A Few Q's About Hides and RBI Racks

Hey Gang,
I was wondering to get anybody's opinion on some questions i have about RBI 32qt sweater box rack w/ dividers and Hides for almost yearling ball pythons. So here I go:

1) I have 3 ball pythons that are out growing their small RBI hides in their tubs. What hides would you recommend to use that would be the next size up that would fit in a divided 32 qt tub??

2) I use two small hides in my tubs for my 08 babies but with the 3 outgrowing them. I'm considering just using one for now on. I know a lot of people do this but where do i place the hide at? Warm Side or Cool side?

3) I recently got my second 32qt RBI rack with belly heat in and plan on stacking the two that i have together. Where would you recommend i place the prob at? The Top Rack or Bottom Rack?

any responses would be appreciated.

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Originally Posted by thefnshow66

Hey Gang,
I was wondering to get anybody's opinion on some questions i have about RBI 32qt sweater box rack w/ dividers and Hides for almost yearling ball pythons. So here I go:

1) I have 3 ball pythons that are out growing their small RBI hides in their tubs. What hides would you recommend to use that would be the next size up that would fit in a divided 32 qt tub??

2) I use two small hides in my tubs for my 08 babies but with the 3 outgrowing them. I'm considering just using one for now on. I know a lot of people do this but where do i place the hide at? Warm Side or Cool side?

3) I recently got my second 32qt RBI rack with belly heat in and plan on stacking the two that i have together. Where would you recommend i place the prob at? The Top Rack or Bottom Rack?

any responses would be appreciated.

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1. The small/xsmall are the only hides that fit in a divided 32qt the medium will not:(.

2. If you were only to use one hide I would put it on the hot side.

3. I also have two 32qt RBI and plan on stacking them sometime too and I would place the probe on the 4th or 5th tub tape but I'm not to sure were the proper placement would be.

Hope this helps.

Sounds like your set-up is very similar to mine.

For the BP's who are outgrowing the small hides, you can try the next size up, which is the medium. They fit just fine in the 32qt Iris tub. If you're using tub dividers, you might have to get creative because I don't think two mediums will fit down the long side.

If you try to go with just one hide, I would place it on the cool side cause my guys seem to spend most of their time in that one. To provide some security, you can try crumpling up some newspaper on the warm end. When they need to thermoregulate, they can crawl under the paper and warm up till they're ready to move back to the cool side.

For stacking your racks, my first advice would be to get a second T-Stat for the second rack, but if that's not in your plans, I would personaly place the probe on the second row of the upper rack. Heat rises, and you'll want to regulate the warmest part of your stack. With a little tweeking, you should be able to find a good temp for each slot in the stack.

I don't use hides in my tubs.

If you were to use one hide, place it on the warm side.

Place the probe in the center of the two racks, so whatever row that may be.

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Originally Posted by thefnshow66

Hey Gang,
I was wondering to get anybody's opinion on some questions i have about RBI 32qt sweater box rack w/ dividers and Hides for almost yearling ball pythons. So here I go:

1) I have 3 ball pythons that are out growing their small RBI hides in their tubs. What hides would you recommend to use that would be the next size up that would fit in a divided 32 qt tub??

2) I use two small hides in my tubs for my 08 babies but with the 3 outgrowing them. I'm considering just using one for now on. I know a lot of people do this but where do i place the hide at? Warm Side or Cool side?

3) I recently got my second 32qt RBI rack with belly heat in and plan on stacking the two that i have together. Where would you recommend i place the prob at? The Top Rack or Bottom Rack?

any responses would be appreciated.

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Are RBI's med. hides too big for a divided rack. I know a bunch of folks don't even use hides in their racks. If you choose to use one, I would put it on the warm side, but they can move it around if they please.

As for the stat probe, most people recommend it go in the middle tub, but since RBI's 32 qt are 4 high then I would probably just put it in the top tub of the bottom rack or the bottom tub of the top rack(4th or 5th tub)

EDIT* Heather scorched me

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Originally Posted by dreese88

EDIT* Heather scorched me

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LOL!!!

No scorching from me ;)

I'm sure he appreciates hearing from more than one person.

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Originally Posted by dreese88

Are RBI's med. hides too big for a divided rack. I know a bunch of folks don't even use hides in their racks. If you choose to use one, I would put it on the warm side, but they can move it around if they please.

As for the stat probe, most people recommend it go in the middle tub, but since RBI's 32 qt are 4 high then I would probably just put it in the top tub of the bottom rack or the bottom tub of the top rack(4th or 5th tub)

EDIT* Heather scorched me

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Just to see for yourselves Med hide in divided 32qt and small hide.
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...03_copyacr.jpg

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Originally Posted by Jsh

Just to see for yourselves Med hide in divided 32qt and small hide.
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...03_copyacr.jpg

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thanks for the photo, i knew that the medium rbi hide would be to big for the dividers. Thats why i was asking if there was another alternative hide i could use that would be bigger than the small RBI hide but not as big as the Medium Hide.

cut a new entrance to the hide.

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Originally Posted by Jsh

Just to see for yourselves Med hide in divided 32qt and small hide.
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...03_copyacr.jpg

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oh man...I didn't know they were so much bigger.

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Originally Posted by thefnshow66

thanks for the photo, i knew that the medium rbi hide would be to big for the dividers. Thats why i was asking if there was another alternative hide i could use that would be bigger than the small RBI hide but not as big as the Medium Hide.

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I have no idea what other hides would fit. I also posted the pic because when I was getting hides I thought the medium would maybe fit. There is also a fairly big size difference between the hides.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jsh

I have no idea what other hides would fit. I also posted the pic because when I was getting hides I thought the medium would maybe fit. There is also a fairly big size difference between the hides.

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I guess i'll just have to do a custom hide. :P

There's a huge size difference between the small and medium RBI hides... I plan on keeping my baby BP in his small hides until he lifts them well off the cage floor and then upgrading him to mediums.

I get 4 plastic bowls for $1 at my local store, they fit perfect into the divided 32 quart RBI tubs.

Be creative!

JonV

Yeah I was extremely disappointed to find that the medium was so much bigger than the small, and that the measurements given on the RBI site don't accurately reflect the size of the hide (footprint, instead of usable area). As a result, my babies don't fit well in the smalls, but the mediums are waaaaay too big for their tubs. I'll keep supplementing with my trimmed-down cereal box hides until they are big enough for the next stage.

v

Just be sure to change those cereal boxes often, as they will harbor bacteria. And it sounds like they will be in them a long time.

The bottoms for potted plants, turned upside down and a hole cut in them, make excellent hides. Or, try some plastic cereal bowls. Your snake won't notice they're not RBI hides! :0

JonV

I have some 32 qt RBI racks, and do not use hides. I do not see any reason to use hides in RBI racks. That is just my personal opinion.

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Originally Posted by Vacado

Yeah I was extremely disappointed to find that the medium was so much bigger than the small, and that the measurements given on the RBI site don't accurately reflect the size of the hide (footprint, instead of usable area). As a result, my babies don't fit well in the smalls, but the mediums are waaaaay too big for their tubs. I'll keep supplementing with my trimmed-down cereal box hides until they are big enough for the next stage.

v

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so the only thing i can think of that i can use for now is those exo terra medium hides.
http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=35

one would fit in the divided tub in a weird angle and its big enough for them but not so big like the RBI medium hide. Any thoughts?

I've seen other black hides on here that aren't from RBI. They open from the end instead on the sides like the RBI ones do. Can anybody provide a link?

For the ones I have deviders in , I use the smaller postal boxes and offset cut a hole big enough for the snake to fit through. Theyre free and they work excellent. If they defecate in the hide toss it and put a new one in.