Tubs for BP's

Ok I see that the pro's like to use the Iris cb-70 for adult Ball pythons. I know you guys are the pros and have more experience with more snakes than I have, but is the higth of these tubs sufficient for a BP? It doesn;t seem that all at all at 6" high. My BPs like to climb on the limbs and branches I have it their current cage, but as stated in my other thread my husbandry has alot to be desired at the moment. I'm just worried that it will be too short and cramped for creatures that have had ample space for so long.

I will be purchasing the brand I can find at walmart, and ordering flexwatt for the heating needs. Should I build a rack for these two containers to put the flexwatt on or should I just attach the flexwatt dirrectly to the bottom on the tubs? Will I need seperate thermastats for the flexwatts on each tub or will I be able to run them both on the same t- stat? I kinda need the least expencive and fastest to setup, but I want something that will work and do not mind spending a little extra for quality stuff. Thanks everyone for working with me and pointing me in the right direction.

Is the CB-80 better with the hight or is it just consuming space that really shouldn't be needed?

BPs are primarily terrestrial snakes. In africa, they are not found above the ground.. rather below. :) 6" is plenty.

I wouldn't mess with building a rack for just two snakes. Just set the tubs next to each other and attach the flexwatt to the underside. As long as the tubs are very near to each other, one thermostat should be fine for the two tubs.

You could also buy the tubs and a platic Wal-Mart rack to put them on. I am planning on doing that instead of buying the other types of racks. I would make sure the tubs fit inside of the racks. I decided it would be a very cost effective way to build (I can't hammer two boards together so I use the term lightly), effective, but quickly expandable racks. I hope to have some pics up tomorrow night.

I use Sterilite 1960 tubs (almost identical to the Iris CB-70) for my larger snakes. They are alot easier to get at a local store (i.e. Walmart or Target) than the Iris CB-70 tubs. If you want to conserve a little space, I say go for a two tub rack. It would not hurt anything. As for the heating and thermostat, shoot Matt(justcage on bp.net) at www.mgreptiles.com an email or phone call and he will make sure you are getting the good stuff.

Yes thanks for the link again. I was looking at his site and was planning to order the flexwatt from him to get me started. Thetwo tub rack is an idea. I will look to see what Wally world has tomorrow. Thanks everyone!!

I emailed Matt so I will be looking for his recomendation.

You might also want to look at www.reptiletubs.com.

Couple of ideas re WalMart. Make sure the tubs have very good locking clips then back that up with something else to make sure they can't pop the lid at any point. Even a big snake can smoosh down and slither out.

You might want to grab a soldering wand if you don't have one for melting vent holes. I got mine at WalMart for about $8.00.

For monitoring heat/humidity you can grab an Accu-Rite at Walmart. Here's a picture of one. Around $12.00 plus you need AAA batteries and you can get it to monitor two heats and overall humidity.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../Accu-Rite.jpg

Just a couple of other pics to give you visual concepts. Not saying what we do is perfect but just to let you see.

This is an adult female bp, Saoirse, in a hide. It's actually a heavy black rubber dog dish flipped over with an entry whole cut into it.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...irseinHide.jpg

This is our largest female Brannagh in her tub with the two hides and her water dish. The Acu-Rite was out as I was just cleaning and hadn't popped it back in. At that time she was around 1,800 grams or more.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...nnaghinTub.jpg

If you want to go for a deeper tub do so...just be aware it takes a bit more managing as far as ambient heat/humidity but it's doable if you'd like to go that way.


~~Jo~~

Just a quick note about the height concerns that you've expressed. It could be that your snakes were trying to get closer to a heat source such as a light that you had on top of their tank. If the ambient temps are comfortable for them and they have a nice basking spot provided with the heat tape, they probably wouldn't climb that much even if they did have the extra head space.

My BP climbs around his cage all night long, and he has perfect temps and humidity provided by UTH's...so just because they are climbing doesn't mean that they are looking for something that they need. I think that they will explore the space that they have, and I'm sure that escaping the tub is something that is on their mind as well. Being a ground dwelling snake, they don't need to climb, but will utilize the space they have if you allow them climbing room.

I'm just curious as to how old your Ball is? Anyway, I'm sure they will utilize it, but probably not as much if they were trying to get to a heat source. Also, the OP wanted the cheapest, quickest, and easiest solution to maintain a proper environment. In that case, the height of the tank is really not a concern.

Of course there are always exceptions. I recently read about one ball python that would not eat unless it was suspended off of a branch in his tank.

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Originally Posted by xdeus

Of course there are always exceptions. I recently read about one ball python that would not eat unless it was suspended off of a branch in his tank.

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It's most likely a "security" thing .... field studies in West Africa have recorded juvi ball pythons hunting in trees most likely to avoid being snatched up by a predator ... there has never been a recorded instance (that I've been able to find) of an adult (large, secure, confident) ball python in a tree. ;)

-adam

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

there has never been a recorded instance (that I've been able to find) of an adult (large, secure, confident) ball python in a tree. ;)
-adam

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Good thing, too! I would hate to think there is a jungle out there with a bunch of short, stocky, clumbsy snakes falling out of the trees as I walk through. :D

I just got this picture in my head of being chased out of a forest by falling BP's. Darn things would hurt coming at you from above. My BP is only about 9 months old...so not full grown at all, I have heard that the younger ones try and climb more.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by xdeus

Good thing, too! I would hate to think there is a jungle out there with a bunch of short, stocky, clumbsy snakes falling out of the trees as I walk through. :D

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Teehee! ;)

Helo everyone thanks for the replies. I just have a few more questions. My wife and I agree that building two new enclosures would be good, since we both like to view the snakes without having to disturb them. To each their own. I will definately do the tub thing when I get serious about breeding, but at the moment my first two I want visable. So I drew up some plans for two seperate tanks that will be stackable. They will be 36" x 18-20" x 12" This is the recomended size according to the caresheet. Would there be any advantages to having the length 34 vs 36 or the depth 18 vs 20? The tops sides and back of the cage will be 1/2 plywood that I will finish smooth, and the bottom and front will be glass recycled from their current enclosure. I will heat the cages with fllexwatt and a Johnsons T-stat. Thanks Matt for having one on sale!! I am pretty good with my table saw and once I figure out where to host my pictures at online I will post picture of the finished tanks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by xdeus

Good thing, too! I would hate to think there is a jungle out there with a bunch of short, stocky, clumbsy snakes falling out of the trees as I walk through. :D

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No jungle, but I do have dreams about the sky raining down adult female ball python morphs. ;)

-adam

im building a 2 CB 70 tub rack for vanessa and zulu. maybe it would be cool to show you guys the steps and stuff when me and my dad get started. i just got the tubs from www.reptiletubs.com today and im also getting the flexwatt from Matt.

Hello everyone. Well, After many many hours of contimplating, discussing it with my wife, and going to walmart just to check out the tubs, I ended up getting two tubs for my babies. I ended up getting the 91 gt sterilite tubs. I was surprised at how well I can see into the tub. Thats the reason I purchased them. When I was wanting to build a custom cage I thought the tubs were less transparent than they were. So I saved myself some work and got the tubs. I will be building a rack for them to go into, but at the moment I attached velcro to the top in 4 places to make sure the escape artists do not get out. I am going to be placing an order for Flexwatt and t-stat shortly, but at the moment I have been keeping my eys on it with a heatpad on low under the one tub I am using at the moment. Yes the snakes are still in the same tub, but thats because I can only effectively heat the one at the moment. I have another tub ready for when the flexwatt arrives. I took pictures today of my babies, but didnt have a chance to take them off the camera. So when I get the time to post I will. I will show the previous cage and the new tubs. Thanks everyone for your help and concern. I think they are definately much happier now that there is a temp gradient. I found them on the hot side this morning when I woke up. I had to add more holes to the tub this morning because I had really high humidity. It was reading hi and not giving a reading. I bought an indoor outdoor thermometer with himidity from Wallyworld when I got the tubs. Any how I had the male out and when I took them back from my wife to put them back in the tub the male was drooling. I mean alot of drool. It was dripping. Is that a bad sign? It cleared up after I wiped his mouth, but it just struck me as odd.

Does he keep his head erect? Mouth kind of gaping open (not appear to close completely)? These COULD be signs of an RI - but if memory serves the last time someone posted about an excess of "droll" it turned out to be water running back out of the snakes mouth (had just taken a drink). TO be on the safe side listen closely and see if you hear any odd noises in the snake's respiration.

Well that may have been the issue. He may have just dranks before I took them out. His mouth was closed all the way, and I haven't heard anything coming from him. The female has what sounds to be like a little respiratory thing going on. Nothing bad. I can't hear it all the time. Just every now and again I will hear her make a sound as if she was trying to blow her nose, but it is not with every breath. Just when you hear her do the hard breath out. I have them in one of the tubs now that is better heated so I think that will clear up after a few days. Thanks

Josh, if you ever have a concern about either snake's breathing or a possibility of an RI brewing my advice is to see your herp vet. Not to be an alarmist here but RI's are nasty and needs meds to clear them up. All the supportive care in the world isn't enough if an RI takes hold.

Keep a close eye on them and seek vet advice when required. It may likely be the best few bucks you'll ever spend on your snakes even just to be told they are fine, for me anyways the costs of the visit are worth the peace of mind.


~~Jo~~

I understand that. I will check on her in the AM when I get home, but I think she will be fine. She is not rasping on every breath and as I stated before with the better cage warmth things were not like they were when I first took her out of the cold cage. Rest assure that if things get worse than they are I will take her to the vet that gave me the health cert. Thanks for the advice and I will keep folks posted on how she is doing.