Vivexotic Vivarium Setup Advice

[Domino1986]

Hi all, I recently moved my 18 month old ball python into flashy new Vivexotic Viva+ vivarium and I'm looking for some guidance/advice as to best practice on setup. I moved my snake into its new home about a week ago and here's how I currently have things:

Vivarium Size: 86 x 49 x 50cm
Heat source: 150w White Python ceramic heater (fully guarded of course, running on a Microclimate pulse thermostat set to 90f) positioned on the left side of the viv
- Temperature directly under the ceramic is 88F and temperature at the other 'cool' side is 73F (I'm currently using probe thermometers but plan on replacing these as the probes are a pain and move around too easily)
Hides: x2 ZooMed wooden Habba Huts (large) on either side of the tank (basically hollowed out logs)
Other: Beech chippings substrate, ExoTerra water dish (large), climbing log and various artificial plants to provide cover and improve the aesthetics.

1) My ExoTerra dial hygrometer is currently reading 45% humidity which I guess is low and therefore I would like to get this up to around 55%? I've been misting daily but obviously would like to find a method of stabilising the humidity without having to do that - thoughts on a change of substrate; maybe orchid bark which I believe better holds moisture than beech?

2) As I said above, the temperature directly below the ceramic heat source where I have my Habba Hut hide positioned is 88f, however inside the actual hide the temperature is more like 78f (I've ordered a temp gun off Amazon to confirm this). Because of this my snake has barely used the hot hide and instead opts to climb an artificial plant and get as close to the ceramic as possible. Should I replace the hot hide with something other than wood which conducts heat better?

3) Following on from the above, is it safe for the snake to be so close to heater guard? He can't currently contact the base of the guard where most of the heat is being emitted but still I don't want burns. He seems quite content curled up near the roof.

Fed a couple of nights ago without any issues (had to tempt him down from the roof of the viv), which is a good sign so the next thing that I'm looking out for is a good shed. Am I over analysing here or should I make some tweaks?

Thanks for your help, much appreciated

Mark

[Avsha531]

Hi all, I recently moved my 18 month old ball python into flashy new Vivexotic Viva+ vivarium and I'm looking for some guidance/advice as to best practice on setup. I moved my snake into its new home about a week ago and here's how I currently have things:

Vivarium Size: 86 x 49 x 50cm
Heat source: 150w White Python ceramic heater (fully guarded of course, running on a Microclimate pulse thermostat set to 90f) positioned on the left side of the viv
- Temperature directly under the ceramic is 88F and temperature at the other 'cool' side is 73F (I'm currently using probe thermometers but plan on replacing these as the probes are a pain and move around too easily)
Hides: x2 ZooMed wooden Habba Huts (large) on either side of the tank (basically hollowed out logs)
Other: Beech chippings substrate, ExoTerra water dish (large), climbing log and various artificial plants to provide cover and improve the aesthetics.

1) My ExoTerra dial hygrometer is currently reading 45% humidity which I guess is low and therefore I would like to get this up to around 55%? I've been misting daily but obviously would like to find a method of stabilising the humidity without having to do that - thoughts on a change of substrate; maybe orchid bark which I believe better holds moisture than beech?

2) As I said above, the temperature directly below the ceramic heat source where I have my Habba Hut hide positioned is 88f, however inside the actual hide the temperature is more like 78f (I've ordered a temp gun off Amazon to confirm this). Because of this my snake has barely used the hot hide and instead opts to climb an artificial plant and get as close to the ceramic as possible. Should I replace the hot hide with something other than wood which conducts heat better?

3) Following on from the above, is it safe for the snake to be so close to heater guard? He can't currently contact the base of the guard where most of the heat is being emitted but still I don't want burns. He seems quite content curled up near the roof.

Fed a couple of nights ago without any issues (had to tempt him down from the roof of the viv), which is a good sign so the next thing that I'm looking out for is a good shed. Am I over analysing here or should I make some tweaks?

Thanks for your help, much appreciated

Mark

Lol I read the CM as inches and was trying to figure out why you were using a Retic enclosure for an 18 month old BP.

I'd suggest a UTH with a thermostat, they will provide a consistent heat source, and using the ceramic as more of an ambient heat source. What I do is keep my CHE about 1/3 closer to the middle, from the left side, to keep temps up. 73 cool side is too low.

Another suggestion, if you are intent on using the Habba huts, cover one end so the snake can feel more secure and hidden.

As far as humidity, that was the biggest struggle for me. First thing I had to do was cover the screen with foil and duct tape (there is a great sticky on this). Also, a substrate choice like Cypress or Coco Husk will retain humidity far more effectively. Also, I throw some Sphagnum moss around the edges to keep it up. I ended up just messing with a fogger on a timer, and after some tweaks i have it running a couple times a day and that usually keeps things pretty consistent and saves me from having to mist every day.

Also, dial hygrometers and thermometers SUCK. Stick with digital and the probes, I know they're annoying, but you should be fine with a hot glue gun to secure the wire (NO TAPE lol).

Hope this was helpful

[Booper]

I have two vivexotic vivs set up at the moment with just CHE in them, and I used this tutorial from ReptileForums: http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forum...tat-probe.html

You can't put a heat mat in a wooden viv (as I found out) without having a cover since otherwise you have to have the probe uncovered which can lead to it getting broken which will cause the mat to spike.

As for your questions:
1) The user Zincubus suggested to me before to use Orchid bark to keep up humidity, so I would recomend switching to that. I haven't switched to Orchid Bark yet, but one way I keep the humidity up is to wet a rag, ring it out, and place it on top of the hide under the hot spot, and also bring the water bowl over so it's in the hot side. The water in the rag and the water in the bowl will evaporate and bring up the humidity.
2) I use both Exoterra large hides and black plastic ones off Ebay, and I've never had a problem with my snakes being too cold inside their hides. As is though, your snake should not spend all of it's time in the hot hide, and rather move from the cold hide when they are too hot/need to digest. When you say your snake is climbing, is it only at night or during the day? It's normal for snakes to be out and about during the night, they are nocturnal after all
3) As long as your guard is not hot to the touch, it should be fine for your snake to climb on it. Peaches, my Pastel, is an aboslute terror for climbing up onto her guard! I use a standard CHE (I think the White Python ones are slim, arn't they?) with a large rectangular ProRep guard.

And as for the thermometers, I would deffo stick with the probed ones. You can hot glue them down, or use blu-tack (what I use, never had a problem with it and when it gets wet/dirty you can just throw it away and use a new bit).

[larryd23]

First off, I've never seen the Vivexotic Vivarium before. They look gorgeous.

Moving along... keep in mind that I am a novice in this hobby, so take my comments with a grain of salt.

We just transitioned from CHEs to RHPs and I am now a huge fan.

The heat generated by the RHP is spread over a larger area which seems to be giving us more uniform ambient temps than we were able to achieve with the CHE. The 80w RHP in my 2'x3'x12" RBI viv is still small enough that I get a nice temperature gradient from left to right (and thanks to everyone who suggested I mount the RHP all the way to one side of the viv).

The operating temp of the RHP is also much less than the CHE. We probably are over-powered with the 80w RHP but I figured we would be better off with a larger RHP that was hardly working than a smaller RHP that was working hard.

I can't say that the RHP helps with humidity since we switched from glass Exo-Terra vivs to the PVC RBI enclosure. Nonetheless, that seems to be the consensus.

And last but not least is the esthetics. The RHP is barely noticeable in the viv (and we can stack). Such is not the case with a CHE.

[Shortkickz92]

Im new to the hobby. Got a 4 month old male royal, currently in a RUB/TUB on paper towel. He will be moving to a 3ft viv next.. (I know alot of people say they like small tight spaces, there will be plenty of those in the viv. Cool and hot side.. Someone suggested paper towel.. In the UK temps are LOW! I have a wooden viv... His current rub only has a UTH, with the hot spot at 32° and my heating set to 25°c... Paper towel, Humidity at 65-75%

My thinking is in a 3x2x2(roughly)... wooden viv Im gonna need a good substrate that holds humidity any suggestions... I will also have a guarded CHE on pulse proportional and an XL exo terra bowl..

p.s who wants to cover a viv in paper towels? Lol

This is also a viv exotic seems a big jump for such a young ball.. but i think its worth a go.. My fear is not being able to keep the heat up in there..