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Tub Help

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  • 04-10-2008, 12:05 PM
    Zues21
    Tub Help
    Hey guys and girls,

    As you can see I am new to the site and also new to BP's. So my question to you is, In order to keep a baby ball In a tub what is ALL I need? Sorry for the big question but since I wont be going to a terrarium to use for my BP i am lost on what to use in the tub to keep my BP happy and healthy.

    Thanks
  • 04-10-2008, 12:14 PM
    JoshJP7
    Re: Tub Help
    Heres what I use for babies and a pic of my set up

    66qt snap-top tub(10$)
    Thermostat (30-300$)
    2 black zilla hides (3$ea)
    1 piece of flexwatt (3-6$)
    Water bowl (3$)
    Accurite 2-in-1 thermometer (13$)

    https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...0112_thumb.jpg
    Something to climb on (15$)
  • 04-10-2008, 12:21 PM
    Zues21
    Re: Tub Help
    Thank you Josh. A few more replies and I'm off to the store:D
  • 04-10-2008, 12:27 PM
    JoshJP7
    Re: Tub Help
    the flexwatt is all the heat you need.... you can pick up a heat pad from the pet store but they cost a lot more money... You shouldnt need any heat from above but if you need to get cool side temps up I would go with a ceramic heat emitter... these are a little better than the heat bulbs as they dont suck up AS much humidity but they still kill it... Also make note that they get WICKED hot... like 3rd degree burn melt your skin hot... Id try the set up without the heat from above and see how your temps look.
  • 04-10-2008, 12:35 PM
    Zues21
    Re: Tub Help
    Ok thank you I'll try that.
  • 04-10-2008, 12:57 PM
    Inknsteel
    Re: Tub Help
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by JoshJP7 View Post
    Heres what I use for babies and a pic of my set up

    66qt snap-top tub(10$)
    Thermostat (30-300$)
    2 black zilla hides (3$ea)
    1 piece of flexwatt (3-6$)
    Water bowl (3$)
    Accurite 2-in-1 thermometer (13$)

    https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...0112_thumb.jpg
    Something to climb on (15$)

    That's one way you can do it, but some of that stuff like flexwatt and the thermostat, you would have to order... Honestly, ball pythons don't need a big tall tub like that. They're ground dwellers, not arboreal snakes, so they don't really need room to climb. You will find that most people who use tubs use the shorter tubs, approximately 6" tall. In my opinion, the taller tubs just give you more open air to heat, which will make getting your temps correct that much harder. Here are the basics that you can purchase entirely locally. I can post pics of my tub setup when I get home if you'd like...

    - Sterilite 41qt tub with latching sides (you can go with a smaller tub for a smaller snake. 41qt will last your bp's whole life). ($6)
    - Small under-tank heater ($20)
    - Thermostat works best, but you could use a table-top lamp dimmer to control the UTH temp. ($10)
    - Digital thermometer/hygrometer ($12)
    - Matching hides, one for the cool side, one for the warm side. You can go really cheap with dollar store plastic bowls with a cutout in the side for an entryway. ($2)
    - Paper towels for substrate ($1)
    - Small water dish ($1)

    Good luck!!!
  • 04-10-2008, 01:21 PM
    Zues21
    Re: Tub Help
    Once again thank you a bunch. I didn't realize how easy a Ball is to take care of compared to my Beardies and Iguanas lol.

    And Ink if you can take pictures that would be awesome!!
  • 04-10-2008, 01:33 PM
    JoshJP7
    Re: Tub Help
    Ink... not too sure what your experience is with the larger tubs but your statement that its "more open air to heat" is incorrect... The difference between your tubs and mine is 6inchs... if you do some tests youll see the extra 6inches doesnt make it any more challenging to heat... I keep all my snakes in tubs this large and I will agree they may not "need" the extra space but given the extra room all of my snakes "climb" if thats what you call it...
  • 04-10-2008, 02:06 PM
    Inknsteel
    Re: Tub Help
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by JoshJP7 View Post
    Ink... not too sure what your experience is with the larger tubs but your statement that its "more open air to heat" is incorrect... The difference between your tubs and mine is 6inchs... if you do some tests youll see the extra 6inches doesnt make it any more challenging to heat... I keep all my snakes in tubs this large and I will agree they may not "need" the extra space but given the extra room all of my snakes "climb" if thats what you call it...

    Honestly, my personal experience with those taller tubs is ZERO... My statement about the extra open air to heat is sheer logic. Logic (at least MY logic) says that it would take more energy to heat a space of 2 cubic feet than it would to heat a space of 1 cubic foot. I'm not claiming to be a physicist or anything, so don't take my word for truth. I do however consider all that open air wasted space considering a happy and healthy bp will be spending 90% of its life in hiding. I'm not saying that there is anything WRONG with that type of setup. It's a personal preference thing.

    Also, you can fit twice as many snakes in the same amount of space by using 6" tall tubs as opposed to 12"... :D
  • 04-10-2008, 02:24 PM
    JoshJP7
    Re: Tub Help
    Your statement is correct if you were talking about heating up a glass tank where most of the heat produced at the bottom would escape before it made it to the top... Plastic is a much better insulator than glass and it holds the heat in the tub... Heat produced at the bottom then rises to the top... I know this statement is incorrect bc I put an accurite at the top of one of my tubs and then one in a small tub (not sure what size but it was about 6inchs tall like yours) ... After an hour of the heat pad running both temps were the same (difference of a couple tenths of a degree)...

    You say its wasted space... How so if theyre using it?? I go into my snake room every night and my snakes are climbing all over the place so I wouldnt say its wasted. You probably have never seen this because your snakes dont have the option to move around much... As far as your percentages my snakes sleep all day and are out and about pretty much all night so its probably closer to 60/40... Again its probably harder for you to tell when your snakes are actually awake and about since your tubs are much smaller...

    To me personally its wrong to keep a pet (My snakes are pets first and breeders 2nd) in what I consider to be a small environment just so you can justify having more of them.
  • 04-10-2008, 03:37 PM
    Inknsteel
    Re: Tub Help
    In your experiment, did you have anything regulating or monitoring the amount of electric current was expended in each tub over that hour period? Just out of curiosity... I think to really say for sure that it doesn't use any more energy to heat that space, you would have to have a way to measure the amount of current that flowed through each UTH over that hour period. I think you would also need to measure how long it took for each tub to reach that temperature... Again, I haven't ever performed any such experiment, so I don't know for sure one way or another.

    As for your bps using that space and the "climbing limb", I don't doubt that you see them using it. But how can we be sure they aren't using the limb as a ramp to reach the top of the enclosure in an attempt to escape rather than using it for "fun"? We can't tell that because we don't have mind reading devices implanted in our snakes' brains...

    In their natural habitats, I'm sure you don't find bps climbing trees, just because they are there. They spend the majority of their time in rodent burrows and termite mounds.

    As for keeping a pet in a smaller enclosure so I can justify having more of them, this is not the case. I simply made the comment in an attempt to lighten the mood at the end of my post, hence the big green smiley face at the end. Personally, I only own ONE bp, and I keep her in the enclosure I do because she THRIVES in her smaller enclosure, not to increase the number of snakes I can keep. I do it because that's what I find keeps my snake healthy, happy, eating regularly, shedding properly and growing steadily.

    Again, not saying that your setup is wrong, just offering a different approach for a new keeper.
  • 04-10-2008, 03:51 PM
    JoshJP7
    Re: Tub Help
    No I didnt have anything measuring the amount of electricity being used by each tub but thats something to consider... What I did is just hook the 2 flexwatts up to my Herpstat so I kinda know that they were given the same amount of electricity.

    I have some in tubs and then 4 in custom built cages with the doors on the front so that kind of rules out climbing to the top to get out... I dont doubt that theyre trying to get out bc I give the larger ones some free time to roam my room so I think they try to get out just so they can go go go.

    In the wild you wont find a BP climbing bc theyre an easy target for other animals. Considering other animals a BP is rather defenseless so it makes sense that they seek out holes to chill in instead of being out in the open... You cant really take that into consideration bc we dont own wild snakes... In captivity, over time of course, our snakes learn that they dont have any enimies and I think that they become more comfortable and thats why they roam at night time.... This is just my thought... obviously no real facts.

    My bad on assuming you used smaller tubs just to have more snakes... I made that comment bc Ive seen it on here several times where people make the comment that you can keep a lot of snakes bc you can put em in small tubs... If you believe your snake is happy and thriving in the smaller tub thats one thing.... but to use smaller tubs just so you can have 20-30 snakes is selfish in my mind. Sorry again for the assumption :)
  • 04-10-2008, 04:00 PM
    Zues21
    Re: Tub Help
    At least you guys kept the discussion civil :P
  • 04-10-2008, 04:27 PM
    Inknsteel
    Re: Tub Help
    No worries... Nothing wrong with a healthy debate...

    My apologies to the original poster. I hope this thread and others have helped you figure out what you need to set up your enclosure and maintain a proper environment for your new bp. I'm sure I speak for everyone here when I say PICS are a must!

    And this concludes your thread hijack. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming... :D
  • 04-10-2008, 05:50 PM
    Zues21
    Re: Tub Help
    Pics wont be up for a little due to lost camera in Hawaii :oops:
  • 04-10-2008, 08:03 PM
    Inknsteel
    Re: Tub Help
    Posting pics as promised. I have to thank you for having me do this because I found out tonight I need to go buy another digital thermo/hygrometer... Quick backstory, I'm snake-sitting a friend's RTB and the tank didn't have one, so I took the thermo/hygro unit I normally keep next to her cool hide and put it in the RTB tank. Well I think we threw it away when we changed the paper towels in the boa tank this past weekend. Oops... Anyway, this is a 32qt sterilite with latching lid (removed for pics). I have her warm side on the right, cool on the left. I use(d) these cave hides, but she's outgrowing them now at 400g, so I'm gonna switch her to dollar store bowls this weekend. My thermostat and thermometer probe are running into the tub, under the paper towels under the warm side hide. I also have another small UTH hooked to a dimmer on the cool side to keep temps up in the winter. The thermo/hygro normally goes right behind the cool hide on the left. The branch in there is for her to rub on during shed. Water bowl in the back between warm and cool sides. Simple, but effective...

    EDIT: I also keep a black blanket on top of the tub lid to block out the light from my beardie's tank right next to her.

    http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...0pics/Tub1.jpg

    http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...0pics/Tub2.jpg
  • 04-10-2008, 08:15 PM
    Zues21
    Re: Tub Help
    Thank you a bunch for the pics. And my Bp will be opposite room of my beardies. :rofl:
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