caution and savanna are no longer together pics

i havnt thought of anything to seperate the bins with, any suggestions? the heating pads had big warning notes not to use on anything but glass.. im assuming the rest of you saw that warning? the bins are 31qt.. the 15 looked so small!.. the heating pad on the top one im nervous to say is going to sag (not touch) ... how do i bring the humidity down? its now at 81% the warmest spot (the sensor is right over the heating pad) is reading 77.0 degrees. the outside of bin is at 80 degrees and rising slowely.. i know neither of these are ideal. any suggestions?

pics to come in a minute

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g3...5/IMG_7817.jpg
gage now reads 82% humidity and 80 degrees
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g3...5/IMG_7816.jpg
thermometers with sensors which are over the heating pads
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g3...5/IMG_7815.jpg
their new set ups...

the owner of the shop wouldnt buy back the tank.. its sitting on our balcony. we might get something to put in it eventually, maybe a tegu or something like that ((shrugs)) someday

whoa whoa whoa!!! now the temps are reading 105.8 on the mats themselves.. i need to go get a thermostat NOW! will it burn the bins at that temperature?

what temp do the mats need to be at? i have bedding over them but wanted to know what the temp was at its hottest place

Low density polyethylene melts at about 175˚F... so you really don't have to worry with a UTH. i would be more worried about the snake, they can get burns with heat as low as 98˚F.

well you want no hotter then 95˚ at the surface of the inside of the tub. with substrate the surface temp should be about 92˚.

you defiantly need a thermostat..

reptilebasics.com- best place, Rich is a great guy and has amazing shipping.
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spyderrobotics.com
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what about the humidity level.. isnt that too high?

More holes for less humidity.

I am really impressed with what you've done.

To get the humidity down, just put more holes in the tubs.

thanks.. ill have my husband do it now.

That is awesome! Wow, very professional looking set-up :)


You're babies have such a good mommy.

And remember, you only want the heat pad under 1/2 of the tub, so that they can move from warm to cool. Put that heat pad on the very lowest setting that you can. As I said in an earlier post, just use this temporarily until you can pick up some flexwatt and a thermostat from Rich at Reptilebasics.com. I'd go ahead and get an order in, you can have it by the first of next week.


I'd also recommend getting some binder clips to secure those lids - they don't look like locking lids? The last thing you want, especially after making this change is a lost snake! If there's a lot of open space in there, you might want to fill up empty spaces with loosely balled up newspaper to fill in the gaps - not pretty, but will help these little guys acclimate easier.

And remember, this is JUST like bringing them home, this is a new home for them, so they need a week with no handling to acclimate. Also wait a full week before feeding them.

One other thing I noticed (just constructive critiques! :) )


The flower pot saucer hides are AWESOME! Just watch them, since you don't have two in each enclosure (one on warm side, one on cool side). If they tend to spend all their time in those hides (which I suspect they will, they're nice and low, just like they like), then they are choosing security over thermoregulating. So, you'll want to have identical hides on each side so that they don't have to make that choice and will thermoregulate as needed. :)

ok, im back... i got a reptitemp rheostat.. im going to plug everything into it now and see what a mid point between low and high will give me.

That's awesome, Ashley. Keep us updated!

the heating pad is only under half.. wehave those same planter hides in clay color but didnt know if it woudl take up too much space to put them in. i do have them ready to put in there though (openings included) i just plugged in the rheostat and temps had dropped to 81 degrees on the heat pads while i was gone. they are actual UTH though.. same brand and size per enclosure. i also have those binder clips that im getting ready as i type to put on.

thanks for everything everyone! i hope this is more fitting for them

update: i just put the extra hide in each one... it makes it look a bit crowded to say the least but its in there, thank goodness i didnt go with the 15qt!

I bet they love it! If you think that's crowded, you should see my adult tub, in fact, I just set up two more adult tubs today myself for some new (albeit temporary) additions that I'm picking up tomorrow. :)

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g3...5/IMG_7819.jpg
heres what it looks like now :D our temps are slowely coming back up... savanna is checking out her enclosure (drinking right now, she does that ALOT) and caution is being just that, he hasnt come out of his hide yet.

Great job Ashley:gj:, you are on your way to have happy healthy thriving BP.

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Originally Posted by AshleyB

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g3...5/IMG_7819.jpg

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thanks.. as i said previously i most CERTAINLY didnt have them together because i only wanted them that way.. i would never purposly endanger the lives of anything let alone our snakes whom despite our short time together so far; love! i only hope caution can thrive now that hes alone.. i also suppose feeding them outside their enclosure is no longer nessesary :D

thanks everyone so much for your imput, im glad we were able to better accomidate them, not to mentain for most certainly less money then i thought it was going to be!

Looks like you have them set up really nice.:gj: And a big welcome to the site.

I love having mine in tubs. It also makes cleaning a breeze!:)

Wow, you did a great job Ashley! Yay! I'm so happy you decided to go w/ tubs.

Alrighty!!! Well, the herp-squad has spoken, so there is little more constructive advice that I could throw in at the moment.

However, looking at your other thread and then comparing it to this one, I am HIGHLY impressed!!! There are not that many people that would make such an drastic change so soon in the way they keep their herps off the advice of those over the internet, no matter how much expertise in the area they have. It usually takes about a week (or longer) for people to detach themselves from faulty 'advice' despite evidence to the contrary. I have to give you, :sweeet::sweeet:!!! Not to mention taking the time to do all the necessary research in comparing the advice given here to that which you were given at the pet store to find out what truly is best for your pets, caution and savanna. Those are some very nice qualities. Your snakes are lucky to have you, and I'm sure you're gonna fit in nicely here.

why can't more people that own snakes be like you...

Great job and your snakes are going to LOVE their new digs! :D

im honored to be spoken of in such a way, last night iwas so torn on the subject... i hardly slept wondering if one of them was feeing unsafe, i have always treated my pets as good as my own children, i would be heartbroken if something happened to one of my "babys", even if they are "just snakes" to some. im glad i came here (the shop owner i worked with actually told me there were message boards lol) i would never "hold onto" something that could possibly take a life.. that to me is NOT something to mess around and wait on. i will treasure the pictures of them "cuddling" but will never forget the fact of how it couldv'e happened. a lesson learned. now i just hope to get their temps more regulated.. weve already added double the holes we had and the humidity has gone down to 78% for now.. ill give it a couple hours to "regulate"savanna who is usually my little chill girl is looking all over the place, my mister curious caution is hiding out.

Way to go, Ashley... glad to see that you and your snakes are feeling a lot better!

final set-up :D i think we have it down now... temps are still off but the UTH are running 94.8, at level temps are 78, humidity still high at 81%
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g3...5/IMG_7822.jpg

Ashley,
I too want to congratulate you on a wonderful job of setting up your snakes! You can probably lower that humidity by using much, much smaller water bowls. They only need to be big enough to hold drinking water (and to RAISE humidity ;)!)

Steve

i thought they needed bowls large enough for them to get into??? right now thats about the size they have. i can switch it out for a smaller bowl though... the temps have regulated now for a couple hours at 91 degrees at UHT and bedding level temps are at 75 but thats at 4am (only reason im up is some ass hole tripped the building fire sirens and its SCREAMING) their humidity is at 91!!! thats with double the holes, looks like ill be putting in smaller bowls too, i did seperate the bins with an inch thick piece of wood and its somewhat helped with keeping the bottom bin from getting as warm as before. thanks thanks thanks for the compliments

Awesome job on the tub setups! I used to use aspen, and I liked to pile it up over the hides also.. makes it a bit more cozy for them.
You have done an awesome job, and are a great BP keeper!

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i thought they needed bowls large enough for them to get into???

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They don't healthy, mite free BP rarely soak.

To give you an idea I use 5 inches water dish for my adults.

The van ness plastic crock sold at walmart work great for young BP.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...hons/Crock.gif

You've certainly impressed me with these major changes for the snakes well being. Good for you!

I'd agree that you need to replace the huge water bowls. Healthy ball pythons don't and shouldn't be encouraged to soak. It's not something they need when kept properly (and mite free). We use those white ceramic ramekins you can find at pretty much any department store or even some dollar stores. The snakes love them, they aren't easily tipped and being pure white, they show "dirt" so I can always make sure they are really clean. Being a kitchen grade thing, they are sealed properly, won't grow mould and can be sterlized in a dishwasher if needed. I generally get the smaller 4 oz ones for the smaller snakes and Target for instance has a lovely 4 pack of that size for about $6.00.

Way to go getting them set up properly! I had been reading the post and have seen so many similar scenario's go sour because of a stubborn minded person. Your slither kids will be thriving in no time :)