Glass tank setup

Wow!!! THANX!
My wife brought home a BP and gave it to me for Father's Day! Along with all the 'extras' to setup. This thread post is PERFECT for me. The ignunt newbie scared to death and wanting to make sure he takes care of his new pet!!

Thanks again!!

So which side do you cut the hole in the plexiglass. the warmside, coldside, or over the water dish in the middle. i thought that you werent supposed to put lights above the water dish?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cassandra

It is very important to renew the substrate on a regular basis.

---

How often should the substrate be renewed?

this was a very helpful thread and i got my beginner snake tank going. the foam sheet idea for insulation was great.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chopsdsp

So which side do you cut the hole in the plexiglass. the warmside, coldside, or over the water dish in the middle. i thought that you werent supposed to put lights above the water dish?

---

i think they used a ceramic heater in the middle for overall tank temp. i have my main heat lamp on the actual hot side and a smaller nighttime lamp towards the middle to help keep the tank warm.

Great article. Thanks for offering up all the advice.
After reading the post, I'm now going out to get a 2nd UTH. I have been struggling to keep the temperatures acceptable, so I guess it was a no-brainer but I needed the support of extra advice.
Cool feeding strategy too, I think I'll give it a try on feeding day.

Absolutely amazing tutorial on glass set up! Thank you so much! It's been a constant learning process on how to best set up my little baby's home.
Couple questions...
1. When thinking about the top of my tank, how do I place the lamps (day and night) and the CHE? Which should be over middle, warm and cool side?
2. If I were to use aspen substrate, which mine seemed to like more than her coconut stuff, whats the best way to keep humidity consistent at 60% without constant misting? Does the lid do that by itself? Do I need to drill other holes in the plexiglass/cover lid for air flow?

Thanks a bunch!

OB
1.0 Normal Ball Python - Nagini

I only have one lamp, using a "moonlight" bulb so I can use it 24 hrs. I don't need to run it very high(use a rheostat) to maintain temps so I keep it over the cool side, which needs a little temp boost anyhoo. People who use two lamps(day and night) usually have them on opposite sides from what I have seen from pics but I can't tell which side is which bulb.

As for maintaining constant humidity w/o misting.. I don't think it's possible in a dry climate with a glass cage, even with aspen bedding. I even add sphagnum moss for a humidity boost. I just mist the moss to boost humidity, and keep my coconut fiber substrate fairly dry, to prevent scale rot.

I mist daily, either heavily once or lightly twice, at least I have been so far this late fall/early winter.

:banana: Excellent article - lots of great information. Thanks! :banana:

I feel like you guys should make an hour long video on your set up and put it up on YouTube. If we could "see" you do it, it might help us out because I am a little unclear on some stuff.