Anyone have experience with an animal plastics t8?

[trousersnakes]

I should be getting mine early next week. Was wondering how easy they are to put together and if there is anything I need to do to them that they dont tell you that people have found helpful or if the sides just snap together and your good to go. Also it is 4 ft long and my BP is only 24" and still pretty small. Should I get a divider for now or just include enough hides so that he feels safe?

[trousersnakes]

Also i did not get any lighting and im thinking with all sides but one being black that it may stay pretty dark during the day and throw off the day night cycle. Not sure if that will really matter or not.

[UpNorth]

I'm sure Aaron will chime in (Serpent Merchant). He has a few.

He houses his in the T8's with dividers from hatchlings all the way to adults as long as they aren't big guys above 4' as far as I know.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Yes I have 4 T8's and a T12. They are super easy to assemble and their assembly instructions are very good. All it takes is a Phillips screwdriver. The only part that is difficult is to do is sealing the cage. I suggest that you get a latex glove and use your finger to apply the sealant. (try not to get it on your skin as it can cause health issues).

I use the divider for small ones but if you provide enough cover/hides you can use the full cage.

The cage will be on the dark side but your snake will love that.

If you have any other questions about T8's feel free to ask.

[trousersnakes]

Yes I have 4 T8's and a T12. They are super easy to assemble and their assembly instructions are very good. All it takes is a Phillips screwdriver. The only part that is difficult is to do is sealing the cage. I suggest that you get a latex glove and use your finger to apply the sealant. (try not to get it on your skin as it can cause health issues).

I use the divider for small ones but if you provide enough cover/hides you can use the full cage.

The cage will be on the dark side but your snake will love that.

If you have any other questions about T8's feel free to ask.

Well I got a heat emiiter from pro products and the guy told me the one to buy to heat the whole t8. If I throw a divider in there to make the snake feel a little more secure the side with the heater is obviously going to get a lot hotter not sure how I could really split the cage because of this issue. I would love to split it not only because it would be easier to take care of but also I would be able to add another snake to my collection on the other side. Not sure if there are any tricks to heating both sides and giving them both a temp gradient. Thanks for your help!

[The Serpent Merchant]

What size RHP did you get? As long as it fits in 1/2 of the cage (24x24) or you cut the divider to allow the RHP to pass through you should be able to regulate the RHP's temperature with a thermostat (for that a hydrofarm is good enough... No need to spend $100)

I forgot to ask are you using the RHP as the only heat source or along with flexwatt?

Also how cold does the room that the T8 will be in get?

[trousersnakes]

What size RHP did you get? As long as it fits in 1/2 of the cage (24x24) or you cut the divider to allow the RHP to pass through you should be able to regulate the RHP's temperature with a thermostat (for that a hydrofarm is good enough... No need to spend $100)

I forgot to ask are you using the RHP as the only heat source or along with flexwatt?

Also how cold does the room that the T8 will be in get?

the room can be as low as 65 in the winter. It is a 65 watt RHP the guy I talked to seemed to be pretty knowledgeable about this stuff. he said with a thermostat it should be fine in a room 65 degrees or above with that size cage. The problem is animal plastics is mounting the RHP on the right side of the cage so if i put a divider in i feel like one side is going to be much hotter than the other. Also the guy from pro products said since its radient heat it should heat all the objects in the cage with no need for belly heat from heat tape or anything like that.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Ok you have 2 options, either just use the full cage or you can use the RHP to maintain the air temperature at 80 degrees and get flexwatt to create the hot side.

Either will work, its a toss up both ways have advantages and disadvantages. It would be easier to just use the full cage but the option to have 2 snakes in cage is tempting.