All setup w/ snake :D

Just got a snake from a guy who had a couple up for adoption. It's a male, a couple years old. Probably 3.5' long. When I put it in the tank, it checked out the entire tank and after about 15 minutes, went to the warm side hide. That's pretty normal for a new snake, right? It's only peeked its head out once since then. Here's some pics of the tank, lemme know what you think :) It's my first experience with snakes and designing an enclosure. I'll get some pics of him when he comes out ;)
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/5...9092008hj9.jpg

Looks like a pretty big tank, but the setup looks good. How is it keping the temps up in that bad boy?

Pretty easy. I have a large UTH and a 100W che on the warm side and a small UTH on the cool side. Temps are fairly stable at ~82 cool, 85 ambient and ~91 warm. Humidity has been easy to keep up around 55%. The back and left side are wrapped with reflectix, which really helps retain heat. The aquarium background hides it well, so it looks pretty good.

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Originally Posted by Appolion

Pretty easy. I have a large UTH and a 100W che on the warm side and a small UTH on the cool side. Temps are fairly stable at ~82 cool, 85 ambient and ~91 warm. Humidity has been easy to keep up around 55%. The back and left side are wrapped with reflectix, which really helps retain heat. The aquarium background hides it well, so it looks pretty good.

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I agree, it looks great. :D If it works for you and your snake then that is wonderful. Where are new snake pictures??

Might wanna make the hides identical

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

I agree, it looks great. :D If it works for you and your snake then that is wonderful. Where are new snake pictures??

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That was kinda one of my questions. Right after I put him in, he checked out everything and then went to his hide and has stayed there since. Is that pretty normal for a snake in a new enclosure?

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Originally Posted by Appolion

That was kinda one of my questions. Right after I put him in, he checked out everything and then went to his hide and has stayed there since. Is that pretty normal for a snake in a new enclosure?

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Usually they cruise a bit, looking for a way out or a comfortable place where they feel secure. I always say a happy BP is a hiding BP.

:3 Nothing to worry about.

A Hiding BP is a Happy BP! Yes, it's normal.

Seems I've said this before, LOL.

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Originally Posted by Slim

A Hiding BP is a Happy BP! Yes, it's normal.

Seems I've said this before, LOL.

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That should be the BP.net motto or something. It seems to be said all the time!

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Originally Posted by Appolion

Pretty easy. I have a large UTH and a 100W che on the warm side and a small UTH on the cool side. Temps are fairly stable at ~82 cool, 85 ambient and ~91 warm. Humidity has been easy to keep up around 55%. The back and left side are wrapped with reflectix, which really helps retain heat. The aquarium background hides it well, so it looks pretty good.

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Hey man that is pretty pimp! Not many people can pull off keeping a tank of that size in the right range. But it looks like you got your stuff right so right on!

Mike

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Originally Posted by Slim

A Hiding BP is a Happy BP! Yes, it's normal.

Seems I've said this before, LOL.

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I kinda figured hehe :)
I just wish I could see him more...
After a week I'll finally be able to take him out :D I can't wait!

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Originally Posted by Appolion

I kinda figured hehe :)
I just wish I could see him more...
After a week I'll finally be able to take him out :D I can't wait!

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This will be the longest week of your life :P

Quick question about feeding. The person who had him before me fed him live and I really don't wanna do that. Is it usually pretty hard to switch em to F/T?
I suppose I should wait until the week is up to try and feed him.

Just curious how long you researched before getting the snake. The reason I ask is because it seems that a lot of people's excuses for bad husbandry are that they are 'new to snakes' or that they don't have as much experience as the veterans of this site..

Why can't people follow your example and actually do research before jumping in to a new animal? I can tell you have done your homework and props for making a tank that large work. :gj:

Now just don't let us catch you saying you're throwing another one in there too because it's lonely. :O

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Originally Posted by Appolion

Quick question about feeding. The person who had him before me fed him live and I really don't wanna do that. Is it usually pretty hard to switch em to F/T?
I suppose I should wait until the week is up to try and feed him.

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It depends on the BP. My pastel was being fed on live and had no problems switching back and forth. You can always give the F/T a whirl and if it doesn't work, then you can try live and slowly work your way to F/T

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Originally Posted by Appolion

Quick question about feeding. The person who had him before me fed him live and I really don't wanna do that. Is it usually pretty hard to switch em to F/T?
I suppose I should wait until the week is up to try and feed him.

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I have switched both mine with no problems. Every snake is different so you never know till you try. And yes, wait a week.

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Originally Posted by Demon280z

Just curious how long you researched before getting the snake. The reason I ask is because it seems that a lot of people's excuses for bad husbandry are that they are 'new to snakes' or that they don't have as much experience as the veterans of this site..

Why can't people follow your example and actually do research before jumping in to a new animal? I can tell you have done your homework and props for making a tank that large work. :gj:

Now just don't let us catch you saying you're throwing another one in there too because it's lonely. :O

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some times they do research there is ALLOT of bad info floating around out there, and ignorant employees of chains stores with the display of bad husbandry when most new comers purchase there snake = allot of mistakes at first.

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Originally Posted by Demon280z

Now just don't let us catch you saying you're throwing another one in there too because it's lonely. :O

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:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

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Originally Posted by Demon280z

Just curious how long you researched before getting the snake. The reason I ask is because it seems that a lot of people's excuses for bad husbandry are that they are 'new to snakes' or that they don't have as much experience as the veterans of this site..

Why can't people follow your example and actually do research before jumping in to a new animal? I can tell you have done your homework and props for making a tank that large work. :gj:

Now just don't let us catch you saying you're throwing another one in there too because it's lonely. :O

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I've been reading about em every night since about a week and a half ago. And this was coming from practically zero snake knowledge. I didn't look into switching types of food because I had originally planned on getting a hatchling and feeding it f/t from the start. The guy who gave him to me asked me if I wanted another, but I've read enough to know two together isn't for a beginner, if ever. To me, it seems too easy to just get another tank for another snake...
As far as doing research goes, it just seems obvious when it comes to a long term commitment to not get all caught up in the "OH ITS SO CUTE, IM TAKING IT HOME NOW!" mentality. Less stress too

Thanks for the comments :D

It's ok to lift up the hide to see if he's doing ok, right? Once a day or something...

Great job! and congrats :), After the week is up try a f/t but make sure it is thawed/warmed enough. I keep one of guys in a 40g long, it was the tank that came with him..her and have never had a prob with temp/hum and I only use 1 uth, but I'm in so fl so that helps alot.

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Originally Posted by llovelace

Great job! and congrats :), After the week is up try a f/t but make sure it is thawed/warmed enough. I keep one of guys in a 40g long, it was the tank that came with him..her and have never had a prob with temp/hum and I only use 1 uth, but I'm in so fl so that helps alot.

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I'm in ND. Humidity is scarce to say the least. I have a humidifier for my room, so it stays around 40%, so getting to 50-60% with plants/wood/eco earth isn't too hard. I'm getting sick of eco earth already though.

:(, I would love to be in the Dakotas but only for vacation :), my humidity is 50-56% on average, I got one in shed so I trow in moist sea sponge & her tank is at 77%. It would drive me nuts if I were in the north lol

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Originally Posted by JeffJ

some times they do research there is ALLOT of bad info floating around out there, and ignorant employees of chains stores with the display of bad husbandry when most new comers purchase there snake = allot of mistakes at first.

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While I agree with you.. I can't help but say that it is still the person's fault for not doing more research. There IS more good info than bad out there, you just have to spend sometime deciphering it.

This is a perfect example of how someone can get off to a great start with their first snake.

On the f/t: If you cant get any interest, hold the heat lamp over the mouse for a little while. Every BP will react to the mouse differently so be ready to try different approaches. I can dangle the mouse by the tail for one of mine while the other will never strike if it's off the ground. Good luck!

Very nice! I'm glad there's another person around who can make tanks work! :D

Try aspen for substrate. It's not as messy as ecoearth or as prone to bacteria. Looks nice as well. :)

And as to FT switch over - as was said it's all up to the individual snake. I have two adult BPs who refuse to take FT no matter what I try...but they love PK. On the other hand, my biggest adult female (a rescue from a clueless fool) took to FT the very first time I offered it to her. Same with my spider girl...but then, she's a pig. :)
Just be patient and consistent. Only offer the food you want them to have, in this case FT, and if they don't take it they wait another week. Don't give in and feed them live... they can go a long time without food if they must. :)

Keep up the good tank work! :gj:

Nice setup man, good job on keepin the temps right on also, when your snake comes out take some pics Im sure we'd all like to see him. :gj:

Aspen by far is the best substrate option for cleanliness next to newsprint or paper towel

so easy to maintain and humidity is not an issue.

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Originally Posted by JeffJ

Aspen by far is the best substrate option for cleanliness next to newsprint or paper towel

so easy to maintain and humidity is not an issue.

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And if you line the tank with paper towels first, monthly cleaning is a breeze, just roll up and dump, then vacuum out the rest which is minimal :)

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Originally Posted by llovelace

And if you line the tank with paper towels first, monthly cleaning is a breeze, just roll up and dump, then vacuum out the rest which is minimal :)

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i use news paper i can never get it out in one shot with paper towel

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Originally Posted by llovelace

:(, I would love to be in the Dakotas but only for vacation :), my humidity is 50-56% on average, I got one in shed so I trow in moist sea sponge & her tank is at 77%. It would drive me nuts if I were in the north lol

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Temps at the coldest, which lasted about a week were consistently below zero. Some nights were down to -35F :O:O:O:O:O
Not to mention ND has an average wind of 18MPH...wind chills down to -50/-60F... It was a week of hell, which incidentally froze over temporarily...:mad:

Needless to say, once I get my degree, I'm leaving!

Ok everyone, I got some pics of my new snake :D
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/2741/0226092218.jpg
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/987/0221091654.jpg
http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/7906/0221091653a.jpg

Whaddya think?

Aww...pretty one. :) Nice patterns, I like the tail stripe.

Great looking snake and great job on doing research and taking proper care of him/her ;) :gj:

I know this is kind of after the fact, but I suggest trying cypress mulch. It is great for increasing humidity in an enclosure. Also, what are you using to measure your temps? It seems to me like a heat mat that large would get very hot. Are you using something to control the output of the mat? I also suggest feeding him live for a few feedings before trying to switch him. He is likely stressed by his move to a new environment / enclosure. You do not want to stress him out more by trying to change his food type too.

Anyway, good luck with him. He looks great.