40 gallon breeder tank 4 ball python setup

[SubieRoadKill]

i am currently in the process of building A new enclosure for our soon to be a ball python, out of a new 40 gallon breeder tank we got from PETCO on there dollar a gallon sale. I am just looking for input from people that have made an enclosure from an aquarium like what I have. My main concern is heating and humidity, we live in wa state where humidity it so so , not to high, not super low. As u can see in the pics I have had it both ways as far as orientation, on its original bottom and also turned on its side.

i am looking to have it on its side and building the hinged door for ease of access and cleaning, but if necessary I can keep it upright and be able to build a heat lamp setup for ambient temps.

my ideal substrate would be ground coco fiber, but I’m open to newspaper as well as coco fibers or aspen shavings, in which I already have.

i would love to hear tank setup suggestions as well as heat setups, my original plan was a uth 30-40 gallon exo terra heat pad w/ thermostat and hydrometer which u can find on exoterra.com, water dish , several hides and thermometer. My main concern is gonna be ambient heat as our house temps run about 65-70 degrees. I am also looking at a rhp but this seems to be a little outta my budget

any input or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[Bogertophis]

Because of the supports, I'd either keep the tank vertical as designed, or add some supports along the glass-only corners if you decide to turn it on it's side.
(You could just use right angle wood molding from local hardware store & paint it black to match...make sure it's the same identical thickness though.)

Humidity: tends to disappear no matter what your local area has, since cages & our homes are heated or A/C'd...the humidity gets pulled out, but easy to raise it
with the right substrate that holds it. I'd skip newspaper or aspen, they don't help.

Ambient temperatures: keeping your house that cool will be a challenge to keep this tank warm enough with UTH alone. You never want to heat the whole
floor of the cage, of course, but you might heat a bigger proportion of the floor with good thermostat control. (like half the floor) Also, I'd plan on INSULATING
this tank...styrofoam & many other materials can work well. In fact wood is great too, cork tiles, whatever...I'd cover the sides, back, & bottom (leaving room for
the UTH to safely "breathe"). Many prefer plastic tanks but I'm not one of them, & plastic loses heat too...mainly ppl like the humidity retention, but that's only
because they have minimal air-flow, something you can do with a glass tank as well.

The main thing is to test this out thoroughly with heat running BEFORE you try to house your new pet...to leave time to shop for or order additional products
if needed to achieve the right temps. year-round.

[SubieRoadKill]

This tank is just gonna be the starter tank, in the near future I am planning on going to a t10-or t11 inclosure from ap. But I need to start somewhere so this is going to be my starter tank and my pythons 1st home with us.

so I am now convinced to keep it vertical and finish the top with a hinged door for access, but I like the idea of insulting this with wood or cork or styrofoam for heat retention. Thank you Bogertophis!

[SubieRoadKill]

Any suggestions on under the tank heaters? Zoo med, exo terra etc? I like the new thermostats from exo terra I am looking at the 300 watt thermostat from them along with there uth.

‘Any opinions are appreciated, thx again everyone

[Craiga 01453]

I've been using glass for years, as has Bogertophis. I honestly didn't read her reply, because I know she's a fantastic source and very reliable to always share good advice. So I'll probably repeat some of what was said, but it can't hurt to be repeated. Many people will bash glass, but once it's setup and dialed in its really pretty easy. There are plenty of little tricks to help with heat and humidity.

One of my BPs is in that same 40 breeder that I got at the dollar a gallon sale. You'll want to leave it on its original bottom, primarily because with BPs, they favor floor space over height.

I use a UTH that covers roughly 1/3 of the enclosure floor, but honestly don't remember what size it is. Then I use a heat lamp with a dark purple bulb. You could also use a CHE. All heat sources regulated by thermostats.
RHPs are fantastic, I have 1 in my other BPs enclosure. But I know what you mean about the price. I'm planning on slowly upgrading all of my enclosures to RHPs now that I know they're worth every penny. But over time due to funds.

For substrate, I use a blend of Eco Earth and ReptiBark. I've been using this combo for years and love it. It's easy to spot clean, maintains humidity well, has good odor control and looks naturalistic.

Finally, I wrap all my enclosures in 1/2' foam board insulation. I wrap the sides, back and top. I just cut the pieces to fit and tape them in place (on the outside, no tape ever inside an enclosure, very dangerous).
For the top I just trace the heat lamp where I want it to be. Then cut about an inch around the trace line to allow for some air flow.
This helps immensely with heat and humidity control. It also provides the security BPs crave. And since you need less artificial heat, it helps with the electric bill.

Hope this helps!

Oh, and great job getting the enclosure set up BEFORE bringing the animal home!! Make sure everything is up and running and functioning properly. Make sure your temps are good and you'll eliminate a lot of stress on you and the animal.

Good luck! Feel free to ask any questions you may have, we're happy to help.

[Bogertophis]

Even corrugated cardboard or poster board (comes in black or white+, with a foam core, lightweight & about 1/4" thick) are good insulation options too.

And if you don't want to "see" the insulation thru the glass, you can tape on scenery first if you wanted to. (I'm a glass tank user, can you tell? lol...)

I prefer top-opening cages myself. I've had both, & while you don't want the snake to get the impression that you're a predatory hawk swooping in on them,
it's not that hard to signal what's going on so they aren't freaked out or thinking that you are "incoming-edibles". (see 'tap training', etc)

And by the way-

[SubieRoadKill]

Do you have any pics of your setup on the 40 gallon breeder tank you have?

[Craiga 01453]

Do you have any pics of your setup on the 40 gallon breeder tank you have?

I can get some. I'll try to get them by the end of the night. If not, tommorow.

[SubieRoadKill]

I can get some. I'll try to get them by the end of the night. If not, tommorow.

Ok sounds good I’d just like too see what other ppl got that works, I’m super excited to see it, thank u

[SubieRoadKill]

Picked up a exo terra 100 watt thermostat and a 11x11 16 watt ultratherm uth for the hot side today online. I’m curious if I will need another one for the cool side and have it regulated down w another exo terra Thermostat? I am also planning on running a 75 watt Che bulb in a heat lamp to keep ambient around 80 degrees.. sound like it’s gonna be good?