Shopping list for a colubrid enclosure?

[Neal]

Can I get some help making a shopping list for an enclosure for my first snake? I'm planning to get a gopher snake but that may not pan out because of space, in which case I'll likely be getting a corn. I'd like to get a PVC cage from Herp Houses, and they said they can help install accessories if I bring them when I come to pick up the cage. This being my very first time with reptiles, I'm still uncertain what specific products I should get. It'd be great if anyone with colubrid experience can help me out with this?

So I do know that I need:

- an RHP - I have no idea what wattage/size to get for a gopher or corn. I guess it's hard to determine at this point, when I'm not 100% sure what size cage I'm getting.
- some form of under tank heating - am I understanding correctly that Flexwatt is the common method for PVC cages?
- thermostat - for a North American colubrid, would a simpler one that's not a Herpstat be sufficient?
- lights - what's everyone's preferred way of lighting PVC cages? So far I've read that you can just glue or silicone LED strips on.

Am I forgetting anything?

Also, I'm still having trouble with exactly what size cage I should get, if I go for the corn. Herp Houses offers 24x24x12, 24x24x16, 48x24x12 and 48x24x16. Would a corn require one of the larger ones? I'm frustrated that there doesn't seem to be a 36' cage available from Canadian companies. Honestly if the cage size gives me problems I might end up going for an even smaller snake, like the hognose...

1.) RHP are great, size and wattage varies depending on your enclosure size. If you want a RHP I wouldn't recommend using anythin other than a PVC enclosure and at that point you shouldn't need to use any type of under tank heating. I'm sure you could rig an RHP to a screen top, but I wouldn't do it. I prefer to make sure things get done right so you don't have issues, but that's me.

2.) A thermostat is a must have for anything heat related. I prefer Herpstat by Spyder Robotics. I've never had any issues, and they have great customer service. They have cheaper thermostats available, but you get what you pay for. When the cheaper thermostats fail, they often get stuck full blast, so your heating will get as hot as it can which can kill an animal. Herpstats and your other ones have fail safes where they will cut the power, they don't get stuck wide open which is why they're recommended and used by anybody that's been in the hobby.

3.) You can light PVC cages with LED lighting, or you can use a flourescent, whatever you choose I would put it on a 12 hour cycle, so they get 12 hours of light, 12 hours of dark. Now if you can and I would recommend this based on my own observations in keeping colubrids, use a UVB light. I've noticed color shifts and behavior changes from using UVB and not. You just need to make sure that the snake can't get to the bulb as they do get hot. Most of the fixtures should come with the bulb covering.

I would get two identical hides, depending on the size they are and they get, you can use the exo terra caves which I like, or you can use the black reptile basic hides.

[caravaggiooo]

***What will you be putting a tank on? Wood furniture of some kind?***

I'm not sure yet, I'll be setting this up after moving to a new place - so knowing what kind of furniture is better in advance could be useful! Should I go for wood furniture or something else?

I think I could follow along your steps for making a lid and it looks doable And yes, I'd love to hear more about your security measures, too.

As a side note, I've almost fully settled on getting a hognose, rather than a gopher as I'd planned initially (mostly because of size, but I'm really starting to see the appeal in hoggies!). I just talked to a hognose breeder today and he recommended PVC... I'm hesitating again because a small hoggie-sized PVC is a lot more financially viable for me. But if hognosess prefer drier enclosures, wouldn't glass be better suited to them? Gah, I'm having such a hard time deciding between glass and PVC, I can really see the merits in both.

(then again, there's a good chance I'll be getting a young hoggie and starting with a tub, so more time to decide on the adult cage)

[caravaggiooo]

If you're running a glass tank, use exo Terra.

I'm really tired, but tomorrow I'll answer your post with what I've been doing for over a decade with colubrids.

For Exo Terra, I just want to confirm these are the ones you're referring to? http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products...ium_medium.php I like the look of them, they seem convenient and I like that they're actually geared towards reptile keeping (like, not just a fish tank), and the number of size options is great. What height tank do you use for your colubrids? Thanks for your longer post, too

[Neal]

For Exo Terra, I just want to confirm these are the ones you're referring to? http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products...ium_medium.php I like the look of them, they seem convenient and I like that they're actually geared towards reptile keeping (like, not just a fish tank), and the number of size options is great. What height tank do you use for your colubrids? Thanks for your longer post, too

Yes, that's the type I'm referring to. I stick with at least 12 inches, but I personally prefer 18 depending on the species.

http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products...rium_large.php

I was using the 36x18x18 and I've used the 36x18x12. I housed two and three colubrid snakes together(Rufous Beaked Snakes). I wouldn't keep just any snakes together because of cannibalism, but I know from experience with the snakes I have it's fine. I just take them out and feed them in separate enclosures. If you need to raise the humidity then you can cover the other screen sections but overall if you use a glass tank, then exo terra is the only viable option IMO.

If the snakes are smaller, you can just crowd the tank so you're not buying a small tank now then a larger one later. That's what I did.

[Bogertophis]

Should I go for wood furniture or something else? ....

Yes...it's hard but not impossible to find furniture made of something else, but if you're using UTH, it's also not recommended for use on metal shelving of any kind.
Wood furniture will add "insulation" to the floor of the cage...meaning heat from UTH goes upward into the cage. As already mentioned, I use some other materials
to help protect the wood also, such as a couple thin ceramic tiles (thick tiles won't fit under the glass with an air gap, and you don't want the glass resting ON them)
A glass tank is designed for & should be resting on the outer framework; I use rubber weatherstripping on the bottom edges & allow a couple air gaps that also allows
the cord (to UTH) to go under tank without the tank sitting ON the cord, which will damage it in time. The weatherstripping also adds safety- the tank won't slide easily.