ATB............

[pimp_n_python]

getting my new ATB next week YAAAAY
It will be my first aboreal..........................sooooo excited!!

Tell me what you all think about this setup i've got coming for it

I'm in the middle of building a tank for it right now that will be finished tomorrow or the next day its a real nice cage built from oak and maple with plexi glass on the inside. Its gunna have a plexi glass front opening door and vents in the back
I'm gunna build in some plat forms at various heights with tall hides and tree branches inside. It will have a basking lamp incased in wood over the top platform and a rehostat heat pad for the bottom and top ledges
the tank is 3 FT high 2 FT long 2 FT wide
is that a big enough tank for a full grown male?? and whatta ya think about my over all setup any suggestions from experienced ATB keepers would be great

Its gunna be such a nice display tank when its done I'll get pics up in the next 2-3 days

OHHHHHHHHHHH I'm so excited!!!
sorry for rambling on but...........................blah blah blah............oh sorry!

Congrats on your first ATB! They are awesome snakes! Now, about your set-up.....are you going to be getting a full-grown adult or a baby? This makes a BIG difference in cage size of course. Babies will stress easily of given too big of a cage.

Also....a basking lamp is not the best way to heat an ATB......they do not bask in the wild.....they go down for heat and spend alot of their time on the floor of their enclosures. So, I use a human heating pad for all of mine(set on low most of the time)......also, how resistant will the cage be to the high humidity? Don't want mold or bacteria to bloom in there because of untreated wood you know.

Any more Q's just ask away!

[pimp_n_python]

I'm going to put the plexi glass on the inside so no wood is actually touching the inside of the tank
shouldn't I make a temp gradient from floor to roof???
if not how do they temp regulate??
are hide boxes even necessary???
I'm gunna have 2 heating pads the one thats up high will be set on low and the one at the bottom set on meduim.
If i build a big tree type thing with branches going off and a heat pad on a plat form will it utilize these objects or is the plat form thing a waste of time??
and finally its a sub adult i believe its 8 months old
is that cage to big because I have some lil rubbermaids that could be converted to an aboreal cage if need be

Thanks for awnsering all my "newby" Q's about ATB's i'm sure i'll have alot more in the next coming month

As long as the snake is eating, I don't think it would get too stressed in a big cage like that.....just be careful and keep an eye on it.

ATBs regulate their temps by staying on the ground under a hide most of the time during the day then moving up at night where it is cooler to look for food. I would heat 1/2 of the bottom of the cage and thats it unless your house is unusually cold....you don't want to overheat your ATB.

Yes, hideboxes are very necessary. So you're going to have the heat pads INSIDE the cage? Bad idea...considering this is a high humidity snake.

On second thought, perhaps you should keep the snake in a small rubbermaid for a while until you make sure it is eating and is 100% healthy. Just my opinion.

[pimp_n_python]

thanks alot for the advice
i'm gunna go with the rubbermaid idea for the first month just to make sure then switch it to the cage i built Its just finished today so i'll get some pics up later tonight

No problem! Glad to help.