How's my enclosure look?

[soapapilla]

Too cluttered? The reason I have so much stuff in the enclosure is that it's gonna be a little big for my boy. My little guy is only 90g and this is a 20 long so I think it might be a little big for him, so I'm trying to make it as cozy as possible but I don't have a lot of empty space so maybe it's too much. I intend to use the middle hide as a humid hide with moss as needed (all three in the back are totally enclosed, with a little substrate inside). The dragon can also work as a small hide and I've got the rocks. I have foil on the top of the mesh except for the area with the light (which I am changing out for a CHE soon). I am waiting on my temp gun to arrive but I have UTH thermostats set to 82 on the cool side and 95 on the warm side and 92 for the lamp (probe is on the wall of the tank, halfway up). I think I will probably have to adjust a bit once I get the gun as I have a little too much substrate in there and my probes are under the substrate. Hygrometer is reading 55% with 84 deg F right now. Thoughts? Little guy will be here in a few days!

[Faith.luu]

I think it looks great. You could also black out three of the sides to make it feel extra safe. Id rotate some of the hides so that they’re facing inside the enclosure it towards the back wall. The entrance to your hides are quite large and they might not feel as safe knowing that you can see them from the front and they can see you(if that makes sense).

I think that having underbelly heat at 95 and a heat lamp that has air temperatures of 92, combined might be too hot for your snake. It won’t cause burns or anything, but overheating your snake is not good for their health. When your snake arrives I’d use your temp gun to check the snakes body temp to make sure they aren’t over heating while being in those temps throughout the day.

If you have a UTH, you can keep your air temps as low as 80 and your snake will be fine. You could also purchase a dimmer to lower the amount of heat released from your bulb rather than buying a new one.

And just make sure your ambient temps don’t drop below 75. 78-80 is ideal.

[KMG]

You have two UTHs? It's not an issue I'm just making sure I understood correctly.

Either way I would set the hotspot for 88-90. Anything over 90 is not needed. If you have a second I would set it for 80-82.

Also if it were me I would place damp moss in all the hides. I did that before I kept my collection all in one run and added a humidifier. The damp moss gave me perfect sheds even with a 100w heat bulb and 100w CHE..... I keep a cold house.

[dakski]

Looks good, but will difficult when having to clean! Also, those hides are heavy, although secure and will make him/her feel safe. They are also difficult to clean - used the same ones for a lizard. Look at getting something simple - plastic - with an offset entry/exit hole, like these:

https://www.reptilebasics.com/hide-boxes

Also, if it's a new snake, I recommend paper substrate for cleanliness and to check for mites, etc.

As stated, 90F is as high as I would go for the hot spot.

Good luck with your new BP and please let us know if you have any other questions.

[Craiga 01453]

Are your probes inside the enclosure under the substrate?

If so, you'll want to move them. When inside the enclosure they can be moved, peed on, laid on, etc....which can all cause false readings and potentially dangerous heat spikes.

[soapapilla]

Thank you all so much for your advice! I'll look into making some of the changes you suggested. I have my heat gun now and it looks like the surface substrate temperatures are about 10 degrees lower than the thermostats are reading. I do have both a cool side and warm side UTH. I've adjusted it so I'm getting surface readings of maximum 90 in the hottest spot and about 80 on the cool side. I'm a little nervous about the difference between the thermostat and the surface temps but I'll put less substrate in next time as see if that helps. I also turned down the lamp temperature to low 80s and that's about where my ambient temperatures seem to be now. My humidity is not as good today so I'm gonna give him some extra moss when he gets here as suggested, and I may move the water bowl closer to the lamp if it becomes a problem. Thanks again for all your advice. I'm sure I will be back with questions.

[Bogertophis]

It's probably a good idea to lose that "dragon" also...I think I see some holes that your baby BP can get stuck in...trust me, you do NOT want that to happen. Snakes do
not know that where their head goes, their body may not fit to follow...when they get stuck it can result in injury or even death. Many of these cool-looking accessories
are sold for tropical FISH to swim thru, & that's a problem when using them for snakes or other reptiles. Many also have sharp edges inside, again they don't bother the
slippery fish that swim thru, but IF your snake is a tight fit, he'll cut himself up. It's always safety first.

[Craiga 01453]

Thank you all so much for your advice! I'll look into making some of the changes you suggested. I have my heat gun now and it looks like the surface substrate temperatures are about 10 degrees lower than the thermostats are reading. I do have both a cool side and warm side UTH. I've adjusted it so I'm getting surface readings of maximum 90 in the hottest spot and about 80 on the cool side. I'm a little nervous about the difference between the thermostat and the surface temps but I'll put less substrate in next time as see if that helps. I also turned down the lamp temperature to low 80s and that's about where my ambient temperatures seem to be now. My humidity is not as good today so I'm gonna give him some extra moss when he gets here as suggested, and I may move the water bowl closer to the lamp if it becomes a problem. Thanks again for all your advice. I'm sure I will be back with questions.

It sounds like you're measuring the top of the substrate with your temp gun?

You actually want to measure the enclosure surface below the substrate. Your snake will most likely burrow and push substrate around. Mine pretty much all push the substrate out of their hides and lay on the enclosure floor.