tanks vs tubs

[Donald M]

[QUOTE=Animals As Leaders;1495103]Tanks really aren't that hard to hold in the humidity. You just need to cover 3/4 of the screen with a piece of plexi, and you should be good as long as you mist. Also, try to use a low wattage light so your not sucking the humidity out. Use a low wattage day light bulb, or one of those red heat bulbs. Snakes are nocturnal and some get stressed from lights.

Another thing you should know about tubs is the ambient temp in the room they are in must be high. I do recall reading some post about people who use tubs/lights but I am not sure. I wouldn't use tubs unless you can keep the room warm. Messing with lights for tubs must be a pain and thats a route I will not venture down. I personally have two racks in my room right now, and I have a space heater to keep the temps up at around 78 degrees. And I personally wouldn't have it any other way. So simple to clean and maintain. Good luck!![/QU

use heat tape never have an issuue with temps in tubs

[mdfreak2]

I have a ball python that I am looking into buying/building a snake rack. He is about 3 to 4 feet. I currently have him in a 55 gallon tank and it is hard to keep the humidity and heat up at the right temp. I am interested in building like a 5 drawer system nothing big at the moment of time. Also if any 1 has a female ball python under $125 for sale please send me a message. Thank you

[darkbloodwyvern]

I'm switching to a rack system. I a.) have too many snakes not to b.) am sick of dealing with the crappy locks on my snake's cages getting stuck c.) don't make the cages look all that nice ANYWAY d.) want something that takes up less space and makes it easier to harass my snakes that doesn't involve clips/keys and locks/ and messing with putting a lid somewhere so I can kick it around and bruise myself. It just sounds easier and the humidty and temps fluxate where I live enough that something that is pretty stable sounds AWESOME! I've tried pretty much everything and had the lest problem with plastic tubs and my snakes shed wonderfully in them.

[Crazy4Herps]

There's really nothing wrong with tanks; they're a pain in the butt, but, with the right setup and maintenance, can make excellent enclosures for snakes. Tubs are SO much easier for holding heat, humidity, cleaning, etc, they just look ugly.

Acrylic cages (AP, Boaphile, etc.) are the best way to go by far. They're great in terms of retaining heat/humidity, they're lightweight but sturdy, but also look realllllly nice and have good visibility while allowing a snake more privacy than a glass tank. I started out with glass tanks, found them too much of a hassle (especially with the dry climate here; our house is usually at 10% humidity), so I switched to tubs for a few years, then I discovered AP cages and I will never use anything else.

[Raf702]

Both are nice in my opinion. I personally went with tubs/plastic over glass tanks. Due to what I've read between using either one. They both have their pro's/con's, but at the end of the day it's just personal preference. And recently I've seen quality plastic/acrylic enclosures that look fairly decent. I even have my eye on this one brand of acrylic/plastic enclosures for a good price. And most likely will be sticking to them when I purchase more BP's in the future. Tanks alone look very nice, and I've seen amazing decorated ones and setups. But I still like the whole tub/plastics better, just my opinion.

[kitedemon]

Interesting topic I use a rack, an upright tank, a sideways tank, a vision and sly enclosures as well as a custom enclosure.

I don't feel one has a clear advantage over the others each has pros and cons.

The rack is harder to exactly control temps with the top slot is often warmer than the middle and bottom cooler than the middle. In a large system horizontal control is sometimes used over vertical control but on a small scale it simply isn't practical. Racks are less efficient heat wise they loose heat quickly. The time saving personally I don't notice really it is faster (about twice) to clean but I do a full wash twice as much that upper surface is a killer. They are very space efficient however there is likely nothing can beat them for that. doesn't look very nice.

The upright tank requires more tinkering to get humidly right and they also loose heat quickly. If you move the tank much (I don't at all) it is a disaster. Once figured out it isn't a big deal I don't need to mist much anymore especially as it isn't 8% inside any longer (stupid rads). They require mods to get right the screened lid just isn't viable at least where I live. They do look good and generally a true gradient can be made rather than a hot spot/ cool spot with abrupt changes. Cheap too free often. Looks good.

Sideways tank needs construction but solves most of the tank issues and acts like an enclosure. The lid cost offsets the tank price. But still less cash than a purpose built plastic enclosure. Easily lockable, keeps kids out and snakes in. Looks better.

Purpose built enclosures hold temps well (at least mine do) and humidity well (the vision isn't stellar for than my Sly is better but harder to clean...) The cleaning is a bit harder than a upright tank bit still not hard. Easily lockable protects from the curious visitors and escapes. Expensive to buy and ship but cheaper to heat than my rack. Looks better as well.

anatess solution is quite elegant it looks to work very well solving most of the tub drawbacks. I am guessing it would lose heat quickly.

The custom enclosure hold humidly well and heat in my case really really well. It drops 2 degrees an hour. (sorry quite proud of that I am... ) It is ok to clean as far as that goes I don't think any stand up as being way easier to clean than any other I find them all about the same. Lockable, good to look at. Lots of work and costly materials in my case.

I guess what I am saying is that every location is different and that a diligent keeper will have healthy snakes and a perfect enclosure. I don't believe any method is easier than any other they all have issues and problems to over come. There is no easy this makes it perfect, it is just a matter a balancing the situation and making it work.

[SpottedBOA]

Here is a question on tubs how do you give the snake heat without melting the tubs. I assume there is no basking light.

[youbeyouibei]

Here is a question on tubs how do you give the snake heat without melting the tubs. I assume there is no basking light.

Flexwatt heat tape. You can get it from Big Apple Herp (www.bigappleherp.com) or Reptile Basics Inc. (www.reptilebasics.com). I've purchased that product as well as other from both retailers and have been happy with both.

I do have to say that RBI is AWESOME in setting up the connections/custom sizing the tape to a specified order and then shipping it assembled as far as the connections being wired up and all. All it takes then is installing it on the racks under the tubs. If you do a query search of the forum topics you'll find a ton of info on setting up a rack and installing Flexwatt tape and whatnot.

[SpottedBOA]

So yeah, what works for you, doesn't necessarily work for everybody else.

Here's my tub:


And here's my tank:



I love your tub also. I am actually spottedBoa's wife. We are looking into getting a couple of ball pythons, and just cleared out our 75 gallon aquarium to put a pair in. However the more and more we read the more it appears to be a bad idea. The tubs seem by far the easiest solution but the part that excites me is watching them. That is what I enjoyed about the fish tank. Don't get me wrong I am excited about the rest of it too, I just enjoy sitting in the dark and watching them go about climbing and such. Your Tub is a beautiful solution to that. How did you do that? How do you lock it and heat it?

Also we were planing on keeping the larges part of the Glass lid on the top with the reptile top over it to help keep humidity in. Is the other reason plastic is better than glass is the insulation? I was going to put black around 3 of the sides and I was considering getting some insulation sheeting from home depot and layering it between the black paper so it is pretty and insulated for heat. Would that solve any of the problems?

What is the best way for a newbie to get a rack system?

[snakesRkewl]

So you say your getting a pair of set ups for your pair of ball pythons your getting