Glass or Plastic?

Do you think snakes have a preference?

I've had a pretty crazy day...

I am finding it impossible to keep the humidity up in my 20 gal tank (even with the humidifier I made yesterday.) So today I went a little crazy...

I went online and bought a 11" strip of flexwatt and a herpstat thermostat, and then went out and bought a 24x16x7 Rubbermaid container.

I just wanted to see if I could get the humidity up as well as the temps in the plastic cage. As of right now I am using a POS name brand UTH that as far as I'm concerned does absolutly nothing. I also stuck the outlet of my humidifier into the plastic cage. At this moment warm side temps are too low (86.5) but my humdity is at 61% which is an acheivement for me.

I think my main problem with the 20 gal tank is that I have to heat with a ceramic bulb as well as the POS UTH which is sucking out all my humidity.

So i'm wondering wth I should do when my flexwatt and thermostat show up? and what to do in the while I wait? I just want what's best for my baby. I won't be moving her from the 20 gal tank for at least a couple days b/c she is due to eat tomorrow and I don't want to stress her out.

So far this is what I know about glass and plastic.

Glass
Pro - being able to display. looks attractive in a room.
Con - Hard to control temps. doesn't like to hold humidity.

Plastic
Pretty much the opposite of glass.

Do you think the snakes know what's going on? any stories of snakes preffering one over the other? I know I would rather show her off in the 20 gal. but not at the expense of her well-being.

Well, this is merely speaking from my very limited experience with 'em...


In general, I don't think the snakes notice the difference between glass and plastic. What I DO think they notice is: fluctuations in their temperatures and humidity...more "invasion" into their space from a keeper trying to control temps and humidity...a "wider world" out there that they can see through the glass that may or may not add to the stress factor of a given snake.

I was really hoping my nice, attractive glass viv would work out for my little girl, but even with tons of effort on my part, it fell woefully short. I'm quite sure I could have eventually got it working better on temps/humidity, but in order to do so, I would have had to do a LOT more work on it, and therefore, end up bothering her even more than I already was. If you have a skittish or nervous snake, then every time you open the tank to mist it, it is adding to the stress factor.

So I gave in and switched to plastic. Not attractive in the least, but already tons easier to maintain. She'll get her first feeding attempt in her new home on Friday and I'm really hoping the switch has made the difference. I know it has already decreased my own stress levels, even if it's not as pretty as it was before.

Plastic for me thank you. I have my fish for decorating. My spiders and my snakes aren't quite for decoration.

Judy, I can remember when you first got her, and I was singing the praises of plastic. I think you may have gotten miffed with me at the time and said something about there being nothing wrong with glass vivs (and there isn't for some people). And I really wasn't criticizing people "in glass houses" (sorry - couldn't resist! LOL), I was just so sold on plastic I couldn't contain myself! LOL


But you, like me - finally gave up on the glass vivs, because they are SO much work. I also think that glass was a HUGE contributor to Kashmire's fasting. It took him a little while to acclimate to the tub environment - but I'm convinced that he started showing an interest in eating again when he didn't feel like he was in such an open environment (even with two snug hides). It could just be coincidence with the timing too and have nothing to do with glass vs. plastic.

I know that glass vivs can work - as attested to by Cassie and others. I just didn't want to spend all the extra money necessary to make it work, when there was a perfectly affordable and almost maintenance free (other than cleaning) alternative.

Even if I went back to just one snake - it's plastic tubs for me!

I guess it's sort of - you have to experience it to love it.

i am no expert and only have one BP that i housed in a aquarium for 10 months. i found with the right setup u can keep your temps right on. But 2 months ago i switched to a rubbermaid contianer that is see through. The rubbermaid contianers seem to be a lot easier to get the temp and humidity stable. however that wouldnt keep me from going back to a glass again. the big thing i see, is that my Bp is totally different in his new rubbermaid home. He sleeps outside his hides more often, but i do have to mention that i now keep him in a closet. However i am guessing that now that he sees less of the outside world , he feals more secure in his home. Then again, there were times in glass home that he would lay outside his hides. BUt that was fairly rare. I may stick with rubbermaid.

I use wooden vivs - for all my reptiles. I've found them to keep temps perfectly. I used CHE in them too.

I used to be soo sold on glass - I wanted to SEE everyone CLEARLY at will and was turned off by transluscency (sp) - now I am so sold on plastic the glass has all gone to the ratropolis housing!

I am housing in plastic now only because I built a rack to hold them all in one convenient location. I was tired of aquariums all over my room. I had 11 of them and that takes up a lot of space so I switched to tubs. Don't get me wrong, I like the tubs but i didn't have any problems with my glass tanks either. When I was using glass I simply wrapped black on black foam core around 3 sides of the tank. Not only did it make the snake feel secure, it also helped hold in the heat so it didn't escape the sides of the glass aquarium making a CHE or heat bulb unnecessary. I only used an UTH and had no problems with my temps. As far as humidity goes, I laid a piece of plexiglass across the top that covered all but 2 inches and set the water bowl over the UTH and it would get so humid that I would have to take it off for a few days at a time. I never needed to mist. Even the male I got recently had a perfect shed for me not long ago and he has scars from previous bad sheds. Glass aquariums can be used and you can have a beautiful viv with just a minimal effort. It worked well for me. I like the convenience of the rack though so I will stick with that.

Where did you get the foam core?

Plastic for me also , I use to have glass too many humidity problem's.It's just alot better for me.

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Originally Posted by SarahMB

Where did you get the foam core?

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At an art supply store in the framing department. The plexiglass you can get at any hardware store. They will even cut it to your dimensions.

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Originally Posted by SarahMB

Where did you get the foam core?

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Any decent craft store will have it in a variety of colors. Michael's or Hobby Lobby or whatever they have in your area.

We use plastic exclusively for the ball pythons we own and just love it. It keeps their temps and humidity bang on and they seem to do so well in the low tubs. Our milksnake and BCI's are in glass enclosures. They don't stress as easily as the BP's and don't have quite the strict requirements so seem to be fine in glass though we give them lots of hides and deep bedding to hide/burrow around in so they don't feel overly exposed. The glass enclosures are harder to maintain though, especially when they are in shed and the humidity needs to be pushed up a bit. They are also much heavier and harder to clean but it is nice to have a few snakes more "on display" around the house.

Thanks, ya'll. I got some foam core today and covered 3 sides of the tank. I used contact paper on the screen, though, as I just wanted some solutions that will help until I can switch to a plastic tub in 2-3 weeks.
I may get some other reptile to keep in the glass tank when that happens.