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  1. #11
    BPnet Veteran Snagrio's Avatar
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    Re: (Semi) newbie here with many, MANY questions!

    So if I were to get a baby and thereby start it out in the 10 gallon, what's the average estimate to when it gets big enough to move into the bigger 30 gallon? I know it varies considerably depending on gender, feeding rate, genetics ect., but just for humor's sake if you spitballed a number.

    And on top of that, is it generally better to get a baby compared to an adult? Since then it grows up with you and such (and of course the joy of watching it grow).

  2. #12
    BPnet Senior Member GoingPostal's Avatar
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    My main recommendations would be buy a good thermostat like a Herpstat. It's the most important piece of equipment for a snake to keep them healthy and happy. There's on/off types that are cheaper, however that's full heat on, full off, and some of these type will fail in the on position when they quit working. I prefer proportional that keep a lower powered steady heat, safety fail in the off position and have alarms to alert me if temps go too high or low. Set up your cage 1-2 weeks in advance to make sure everything is running at correct temps.

    Next would be depending on your climate, don't be set on putting your snake in a fish tank. There's many reasons most aren't suitable from lack of air flow to simply not enough floor space. Plus they are breakable and heavy as hell when you need to clean or move them. In a warm ambient area a small tub setup with a heat mat would be better, in a changing cooler climate I'd spring for a PVC cage with a radiant heat panel. Heat lamps drain humidity like crazy and aquariums don't hold heat or humidity worth a squat because they aren't meant to. Misting or relying on substrate being wet or blocking off airflow is not consistent or healthy, you don't want your temps and humidity all over the place daily, you want them to stay steady or your snake is far more likely to get sick and have issues shedding.

    I've used a bunch of substrates, now I just use paper because it's easier but all of them have their pros and cons, try out what you like and see how it goes. One snake it's not hard to keep up on but be aware you can't always tell when they've peed so a sniff test works better than visual check with bedding. I wouldn't bother with lighting as long as there's windows in the room for some ambient.

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  4. #13
    BPnet Veteran Snagrio's Avatar
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    Re: (Semi) newbie here with many, MANY questions!

    Quote Originally Posted by GoingPostal View Post
    My main recommendations would be buy a good thermostat like a Herpstat. It's the most important piece of equipment for a snake to keep them healthy and happy. There's on/off types that are cheaper, however that's full heat on, full off, and some of these type will fail in the on position when they quit working. I prefer proportional that keep a lower powered steady heat, safety fail in the off position and have alarms to alert me if temps go too high or low. Set up your cage 1-2 weeks in advance to make sure everything is running at correct temps.

    Next would be depending on your climate, don't be set on putting your snake in a fish tank. There's many reasons most aren't suitable from lack of air flow to simply not enough floor space. Plus they are breakable and heavy as hell when you need to clean or move them. In a warm ambient area a small tub setup with a heat mat would be better, in a changing cooler climate I'd spring for a PVC cage with a radiant heat panel. Heat lamps drain humidity like crazy and aquariums don't hold heat or humidity worth a squat because they aren't meant to. Misting or relying on substrate being wet or blocking off airflow is not consistent or healthy, you don't want your temps and humidity all over the place daily, you want them to stay steady or your snake is far more likely to get sick and have issues shedding.

    I've used a bunch of substrates, now I just use paper because it's easier but all of them have their pros and cons, try out what you like and see how it goes. One snake it's not hard to keep up on but be aware you can't always tell when they've peed so a sniff test works better than visual check with bedding. I wouldn't bother with lighting as long as there's windows in the room for some ambient.
    I decided to look around the house as there's a ton of plastic storage tubs lying around and found a nice (mostly) transparent one at 19"x13"x11" with straight walls for maximum floor space for the size. Perfect for a baby I assume? Just needs some air holes drilled in. Only other extra thing to add would be some clamps since I'm sure it could be opened easily from the inside as it's just a simple snap-on one. And there's plenty of bigger tubs to choose from as it grows or if what I found is too small.

    Question is how does a UTH work with a plastic tub? Do you need to elevate the tub at all and/or other steps so it doesn't melt the plastic or is that a non-issue as long as it doesn't overheat?

    And as for the holes themselves, how many is generally recommended? Like a couple rows on the lid and a couple more on the sides? I do know that you can cover or uncover holes as needed with maintaining humidity (which would mean I can more comfortably go with newspaper now that I think about it).

  5. #14
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    Re: (Semi) newbie here with many, MANY questions!

    Quote Originally Posted by Snagrio View Post
    Question is how does a UTH work with a plastic tub? Do you need to elevate the tub at all and/or other steps so it doesn't melt the plastic or is that a non-issue as long as it doesn't overheat?

    And as for the holes themselves, how many is generally recommended? Like a couple rows on the lid and a couple more on the sides? I do know that you can cover or uncover holes as needed with maintaining humidity (which would mean I can more comfortably go with newspaper now that I think about it).
    You want a thin layer between the bottom of the tub and the UTH to allow air flow, and same for underneath the UTH and table/ surface.

    For mine I have about 20 3-4 mm holes on each of the long sides of my tub. You can make more or less depending on how much you need to adjust the humidity.

    To answer your earlier question on when you should switch from the 10 gallon to the 30 gallon tank, I would say that once your snakes length is equivalent to the sum of the length and width of the enclosure is when it’s a good time to switch.

  6. #15
    BPnet Veteran Snagrio's Avatar
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    Re: (Semi) newbie here with many, MANY questions!

    Quote Originally Posted by Faith.luu View Post
    You want a thin layer between the bottom of the tub and the UTH to allow air flow, and same for underneath the UTH and table/ surface.

    For mine I have about 20 3-4 mm holes on each of the long sides of my tub. You can make more or less depending on how much you need to adjust the humidity.

    To answer your earlier question on when you should switch from the 10 gallon to the 30 gallon tank, I would say that once your snakes length is equivalent to the sum of the length and width of the enclosure is when it’s a good time to switch.
    How would I go about propping it up then? Just put some thin books or the like underneath the corners of the tub so it's just hovering above the mat, and some kind of heat-resistant object (like say a slate cutting board) under the mat itself?

    EDIT: Just saw a video that most heat mats come with little pads to raise up the heat mat so that answers the second part of the question.
    Last edited by Snagrio; 08-13-2020 at 07:11 PM.

  7. #16
    BPnet Senior Member jmcrook's Avatar
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    (Semi) newbie here with many, MANY questions!

    So many issues with some of the suggestions in this thread...

    no space is needed between either the tub or the UTH and the surface it’s on, and it MUST be controlled by a thermostat. Period. A properly regulated UTH will not melt a tub.

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    Last edited by jmcrook; 08-13-2020 at 07:22 PM.

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  9. #17
    BPnet Veteran Snagrio's Avatar
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    One thing I'm still unsure of is a humidity gauge/thermometer brand. Any recommendations on that? The most I know so far is to avoid the dinky little circle things you stick to the enclosure wall since I've heard more than a few times how unreliable they are and the potential issues if they fall off and get stuck on the animal's scales.

  10. #18
    BPnet Senior Member Mr. Misha's Avatar
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    Re: (Semi) newbie here with many, MANY questions!

    Quote Originally Posted by Snagrio View Post
    Any recommendations on that?
    The more popular and on the cheaper side would be Acurite.

    There are more expensive options like Hygroset or other brands that people use for cigar humidors that do well with high humidity and are very accurate.

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  12. #19
    BPnet Veteran Snagrio's Avatar
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    Re: (Semi) newbie here with many, MANY questions!

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Misha View Post
    The more popular and on the cheaper side would be Acurite.

    There are more expensive options like Hygroset or other brands that people use for cigar humidors that do well with high humidity and are very accurate.

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
    My conundrum is, from what I can tell I want one with a probe to insert into the tank since I don't see how ones that are just the device itself will work since it'll either (ironically) get messed up by the humidity and/or will just constantly get knocked over by the snake. Or if it's a stick-on-the-wall type then it runs the risk of falling off and getting stuck to the snake as expressed before. But it seems like all the ones with the probe(s) that I look at are either way above my price range (which is $20-$30 or so) or are riddled with middling to negative reviews about how they work only for a month or are inaccurate from the get-go.

  13. #20
    BPnet Senior Member Mr. Misha's Avatar
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    Re: (Semi) newbie here with many, MANY questions!

    Quote Originally Posted by Snagrio View Post
    But it seems like all the ones with the probe(s) that I look at are either way above my price range (which is $20-$30 or so) or are riddled with middling to negative reviews about how they work only for a month or are inaccurate from the get-go.
    I have one of these that have decent reviews that are within your budget and they come with a probe. They're also made by Vivarium Electronics that make proportional thermostats that have been a good industry standard. I'm sure you can do some googling regarding people's opinions:
    https://www.reptilebasics.com/thermometers/TH-100/
    Last edited by Mr. Misha; 08-14-2020 at 06:59 PM.
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