Vote for BP.Net for the 2013 Forum of the Year! Click here for more info.

» Site Navigation

» Home
 > FAQ

» Online Users: 2,835

1 members and 2,834 guests
Most users ever online was 6,337, 01-24-2020 at 04:30 AM.

» Today's Birthdays

None

» Stats

Members: 75,031
Threads: 248,489
Posts: 2,568,439
Top Poster: JLC (31,651)
Welcome to our newest member, isismomma
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 30
  1. #1
    Registered User Yuan-Ti's Avatar
    Join Date
    05-28-2017
    Location
    New York, US
    Posts
    14
    Thanks
    12
    Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post

    The costs, man! The costs!

    Setting up my first BP enclosure and I've already dropped about $200 and I'll probably have to spend at least $100 more and THEN I have to get the snake! XD
    Someone told me this was an affordable pet lol.
    That being said: What's the most you all have ever spent on setting up your enclosures?
    What's the most expensive thing you've bought?
    Did you ever buy something that wasn't worth it?
    Is there anything you wish you had the money for but it's just too rich for your blood?

    Let me hear your answers!


    (I figured this might be off-topic enough to come here and not in General BP. Let me know if it needs to move!)

  2. #2
    BPnet Veteran Danger noodles's Avatar
    Join Date
    10-15-2018
    Location
    Houston
    Posts
    740
    Thanks
    107
    Thanked 545 Times in 349 Posts
    I got a $70 temp controller from petco and it was crap! But other than that nothing I wish I hadn’t bought. But I did do a lot of research before diving in.

  3. The Following User Says Thank You to Danger noodles For This Useful Post:

    Yuan-Ti (02-28-2019)

  4. #3
    Registered User Yuan-Ti's Avatar
    Join Date
    05-28-2017
    Location
    New York, US
    Posts
    14
    Thanks
    12
    Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post

    Re: The costs, man! The costs!

    Sometimes I feel like I'm doing TOO much research! But then that's how we avoid mishaps, right?
    My own regretful purchase, thankfully, only includes a frankly useless over-sized hide from Petsmart back before I did more research. And they refused to take it back! Thankfully it was a lot less than $70. I've heard ZooMed is also...iffy. Once I get everything put together we'll see how well the ZooMed stuff I have works.

  5. #4
    Registered User ShawarmaPoutine's Avatar
    Join Date
    07-05-2018
    Posts
    128
    Thanks
    77
    Thanked 60 Times in 39 Posts
    Images: 2

    Re: The costs, man! The costs!

    Honestly it depends on how you'd like for your enclosure to look. I bought 3 ball pythons and each has a totally different setup and the price tag showcases how much crap I cut out. Don't get me wrong, you can make your enclosure look natural and amazing.. I for example want a bioactive vivarium.. but I am too busy for that right now.


    • First ball python (~$250):
      • ZooMed 20 gal starter kit ($180 CAD)
        • iterally everything in the starter kit other than the tank was garbage.

      • Corner water bowl med ($14 CAD)
      • cheap thermostat ($50 CAD)
      • Plastic plants ($2 CAD)



    • Second Ball python (~$175)
      • Used 60-70 gal PVC cage I got from the reptile manager at Big Al's. ($100 CAD)
      • hide from dollar store ($2)
      • another cheap thermostat from amazon ($45)
      • big ass corner water bowl ($27)




    • Third Ball python (~45)
      • ​55 Gal flat plastic tup from Ikea with lid ($23)
      • Dog water bowl from dollar store ($2)
      • Paper towel from the kitchen as bedding
      • $17 hide from reptilesrus.ca



    tl;dr

    It's all about how "pretty" you would like for your enclosure to look like and how much of a hustler you are when it comes to finding good deals. For example, instead of buying aquarium decorations from pet-smart or pet sections at other stores, go got them from the dollar store. Instead of buying those rolls containing images of trees to be used as a backdrop for your enclosure, make your younger siblings draw on a white board and use that instead..
    Last edited by ShawarmaPoutine; 02-28-2019 at 03:20 AM.

  6. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to ShawarmaPoutine For This Useful Post:

    FollowTheSun (02-28-2019),Yuan-Ti (02-28-2019)

  7. #5
    Registered User Yuan-Ti's Avatar
    Join Date
    05-28-2017
    Location
    New York, US
    Posts
    14
    Thanks
    12
    Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post

    Re: The costs, man! The costs!

    Your name sounds delicious....ShawarmaPoutine. My god the culinary feat that would be.
    Also it's crazy to see the cost differences! It's like children! XD
    I'm pretty sure I could make something nice but I'm going to wait until I get the BP and it's a bit older. Maybe a few years so that way I have time to save up for something really nice. Currently going with the utilitarian route while adding in a few of the more expensive options like the VE-100 t-stat. I figure it's something I'm going to be using for a long time, might as well put a bit extra in, right? I bought a nice heavy ceramic water bowl from Walmart and two pairs of hides of different sizes from Reptile Basics so I can switch out smaller ones for bigger ones as my BP grows.
    Now I might have to take a swing by the dollar store and check out the decorations I might be able to get. Some brown plain paper towels for substrate and a few fake plants it might look presentable! I could even buy some black hand towels and attach them to the lid. Maybe make them able to be pinned up so I can create a variable light for the enclosure...these are some good ideas! Never thought about going to the dollar store. Thanks for the info!

  8. #6
    BPnet Veteran Luvyna's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-06-2019
    Posts
    813
    Thanks
    1,284
    Thanked 803 Times in 475 Posts

    Post Re: The costs, man! The costs!

    Lol I can relate to this... I didn't even go for a fancy tank setup or anything but the costs still ended up piling on (not all of it from the enclosure though, I also just needed general supplies), and I feel like I'm still continuously upgrading stuff. The most expensive items I bought were the two thermostats I use.

    My breakdown:
    30 gallon Sterilite tub = $25
    ZooMed Reptitherm UTH = $30
    Jumpstart Thermostat = $50
    Cypress Mulch bedding = $16
    Two cave hides = $24
    Digital thermometer/hygrometer = $10
    Three spray bottles (for water, vinegar, and F10) = $9
    F10 = $30
    Extra (smaller) sterilite tub = $15
    Fake plants = $6
    Feeding tongs = $10

    Later ended up adding a ceramic heat emitter + thermostat because I didn't want to keep my bedroom temperature at 77F anymore, so:
    Ceramic heat emitter = $20
    Inkbird Thermostat = $45
    Wire mesh = $15

    Total spent on enclosure: $241
    Grand total = $305

    And I'm probably eventually going to upgrade him to one of those wood + glass vivariums one day so that'll cost even more. It never ends!

    On the bright side, so far I don't think anything I've bought is regret-worthy. I'd love to have one of those beautiful pieces of sculpted wood for my BP to climb and decorate the enclosure but they cost way too much lol, I'll stick to looking around my backyard for that.

  9. #7
    Registered User ShawarmaPoutine's Avatar
    Join Date
    07-05-2018
    Posts
    128
    Thanks
    77
    Thanked 60 Times in 39 Posts
    Images: 2

    Re: The costs, man! The costs!

    If you're ever in Toronto, Canada.. Holla at me and I'll take you to the best Shawarma Poutine place.

  10. #8
    Anti-Thread Necro Patrol
    Join Date
    05-10-2007
    Location
    Columbus, Georgia, United States
    Posts
    4,561
    Thanks
    334
    Thanked 1,230 Times in 739 Posts
    Blog Entries
    1
    Images: 51
    Getting snakes seems to be like having kids. You are overprotective AF for the first one and buy the best you can afford. Then by the time the third one orlls around you are buying the cheapest stuff because you realized the cheap stuff will do the job just fine and that no one cares if you have high end stuff or not.
    Last edited by MasonC2K; 02-28-2019 at 08:56 AM.
    - Mason

  11. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to MasonC2K For This Useful Post:

    bcr229 (02-28-2019),Lord Sorril (02-28-2019),Luvyna (02-28-2019)

  12. #9
    BPnet Veteran
    Join Date
    01-18-2018
    Posts
    649
    Thanks
    34
    Thanked 802 Times in 393 Posts

    Re: The costs, man! The costs!

    Quote Originally Posted by Yuan-Ti View Post
    Setting up my first BP enclosure and I've already dropped about $200 and I'll probably have to spend at least $100 more and THEN I have to get the snake! XD
    Someone told me this was an affordable pet lol.
    That being said: What's the most you all have ever spent on setting up your enclosures?
    What's the most expensive thing you've bought?
    Did you ever buy something that wasn't worth it?
    Is there anything you wish you had the money for but it's just too rich for your blood?

    Let me hear your answers!


    (I figured this might be off-topic enough to come here and not in General BP. Let me know if it needs to move!)
    I have 5 different snakes including a bp. So my opinion is based on all 5 since it is applicable to a bp plus minor enclosure changes:

    Most expensive items for enclosure: Herpstat 2. I bought 3 of these. Second most expensive is the T10 Animal Plastics for my kingsnake.

    Most expensive thing other than the enclosure related: fake plants from a pet store. Wished I had known to use a local dollar store or craft store for much cheaper and better fake plants.

    Most useless item: drift wood. This mainly applies to my lizards. My Children Python uses his but none of my other snakes and lizards care for them. Difficult to clean when pooped on. Secondly, pain in the butt to make the wood sit without falling to the side.

    I would add that I regret at times that I chose a ball python as my first snake or even getting one. I think, like many, I fell for the hype. Looking back, I prefer harder to find but easy to feed and care snakes. Oh well. Regardless, Banana is my commitment just like all the others so he is here to stay. Maybe I will change my mind after going to a trade show again...

    I can't justify spending that much $$ on looks alone. I would rather save that $$ for vet bills and improving my current animals' enclosures. And I like variety in my reptile collection, hence 5 different snakes, all of which are affordable and medium to easy care and good to look at as well. So far I'm satisfied with my choices.

  13. The Following User Says Thank You to Cheesenugget For This Useful Post:

    Bogertophis (03-25-2019)

  14. #10
    Telling it like it is! Stewart_Reptiles's Avatar
    Join Date
    09-28-2006
    Posts
    24,845
    Thanks
    6,116
    Thanked 20,811 Times in 9,584 Posts
    Blog Entries
    1
    Images: 6
    Won't tell how much I have spent so far because the number are high for most average keeper, now what you need to tell yourself is that if you have one snale and spend $200 on caging and $100 on a reliable thermostat you are looking at a very cheap investment considering your pet will live 30 years or more that's only $10 a year.

    And feeding is not gonna cost you all that much compare to any other pet you could have, same with vet care, if I compare a snake cost versus one of my dog cost it's nothing.
    Last edited by Stewart_Reptiles; 02-28-2019 at 02:22 PM.
    Deborah Stewart


  15. The Following 9 Users Say Thank You to Stewart_Reptiles For This Useful Post:

    Alter-Echo (03-25-2019),bcr229 (02-28-2019),Bogertophis (03-25-2019),Dianne (02-28-2019),dr del (03-02-2019),jmcrook (03-01-2019),KevinK (02-28-2019),larryd23 (03-01-2019),Sonny1318 (02-28-2019)

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.1