet leds in mine..some companies will wire everything for you so all you have to do I decorate.....these blow any glass tank out of the water...if you get glass your going to end up with a tinfoiled lid paper taped to 3 of the sides and misting 2 times a day. Unless your living in Florida this style of tank towers over a glass one.

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And yes you can put it on your table at home

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Ok excellent. Well it looks like I have come to the right site! This is why I have not rushed into things, I want to make the right decision. A little more details then. I don't plan on getting a baby snake, I wanted something that is well started, I'd to have something that is already used to human contact or at least that's what my initial thoughts are.

So with that in mind what do you suggest on size of tank and the accessories to go with it?

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Originally Posted by ShaggyRS6

Eric, explain a little more about that then. How do I fit the lights to that? could I just put that on top of a table I have at home? What's the little box of tricks I see in the picture? And could you detail what I would need if I went that route to get a nice setup?

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I certainly could do all of those things, but there's already a great little (OK, not so little) thread about exactly this!

How to set up a PVC cage (AP T8) With Pictures!

Happy reading! :gj:

The PVC T8 is a good option if you're starting out with an older, established snake. I have several and once they're dialed in they're easy to maintain and you can set up nice displays in them.

For interior lighting LED-type rope lights attached securely to the top/rear corner work well.

Thank you! Well you will be pleased to know that I have contacted Animal Plastics, and the guy the does the heat mats Pro-Products? And I am getting a quote :) I do have another question. What Thermometer/Humidity do you recommend?

Sounds like you're off to a great start!

The Accurite brand (similar to this one - http://www.acurite.com/environments/...r-00891a2.html) is what many people use in their T8s. They even have a picture of a BP on their own website it's so popular in the hobby. You used to be able to find them at Walmart - not sure if that's true anymore or not.

More important than being able to measure the temperature is being able to control the temperature. A good quality thermostat is, IMO, the most important piece of equipment that you can buy for your animals.

Thanks! The guy did say he recommended a Thermostat. Was about $70 - I forget the name, but it was one of the fire approved.

Here's the thermostat that I recommend (also, the one you'll see in many of the pictures here because it's the standard for quality): http://www.spyderrobotics.com/home/products.html

The Herpstat 1 is personally what I'd recommend. The 2 and 4 are for when you have multiple enclosures and want to only use a single thermostat.

Definitely go with a plastic, reptile specific enclosure. Lots of good ones, but I highly recommend vision cages. I wasted a lot of time and some $ trying to get a glass aquarium "just right". The plastic cages look much more attractive and cleaner to me. I went with a herpstat1, and it's great.
You'd probably end up "blacking out" the sides and back of a glass enclosure anyway.

You've already decided, but I have an Atasuki glass reptile-specific enclosure that's working out well and is just right. I bought it already assembled from pet store. Very solid, with good ventilation and front-sliding doors.

http://www.atasuki.com/_d268645923.htm


Looks like this:

http://i59.tinypic.com/2d2el9u.jpg

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Originally Posted by The Golem

You've already decided, but I have an Atasuki glass reptile-specific enclosure that's working out well and is just right. I bought it already assembled from pet store. Very solid, with good ventilation and front-sliding doors.

http://www.atasuki.com/_d268645923.htm


Looks like this:

http://i59.tinypic.com/2d2el9u.jpg

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It aint over till the fat lady sings!! Thanks everyone. I have learnt a lot in a very short amount of time. Keep the comments coming!