Can I keep my BP in a closet with the door shut?

Just got a new ball python today. It's not a hatchling but it's still pretty small. Spent $150 for the snake, a stick on thermometer, a 10 gal tank, a nice locking top, a water dish, a bark hide, and the 50watt heat lamp/bulb. Right now his temp is reading about 84 degrees and he seems pretty active. Does everything sound ok with my setup?

Also I'm wondering if it's safe to keep him in a closet with the door shut for about 10 hours a day. I live in an apartment and need to keep it hidden. I'm just worried about whether it not it will have enough air to breathe. I could keep the door open, but the bright red light from the lamp makes it look like I'm growing pot or something. It's a big walk in closet with carpet floors.

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9...a6d4a1exj3.jpg

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

Just got a new ball python today. It's not a hatchling but it's still pretty small. Spent $150 for the snake, a stick on thermometer, a 10 gal tank, a nice locking top, a water dish, a bark hide, and the 50watt heat lamp/bulb. Right now his temp is reading about 84 degrees and he seems pretty active. Does everything sound ok with my setup?

Also I'm wondering if it's safe to keep him in a closet with the door shut for about 10 hours a day. I live in an apartment and need to keep it hidden. I'm just worried about whether it not it will have enough air to breathe. I could keep the door open, but the bright red light from the lamp makes it look like I'm growing pot or something. It's a big walk in closet with carpet floors.

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9...a6d4a1exj3.jpg

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in his cage, right.....? Oh yeah he will be fine

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Originally Posted by HALEN16

in his cage, right.....? Oh yeah he will be fine

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Cool. Is my husbandry on point?

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

Just got a new ball python today. It's not a hatchling but it's still pretty small. Spent $150 for the snake, a stick on thermometer, a 10 gal tank, a nice locking top, a water dish, a bark hide, and the 50watt heat lamp/bulb. Right now his temp is reading about 84 degrees and he seems pretty active. Does everything sound ok with my setup?

Also I'm wondering if it's safe to keep him in a closet with the door shut for about 10 hours a day. I live in an apartment and need to keep it hidden. I'm just worried about whether it not it will have enough air to breathe. I could keep the door open, but the bright red light from the lamp makes it look like I'm growing pot or something. It's a big walk in closet with carpet floors.

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9...a6d4a1exj3.jpg

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First off congrats :gj:.Now ditch that junk stick on thermometer as it is not reading your temps.Those are for fish tanks that have water in them.If you are worried about the red light making it look like you are growing pot then buy a undertank heater ;).

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

Does everything sound ok with my setup?

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9...a6d4a1exj3.jpg

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I would rethink your setup a bit.
Take a look at this...
http://ball-pythons.net/modules.php?...warticle&id=59

;)

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

Cool. Is my husbandry on point?

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No see above comments ;)

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

Cool. Is my husbandry on point?

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theres always room for improvements...

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Originally Posted by lenastorms

I would rethink your setup a bit.
Take a look at this...
http://ball-pythons.net/modules.php?...warticle&id=59

;)

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Guy at the pet store was really opinionated. I originally just wanted to use an appropriately sized rubber tub with cut air holes, clips to lock the lid down, and an under tank heater with a hygrometer and thermo.

He's the one that convinced me I didn't need a hygrometer (told me to keep it dry and just soak before shedding), and that this temp guage was better than the other one I had picked out that said it was for reptiles. (it saved me money so I went with him.) He even told me to buy a heat rock and said an under tank heater made for reptiles was a bad idea. I didn't buy the rock even though my sister in law has used one successfully for 10 years. The guy was well meaning but seemed to have some out dated ideas on husbandry.

I'm not terribly worried about the temp guage. It does seem to work well enough so I'll probably leave it alone. I would like to buy an under tank heater though, and possibly get rid of the lamp once it gets bigger and ends up inside a tub.

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

Guy at the pet store was really opinionated. I originally just wanted to use an appropriately sized rubber tub with cut air holes, clips to lock the lid down, and an under tank heater with a hygrometer and thermo.

He's the one that convinced me I didn't need a hygrometer (told me to keep it dry and just soak before shedding), and that this temp guage was better than the other one I had picked out that said it was for reptiles. (it saved me money so I went with him.) He even told me to buy a heat rock and said an under tank heater made for reptiles was a bad idea. I didn't buy the rock even though my sister in law has used one successfully for 10 years. The guy was well meaning but seemed to have some out dated ideas on husbandry.

I'm not terribly worried about the temp guage. It does seem to work well enough so I'll probably leave it alone. I would like to buy an under tank heater though, and possibly get rid of the lamp once it gets bigger and ends up inside a tub.

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Get a digital, or two. Ideally one with probes.

If you get a UTH you need a way to control the temp since they can get up to 110+ I believe. You will want a thermometer with probes to measure the temp of the UTH. A Thermostat would be good for this.

Two hides wouldnt be a bad idea either, one on the cool side and one on the warm side.

Also your humidity needs to be about 60% all the time and bumped to 70%-80% when the snake is shedding.

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

Guy at the pet store was really opinionated... I'm not terribly worried about the temp guage. It does seem to work well enough so I'll probably leave it alone. I would like to buy an under tank heater though, and possibly get rid of the lamp once it gets bigger and ends up inside a tub.

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One thing you learn after getting a bp is that "the guy" does not know anything about proper husbandry. But he does excel at selling you stuff you do not need.

Personally, I would read any threads on setting up your bp... lamps, stick on gauges, and log hides, no means of measuring humidity... might not seem like a big deal, but these are important things to address in regards to your husbandry.

Your snake needs belly heat (undertank heater), not dorsal heat (a lamp). It needs a thermal gradient with a hot and cool end. If if is in an open enclosure it needs to snug hides (not log hides). And it needs proper humidity. Those are the basics.

Good luck with him... and if he is in a closet, why not put him in a tub to begin with? Most people that keep snakes in tanks tend to do so as they want a nice display viv.

It is cheaper and is the best way to give your snake what it needs... which is proper husbandry (temps and humidity).

Bruce

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Originally Posted by Loft Lizard

One thing you learn after getting a bp is that "the guy" does not know anything about proper husbandry. But he does excel at selling you stuff you do not need.

Personally, I would read any threads on setting up your bp... lamps, stick on gauges, and log hides, no means of measuring humidity... might not seem like a big deal, but these are important things to address in regards to your husbandry.

Your snake needs belly heat (undertank heater), not dorsal heat (a lamp). It needs a thermal gradient with a hot and cool end. If if is in an open enclosure it needs to snug hides (not log hides). And it needs proper humidity. Those are the basics.

Good luck with him... and if he is in a closet, why not put him in a tub to begin with? Most people that keep snakes in tanks tend to do so as they want a nice display viv.

It is cheaper and is the best way to give your snake what it needs... which is proper husbandry (temps and humidity).

Bruce

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Ok this is what I REALLY need.. can someone throw up some links to specific items I can purchase online for these purposes? I need a hygrometer, a probe temp guage, a UTH with adjustable heat levels, etc. I'll throw him in a tub and just return the other stuff if I can. My problem is that I don't know which brands / models to buy and how to tell which ones have the features I need. Money isn't really an issue cause I want to get the right stuff. I need to buy it online to avoid "the guy" at the pet store.

I personally can't maintain temps without using a UTH (under-tank heater). You will also need at least a rheostat to regulate the current to the UTH... if you just plug it in they have been known to reach temps of ~120 degrees.

Bottom line, though, no matter what you use for heating, you really need to drop the $12 on a good thermometer/hygrometer, plus another $2-10 on identical hides for the little guy... you don't want him to have to pick whether he's going to be warm enough or feel secure.

Most of our 'emergencies' on this site are related to poor husbandry, IMO. I don't want you to have to post a 'Help! My BP won't eat/shed/whatever' thread later.

Glad you didn't listen to the pet store employee on the heat rock at least.

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Originally Posted by Swingline0.0.1

I personally can't maintain temps without using a UTH (under-tank heater). You will also need at least a rheostat to regulate the current to the UTH... if you just plug it in they have been known to reach temps of ~120 degrees.

Bottom line, though, no matter what you use for heating, you really need to drop the $12 on a good thermometer/hygrometer, plus another $2-10 on identical hides for the little guy... you don't want him to have to pick whether he's going to be warm enough or feel secure.

Most of our 'emergencies' on this site are related to poor husbandry, IMO. I don't want you to have to post a 'Help! My BP won't eat/shed/whatever' thread later.

Glad you didn't listen to the pet store employee on the heat rock at least.

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Can you help me by linking me to a suitable UTH and guages? I'll find better hides.

Or just critique what I would come up with on Amazon:

Digital Thermometer/Hygrometer- Rapitest
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...VGNA9&v=glance

Repti Temperature Rheostat- ZOO-MED LABORATORIES INC
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...B8S1H&v=glance

Zoo Med Large Repti-Therm UTH Under Tank Heater-
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...B8S1H&v=glance

This only adds up to 70 bucks shipped. Good enough?

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

Can you help me by linking me to a suitable UTH and guages? I'll find better hides.

Or just critique what I would come up with on Amazon:

Digital Thermometer/Hygrometer- Rapitest
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...VGNA9&v=glance

Repti Temperature Rheostat- ZOO-MED LABORATORIES INC
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...B8S1H&v=glance

Zoo Med Large Repti-Therm UTH Under Tank Heater-
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...B8S1H&v=glance

This only adds up to 70 bucks shipped. Good enough?

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The thermometer is too expensive... you can get the same thing, different brand name at Wal-Mart (I hate promoting Wal-Mart, but I am in Canada, so I do not know of any other place that has them) for $12.0.

Tubs, any hardware type Home Depot store. Get one with a locking lid... bps are brilliant escape artists. Even with a locking lid a few binder clips can be your best friend.

As far as a rheostat. Personally I think they are crap. You do not need to spend 20-50 bucks for a dimmer. Just go to the hardware store and wire your own. A dimmer, a junction box, and an extension cord... voila... a rheostat!

But that being said... I would not get a dimmer either. Get a thermostat instead if you can afford it. With a dimmer... it will keep a constant temp, so if temps fluctuate in your apt the temps in your enclosure will fluctuate as well. A thermostat will adjust to ensure that the temps in the enclosure stay constant.

The heat pads are fine. Ideally you want one for each side and EACH one hooked up to thermostat.

Hardware stores are a snake keepers best friend. I spend so little money in pet stores that I never need to see "the guy"!

Same with dollar stores... I buy all my hides there. Hides for me are cereal bowls, kitty litter pans, etc., with a door cut in them.

The enclosure is dirt cheap to throw together, the investment is in the thermostat, heating devices, and digital dual thermometer/hydrogemeter.

I do have any links... late and I need to sleep, but I am sure by morning you will have tons of responses. If not...

Here are a few pics of a typical enclosure for my snakes. Two hides... digital T/H, water dish... the heat devices run one under each hide and are each hooked up to a thermostat.

Hope that helps. Your snake is fortuneate to have such an attentive keeper.

Bruce

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p...rejun92007.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p...ngjun92007.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p...wenclosure.jpg

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Originally Posted by Loft Lizard

Hope that helps. Your snake is fortuneate to have such an attentive keeper.

Bruce

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Your snakes are beautiful. Very pro setup you have going there too.

I'm allergic to being creative with hardware stores, so how about this product? It claims to do the same for 28 bux

Zoo Med ReptTemp 500R Thermostat Remote Sensor for Reptiles
http://www.amazon.com/ReptTemp-Therm...3074176&sr=1-1

I'm thinking this and maybe a ceramic heater too?

www.reptilebasics.com

Get 1 foot of 11" flexwatt, buy the wire(email or call Rich to have it SOLDERED, the clips are crap) and a Johnson Controls Thermostat.

WalMart has 6qt or 15qt tubs. The 15qt would be perfect for your little guy. That should be around $4.

Go to the outdoor thermometer section(garden section, or by the lighting) and find an AcuRite digital thermometer/hygrometer with probe. Should be around $12.

While you're in the garden section, pick up two 4" planter saucers(sit underneath pots to catch water). They should be 50 cents apiece. Just cut holes in the sides and flip upside down.

Hop on over to the craft section and get a hobby soldering iron for poking holes in the tub(or you can heat up a small nail over the stove and use pliers to hold the nail while you melt holes in the tub).

Go to the automotive department and get a package of the small bungee cords. They are to hold your lid on.

Newspaper works perfectly for bedding, or you can pick up some aspen in the small-pet section.

And that should be it :) other than taking back the majority of the stuff "the guy" sold you at the pet store.

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

Your snakes are beautiful. Very pro setup you have going there too.

Zoo Med ReptTemp 500R Thermostat Remote Sensor for Reptiles
http://www.amazon.com/ReptTemp-Therm...3074176&sr=1-1

I'm thinking this and maybe a ceramic heater too?

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Thanks the comments on the snakes... I am partial to them... (a bit biased) but I will take the compliment, pass it on, and agree...

I may get yelled at for this... but I know people that have used the cheapo Repti-temp thermostat and had success with it. For one snake... I think it is fine.

Others have a digital output, so you can input the exact temp you want. The Repti-temp is a dial... so it take a bit of tweeking to get the right temps. But there is not more than a few degrees fluctuation. And you have a 4 degree window (80-84 and 90-94).

Also the repti-temp is an on-off vs. a proportional... a proportional will control the amount of heat... and basically "dim" itself... but an on-off is more like a household thermostat... heat on... reach desired temp... heat off... temp drops... turns back on.

If you had 10 snakes in a rack... you would want a better one, but I think it is OK myself.

You do not need a heater, or a bulb. The heat tape or heat pads will be sufficient.

After thinking about it... I would advise against the zoo med heat pads and go for either flexx-wat or heating that looks like the flexxwat... I cannot think what it is... but I think they sell them as "desert wave" pads.

Bruce...

PS: I think SI gave you a great map/walk-through the wal-mart. :)

ha i have 12 snakes in my closet :)

Sounds like you are well on your way. I just love seeing dedicated people like you actually learning how to care for your snakes on this site.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

www.reptilebasics.com

Get 1 foot of 11" flexwatt, buy the wire(email or call Rich to have it SOLDERED, the clips are crap) and a Johnson Controls Thermostat.

WalMart has 6qt or 15qt tubs. The 15qt would be perfect for your little guy. That should be around $4.

Go to the outdoor thermometer section(garden section, or by the lighting) and find an AcuRite digital thermometer/hygrometer with probe. Should be around $12.

While you're in the garden section, pick up two 4" planter saucers(sit underneath pots to catch water). They should be 50 cents apiece. Just cut holes in the sides and flip upside down.

Hop on over to the craft section and get a hobby soldering iron for poking holes in the tub(or you can heat up a small nail over the stove and use pliers to hold the nail while you melt holes in the tub).

Go to the automotive department and get a package of the small bungee cords. They are to hold your lid on.

Newspaper works perfectly for bedding, or you can pick up some aspen in the small-pet section.

And that should be it :) other than taking back the majority of the stuff "the guy" sold you at the pet store.

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Take this path. Becky has made it very clear and as inexpensive as possible. Follow her list and you'll be set up :gj:

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Originally Posted by Loft Lizard

I may get yelled at for this... but I know people that have used the cheapo Repti-temp thermostat and had success with it. For one snake... I think it is fine.

Others have a digital output, so you can input the exact temp you want. The Repti-temp is a dial... so it take a bit of tweeking to get the right temps. But there is not more than a few degrees fluctuation. And you have a 4 degree window (80-84 and 90-94).

Also the repti-temp is an on-off vs. a proportional... a proportional will control the amount of heat... and basically "dim" itself... but an on-off is more like a household thermostat... heat on... reach desired temp... heat off... temp drops... turns back on.



PS: I think SI gave you a great map/walk-through the wal-mart. :)

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Speaking from personal experience here.. the Reptitemp 500R "thermostat" is an awful product. PLEASE dont put your animal at risk by using it. the ONLY sutible environment (to me) to use it is one where your room temperatures dont fluctuate AT ALL.

the dial has no numbers on it! it is not a thermostat, it is more like a rheostat. i bought one when i got my girl last year thinking I could save some money. you have to watch it like a hawk. because the temperatures in my room were not stable at all the thermometer in her enclosure would read from 84 degrees F (on the hot side) to 114 F! I may has well not have tried at all with the thermostat!

I got myself a Johnson Control and am MUCH happier. Rich at reptile basics has fixed it for me, free of charge months after purchasing it when i had a problem with the power strip.

if your temps are stable in the place you have her in, then okay.. but personally I wouldn't risk it at all.

Well I tried Walmart today but all the Acu-Rite digital thermos they had didn't include any probes. One of them was 6 bux, one was 10 and one was 27. All of them were battery powered no probes.

I'll probably just have to order one online. I'll probably do the flexwatt and johnson thing as well but first I need a good probe temp guage to see how things are currently.

Man, I can't even go into walmart anymore without seeing something that I want for building snake enclosures.

Reptile Basics is your friend. I got flexwatt and a helix from there, and it is the way to go. The helix is pricey, but worth it, as I now do not have to screw with my temps. I stuck the flexwatt on the bottom of some sterlite tubs with aluminized tape, and my snakes are good to go.

Plastic flower pots and a dremel are all you need to make any size hide you could ever want.

I decided to go with this:

1 foot of 11inch flexwatt underneath (probably too big, but will eventually support a 28qt sterilte tub.

johnson controls thermostat

digital scale (to keep track of feed size and snake growth)

infrared temp gun

I ordered it from reptilebasics.com and it came to about $162. I'm looking forward to helping my snake get a lot fatter.

Very cool. Rich is awesome and his customer care is top-notch :gj:
You'll never regret ordering from him :bow: Also, if you have any questions about anything, he'll get back to you really quickly by email. Great guy- great products!

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

Well I tried Walmart today but all the Acu-Rite digital thermos they had didn't include any probes. One of them was 6 bux, one was 10 and one was 27. All of them were battery powered no probes.

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I saw your list of stuff you are getting... but you still need the dual thermometer with hydrogemeter. It is critical.

If not that then get a digital hydrogemeter in addition to your temp gun.

Humidity is as important as temps...

The probes do connect the unit to an outlet... but rather the probe is the second heat sensor. You place the unit on the cool side... and the probe goes under the paper of the warm hide (hot side).

They are ALL battery operated.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p...tempminder.jpg

It looks exactly like this, but with a different name.

Congrats btw, sounds like you are on your way.

Bruce

Forgot to mention... mine all come with a cheap battery in them... in my experience they use so little energy that even those cheap batteries are good for a year and half to two years...

Bruce

I picked up a digital temp/humidity guage at walmart for about $3.50 (hardware department). They did not have any well priced thermometers with probes, so I got one at petsmart for $9.

Here is a pic of the cheap walmart purchase, slightly blocked:
http://www.blackplague.org/thermometer.jpg

I also bought an under tank heater but need to get a rheostat, someone said the Repti500 is really bad, does that mean it does NOT turn off when things get too hot? If I can't trust it to turn off I may just get a regular cheap rheostat at home depot until I can afford the Helix.

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Originally Posted by starmom

Very cool. Rich is awesome and his customer care is top-notch :gj:
You'll never regret ordering from him :bow: Also, if you have any questions about anything, he'll get back to you really quickly by email. Great guy- great products!

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I second that!!

Walmart had a really cheap temp / humidity thing for like 6bux so I got one of those. It seems my house is about 40% or so, but can get down much lower under the heat lamp. Can't wait till my order arrives so I can stop using that thing.