Proud new owner of a.....

.... tank 8)

Hopfully in the next couple of weeks that tank will have a nice new BP to keep it company (heh... "BP"... that's my first use of snake lingo in a public forum). It'll be my first pet in like... 6 years and first snake as well. Definitely lookin forward to it & WITHOUT A DOUBT have been doing my research. hell, i've been reading stuff all over the internet for the past three weeks in anticipation for this x-mas present to myself

I still gotta get stuff to keep it clean, warm, humid etc. to keep it comfortable & fed.

speaking of fed, too bad i can't feed it the rats that live behind the appartment i'm about to move in... free & plentiful those bastards are :wink:

What i would like to see though, are pictures of your little snake worlds... i'd like to see how you guys set up, heat/humidify your tanks. That would help me out some. Tryin to make some decisions on stuff i'm gonna need... for example, if i go w/ a under tank heat source, will i still need a lamp for basking? my guess is yes?

if you guys have any tips on getting all the supplies for as inexpensive as possible, fire away

Sadly, I currently don't have a digital camera, but I can describe my setup.
It's a 20 gallon tank(in the coming weeks I hope to upgrade to a nice sized rubbermaid) with reptibark for substrate. Two clay pot bottoms for hides. One on the warm side, and one on the cool side. A branch with fake vines wrapped around it to provide cover. A big ceramic water dish for drinking/soaking. A big long fake vine bundle thing. I have the base of it tucked in the corner by the water dish, and the long vines are flowing around to the front of the tank, to provide cover. Then I have two strips of fake vines criss crossing half way up the cage, attached to the sides by suction cups. Looks pretty cool. Hopefully I can get some pics before I get the new cage, cuz I like how the current one looks.
Oh, and for heating I currently have a human heat pad tucked under the warm side. After the X-mas holidays I'm gonna get a nice thermostat and some flexwatt heat tape so I won't have to worry about keeping the temps from fluctuating.
Oh, and two digital thermometers/hygrometer to accurately measure temperatures. :)

As for needing a lamp, I don't think you need one if you can get the temperatures correct with just an under tank heater. I myself don't like lamps, as they tend to dry out your tank, which isn't good when you need a humid environment.
If you do go with a heat pad(which is recommended since belly heat is essential), I also recommend running it with a thermostat. I've had my heat pad running perfectly fine from August till now, and just the other week I went to check on my bp, and discovered that the heating pad had malfunctioned, causing the temperatures to skyrocket from the usual 92 to 125. I quickly got my bp out, put her in her water dish to cool down her core temperature, and checked her over. She's been fine, but it's definitely an experience I wouldn't want to repeat.

Good luck with getting your "christmas present". ;) Oh, and welcome to the site! :D

First off, welcome to the site and on your future BP!! :D

Here is my set up. It is a 29 gal sitting on it's side, which I highly recommend. That way you have more floorspace and it's easier to keep heat/humidity in the tank. My door is kind of elaborate with hinges, and slides but you could just use a regular screen top with lid locks.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5.../cagefront.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...26/openlid.jpg

I recommend the accurite thermometer/hygrometer that you can get from wal mart. As mentioned you can use clay pot bottoms for hides. The ones that I got are actually plastic not clay.

Cool! I like the modification on the front. And the bamboo to cover the sides is very nice looking. It's a simple enough setup, but nice. 8)

yep simple, yet very effective. The bamboo stuff is actually just place mats I picked up for a dollar a piece. I've been meaning to pick up some more stuff for the inside but with the holidays i've been kind of busy.

Congratulations and welcome to the site! I never tire of seeing people actually put the effort into researching proactively and making all the preparations for thier incoming snake. Lots of resources here to dig around in but never hesitate to ask anything needed.

ohhh, good idea Lucky... My tank IS kinda taller that i wanted, but i can't complain, i got it and the oak cabinet stand for 50 bucks :D if i can find a way to use the tank stand and get the tank on it's side i'll have to give that a try.

and what the hell is that on the top?

Cody, thanks for the discription & answer to my lap Q - Smulkin, thanks for the welcome

Oreo, welcome to the forum. Getting your first BP (or any new herp, really) is always an awesome experience; reminds me of when I got my first one years ago. The preparation of the cage, even the research was fun, and getting the snake itself was even better. :) Have you ever kept reptiles before?


Lucky, that is an awesome idea. I think I'll do that with my 20l tank when the BP in it grows a bit more. I really do prefer snake cages that open from the front; much easier to put snakes back in after handling.

Nope, never kept a rep. Never really given it much though before till now, but I'm lookin forward to it & tryin somethin a little different. The interesting part will come if i end up getting back together w/ my Ex gf who's TERRIFIED just at the sight of a snake on TV :lol:

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Originally Posted by OreoGaborio

and what the heck is that on the top?

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well there is a speaker and a blanket (used to cover up tank to get 50/50 day/night hours)

welcome aboard oreo

the only thing i can suggest t o u is to list every fact u know about BP keeping, to us (meaning those peeps who've had snakes for more than 4 months *ME*) and categorize it like *TANK SETUP* and *FEEDING* etc
i tink thats the best way to get all the correct info about BP keeping

PS WELCOME AGAIN

Hey Oreo!! Welcome! Always good to see a fellow Mass-hole / Bostonian :D I highly reccomend you take a trip up to NH to visit NERD's facility. Wow, I'm like becoming the NERD spokesgirl, I think you're like the fifth person this week I've told to go up there. I haven't even really seen all of it myself yet! Ah well... sometime :)

Ill try and post some pictures of my setups later on tonight, its nothing very spectacular.But it works for me

I took some pics specially for you.....lol dont you feel special :) jk

aight, wow... alot of stuff to cover now....

Lucky - a speaker... heh, your BP must love it when you crank it up ;)

Alex - this link covers alot of what i've learned - http://www.kingsnake.com/ballpythonguide/ - the rest of the stuff i've picked up here & there on this site... just little tid-bits of info

Lindsay - you're like 10 minutes from the place, what are you wating for? do you need me to hold your hand while you cross the street? ;) GIT UP THERE already :D

Brandon - Usually it takes a GIRL to make me feel special... but for you i'll make an acception... just this once :lol:

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Originally Posted by invadertoast

Hey Oreo!! Welcome! Always good to see a fellow Mass-hole / Bostonian :D I highly reccomend you take a trip up to NH to visit NERD's facility. Wow, I'm like becoming the NERD spokesgirl, I think you're like the fifth person this week I've told to go up there. I haven't even really seen all of it myself yet! Ah well... sometime :)

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Seriously...when you coming up already?

K

I dunno 'bout her, but i bet you'll be seeing me within a month :D

Think i could get a BP.N discount? 8)

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Brandon - Usually it takes a GIRL to make me feel special... but for you i'll make an acception... just this once

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Hahaha great.

Well, like i said, they are nothing spectacular.....

Here is a pic of Roxys tank. She decided to knock down her thermometer....

http://image34.webshots.com/34/9/99/...0BYUmre_ph.jpg

And one of Rebels tank.........I just got done cleaning it out,she took and unusually sized dump, it was the biggest thing i have ever seen :0 Thats why shes sitting on top like that, i had just set her down.

http://image30.webshots.com/30/0/4/2...9yePreW_ph.jpg

If the pictures dont work,im sorry, lately ive been trying to post pictures but it hasnt been working.
Just to clarify.... the [img] comes before [/img] right ???

yeah, you posted the pics right... but your hosting doesn't allow remote access so i just gotta right click it to get the URL of the pic & paste it into the browser but that's no biggie... Thanks bro, appriciate it

how much were those thermometers you got there? i assume they're just regular indoor/outdoor digital jobbies? do they measure humidity too?

Yep humidity too.

They are great,very acurate (hense the name "acu-rite")

Alot of people here use them, we get them at wal-mart, for 14 bucks, its a very good thing to have around.

Sadly, i just totally ruined one of mine......i was cleaning out my corn snakes cage and i was cutting some newspaper,i had the thermometer on the floor under the newspaper and i got my scissor out , picked up the paper (not knowing i had picked up the cord to the probe with it) and cut it in half. There goes 14 bucks down the drain, ill pick up a new one tomorrow. No biggie....

dude, just splice the wires together! but before you strip the wires or anything match them up so you know which one is which & label them... then splice away, get some electrical tape... good as new

errr... i mean.... yeah, that sucks, the thing's trash....... send it to me :D

LOL thats a very good idea.......ahh im so lazy when it comes to things like that though.....buying another one sounds so much easier.

But who knows, i really dont wanna waste 14 bucks.....err, ill figure it out.

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yeah, you posted the pics right... but your hosting doesn't allow remote access so i just gotta right click it to get the URL of the pic & paste it into the browser but that's no biggie...

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Does anybody know of one that does ?

I dont wanna make people do that everytime they wanna look at one of my pic's, it not much of a big deal to do so.....but still, just opening up the thread and seeing the pics right there sounds so much more conveinnt, right now im using webshots....Does photobucket allow remote access ?

dude, it'll take you 5 mintues tops.... how long would it take you to drive to the store, find it, wait in line, pay & drive home? don't be a FOOOOOOOOL man ;)

as for pic hosting... most of the forums i go on allow attachments... sucks this one doesn't.

IDK, but i guess you can just look at images that have been posted successfully, click on the propteries, and see where people are hosting them.

If i leave out the [img and [/img] would it provide a link and then would you be able to view my pics from webshots.com ?

http://image30.webshots.com/30/7/58/...3KokaTL_ph.jpg

Lets see if that works.........

still gotta right click - copy shortcut - paste. if you click it it says "forbidden".

now stop jacking my thread :wink:

cool tank lucky. good idea. got me thinking about doing that to mine. is it all screen front? half plexiglass? do your temps and humidity stay good that way? just wondering. so i can begin the transformation process. ha.

Ok guys, after Christmas and New Year's and all this stuff that makes me be busy, I'm making a trip up. No more talk from me, I'm gonna drive my butt up there! I'll get in touch with you after the Holidays K, lol. That is if my car doesn't break down again between now and then (it's done it twice in two weeks, only during Christmas shopping... maybe it's a sign?)

daniel-
It is a regular aquarium screen top that's on a hinge. I attached "slides to it and installed the plexiglass to further help keep heat/humidity in. Heat and humidity are good.

invadertoast-
we're going to hold you to that!!