heating a giant glass tank for multiple snakes?

Sooo since getting my first BP, I have decided to save a few more (I can’t handle watching them in the local petco just waiting to be loved.) I have been talking about getting a bigger tank for my 4ft friend. He’s currently in a 20 gal and he likes to venture ALOT at night so the one he’s in now doesn’t give him much room. My father in law brought me this giant tank that as you can see, I’m still working on, but just curious on the set up.. we are building our own screen covers for each individual section. Yes, you can divide it into four sections, or three, or two or just one. Anyways, i don’t think he’ll need more than one since this thing is massive but for now, does anyone have ANY idea how to heat this thing? I know bps need belly heat but the under side of this thing is wood and as of now does not have any room between the actual tank and the stand. Yes, they do come apart so Iv thought about putting something between them but that’s work in progress since this thing is 300 lbs. any ideas on how to provide belly heat in this? Iv heard some people put the heat pad inside the tank under the substrate.. I have a lot of fixing up to do with this but HEAT is the top on my list before anything else..

Any ideas? Please help!

[IMG]https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...s5f54otqs.jpeg[/IMG][IMG]

If it's a screen top, what about a CHE for each individual section? And of course each will need its own thermostat.

I don't see how you can use UTH either if theres no space under it for the thermostat probe, unless you find a way to elevate it by half an inch.

They don't need belly heat, that's just one method of heating.

eta: after looking closer at the tank, what are the floor dimensions of each section? It doesn't look like enough floor space to house an adult ball python. Maybe better to split it into only two sections.

In my personal opinion, I'd sell it and get myself something else (like a PVC enclosure). Depending where you live, you're going to have a hard time with temp fluctuation and keeping up the humidity.

With that said, I think belly heat is overrated and completely unnecessary. I know that it's suggested on the forums all day long but all commercial breeders focus on maintaining solid ambient temps. I've also only provide ambient temps of 80-82 and never had an issue. If I was in your shoes, I'd focus on providing ambient temps of 78-82 and work on your humidity.

I prefer to use UTH aka "belly heat" for my snakes, & it's a challenge when you cannot get under the tank...you don't want to try to heat thru wood & other materials.

While I currently use Flexwatt, I have (many years ago) used a "Lectro-kennel" heating pad (designed for whelping quarters for dogs, etc. & insulated for safety w/
moisture)...here is a current link to them: https://www.khpet.com/original-lectro-kennel.html

Along the same line are products for livestock (most are bigger) & also called "pig blankets" :D - the Bean Farm carries both UTH like Flexwatt and the Kane heat
mats etc (note those are NOT supposed to be covered with substrate)- here's a link to them: https://beanfarm.com/collections/heating

Not all keepers use UTH & have equal success with RHP & CHE heat...so that's up to you, & others can advise on those.

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Originally Posted by Mr. Misha

In my personal opinion, I'd sell it and get myself something else (like a PVC enclosure).

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This. IIRC those tanks aren't cheap either. You could probably fund a nice 3'x2' PVC stack - or a good portion of one - if you sold it.

Those cages look pretty cool but will be more effort to maintain. I have a wood and glass display for my gtp and it takes more effort than her old plastic cube, but it makes for a nicer display which is what I wanted. If you're wanting a nice display I would do the lids differently and use RHPs...I've used them with bloods, and with my current ball, without any issues. If you want a lower maintenance set up, go for plastic enclosures.

I cant see the Pic because I use the App. If you want Belly Heat, use three 1”x2” + depth of tank pieces of wood under it. 1 on each end and 1 in the middle for support.
If you want Over Head heat which is all I use and you have a Tank with a screened lid, get a RHP and put it over the top of the Hot Side. I did that with quarantine snakes. Then cover the Cool side (over the screen) with a piece of Plexiglass from LOWES to keep heat in and help Humidity. This can be done, however I would never go back to trying to maintain proper temps/humidity and keep a Tank safe after having PVC enclosures. Probe & Thermometer wires all become a PITA with Tanks where in PVC you can drill and run thermometer wires out and back in on another side.. Its the only way to go IMO. Like taking candy from a baby.


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Originally Posted by Mr. Misha

In my personal opinion, I'd sell it and get myself something else (like a PVC enclosure). Depending where you live, you're going to have a hard time with temp fluctuation and keeping up the humidity.

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I have to agree. Though beautiful, that enclosure is not ideal for BPs.

...and P.S. PLEASE don't "rescue" snakes from the big box stores. You're only supporting their practices by putting money in their pockets and making room for more.
For every animal you buy, they make profit and buy more. You're essentially rewarding them for keeping animals in lousy conditions.
That's like signing your kid up for little league just so the coach who abuses the kids has enough kids for a team.

You could do a raised floor in the tank and put a UTH under the floor. That would help with a hot spot. if you cover part of the top with plexi glass with holes in it for ventilation temp regulation will be easier. Keep your room it stays in in the mid to high 70s and you will be ok regulating temps. I have some in glass enclosures still and not husbandry problems.

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

You could do a raised floor in the tank and put a UTH under the floor. That would help with a hot spot. if you cover part of the top with plexi glass with holes in it for ventilation temp regulation will be easier. Keep your room it stays in in the mid to high 70s and you will be ok regulating temps. I have some in glass enclosures still and not husbandry problems.

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I'm all for glass, have used glass since 1999-2000ish with no problems. I was thinking more of the dimensions. Although it's huge, there's a lot of height vs not a lot of floir space.

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

I'm all for glass, have used glass since 1999-2000ish with no problems. I was thinking more of the dimensions. Although it's huge, there's a lot of height vs not a lot of floir space.

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I see what you mean. If he only cut in half would be ok for adults but 1/4 is to small for an adult BP

Yeah, it's tough to tell the dimensions, but with an adult male in the pic a it kinda works for scale.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

I'm all for glass, have used glass since 1999-2000ish with no problems. I was thinking more of the dimensions. Although it's huge, there's a lot of height vs not a lot of floir space.

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I agree this is not ideal...maybe if it was divided into only TWO enclosures, but not four...because it appears each is mostly square, so it's hard to provide a warm end
and a cool end for the snake to have necessary choices. Also the height gives you the impression of space but it's fairly useless for terrestrial snakes like BPs...they need
horizontal room, & if you went with over-head heating using an RHP, I'm not sure how well that would reach the floor. This is an intriguing pick-up but far from ideal for
the stated purpose. If you decide to keep it, there are other creatures (like geckos) that it would work much better for, or even corn snakes & others that climb & don't
need the higher warmth & humidity like BPs do.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

If you decide to keep it, there are other creatures (like geckos) that it would work much better for, or even corn snakes & others that climb & don't
need the higher warmth & humidity like BPs do.

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I was actually thinking this too. It would be super cool yo have each quadrant housing something different. Like cresties in one, garters in another, whites tree frogs, dart frogs, all sorts of geckos, skinks, etc...are options.
That would actually be super cool and now I want one!!!! Hahahahaha!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

I was actually thinking this too. It would be super cool yo have each quadrant housing something different. Like cresties in one, garters in another, whites tree frogs, dart frogs, all sorts of geckos, skinks, etc...are options.
That would actually be super cool and now I want one!!!! Hahahahaha!!

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YESSSSS! And it would make a beautiful focal point in your living room, or better yet, MINE! :D

I agree that 1/4 of that is too small for an adult; 1/2 is better.

You don’t need to use “belly heat”. Heat from above is fine, and it will create “belly heat” on the ground under the heat source, just like the sun does. If you divide that into two enclosures and you use two CHE’s, you could either have them at the same end or at opposite ends; which you choose would depend on how cold the room is. If they’re on opposite ends, the cool side of each enclosure will be warmed some by the CHE on the adjacent one, which is probably a pretty good way of getting an appropriate gradient if the room is cooler. If the room is warmer, you probably want both CHE’s on the same end (they won’t need to be run at as high power) so that the cool end gets cool enough. You won’t be able to insulate the glass sides the way people often do with regular tanks, but the shape should make that somewhat less necessary.
You will have to figure out how much of the screen tops need to be covered over to retain humidity. But deeper substrate (such as 3” deep coco husk) will help a lot with that.

Lastly, you will need to put lots of decor in there - real or fake plants, branches, platforms, tubes/tunnels, and lots of hides. The reason is that the enclosures will be pretty exposed and in the middle of the room and at a height that means people looming over them. That’s a recipe for snakes to feel insecure, nervous, and stressed out if they don’t have enough cover and hiding places. Being able to lurk in some leaves, even if they’re not completely hidden or invisible, makes a big difference.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I agree this is not ideal...maybe if it was divided into only TWO enclosures, but not four...because it appears each is mostly square, so it's hard to provide a warm end
and a cool end for the snake to have necessary choices. Also the height gives you the impression of space but it's fairly useless for terrestrial snakes like BPs...they need
horizontal room, & if you went with over-head heating using an RHP, I'm not sure how well that would reach the floor. This is an intriguing pick-up but far from ideal for
the stated purpose. If you decide to keep it, there are other creatures (like geckos) that it would work much better for, or even corn snakes & others that climb & don't
need the higher warmth & humidity like BPs do.

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Agreed that they need horizontal space. Vertical space is a good thing to have, but it’s not much use unless you provide ways for the snake to use it. Platforms are great; they can be free-standing on the floor, they don’t have to be attached to the walls. They create more places the snake can go, more places to put hides, and more ways to access different temperature and humidity zones. Ball pythons will definitely make use of branches and other stuff to climb, too. Yes, they’re terrestrial, but we’re talking about stuff that’s two feet high for an animal that’s four feet long. If the snake has never had stuff like that in its cage before, it might take a long time before you ever see it making use of it. But it’s there for when the animal wants it.

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Originally Posted by Coluber42

Agreed that they need horizontal space. Vertical space is a good thing to have, but it’s not much use unless you provide ways for the snake to use it. Platforms are great; they can be free-standing on the floor, they don’t have to be attached to the walls. They create more places the snake can go, more places to put hides, and more ways to access different temperature and humidity zones. Ball pythons will definitely make use of branches and other stuff to climb, too. Yes, they’re terrestrial, but we’re talking about stuff that’s two feet high for an animal that’s four feet long. If the snake has never had stuff like that in its cage before, it might take a long time before you ever see it making use of it. But it’s there for when the animal wants it.

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That's true...and I'm a big fan of wedging branches or driftwood into my cages for snakes to climb around on...but just saying that more floor space would be ideal-
especially as the BPs grow in size, these will be very "crowded" cubicles. Then again, maybe the BPs will like that?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

That's true...and I'm a big fan of wedging branches or driftwood into my cages for snakes to climb around on...but just saying that more floor space would be ideal-
especially as the BPs grow in size, these will be very "crowded" cubicles. Then again, maybe the BPs will like that?

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Yeah, I'm still assuming that this will house two BP's and not four. Cluttered (appropriate clutter) is good, and making the best possible use of available height is good, but it's not a substitute for having sufficient floor space.