JCP's Tub Upgrade

[MelissaFlipski]

We moved Zeelow from a small tub to a nice, large one this weekend. Here is the old (with red heat bulb):


Here is the new (he's stretching out on his branch after his meal of a small rat; see the bump? - now with CHE):


It might be hard to tell how much larger it is since both are close ups - but the branch he is lounging on in the photos is the same. You can see it took up a lot of the old tub, but very little of the new one. Yeah!

He seems happier. I also showed him the hide log; and he has used it a few times for a couple minutes of "peace and quiet."

[Patrick Long]

Nice upgrade, dont know how i missed this post, how does your heat affect the top of the tub?

[AdamJB]

Nice upgrade, dont know how i missed this post, how does your heat affect the top of the tub?

Same q as above. I want to put my jcp in some sort of tub instead of the 10 gal to hold humidity better....

[MelissaFlipski]

We actually have a 100 watt CHE in a lamp that has a dimmer on the cord (built in rheostat equivalent). The lamp is mounted on a bookshelf and is aimed at the side of the tub - you can barely see the black of the lamp to the right. I'll take another picture to show that better, tomorrow.

I think it was turned up too high (all the way) b/c he was under his log a lot and the plastic on the outside was very warm, almost hot, althought the bulb/lamp are 2" away from the drilled holes on the side.

I turned down the CHE some and he has come back out.

We also have a heating pad underneath on medium to help with heat. There is some space for it's heat to vent; also, the whole set up sits on metal file cabinets - so the heat from the pad can dispurse through the metal and not heat up the tub too much. The tub has shaved Aspen (about 1") and moss (1/2") from our yard.

We gave him more places to climb and hide and a larger water bowl. He seems a lot happier - no more nose rubbing!

[8b8ll]

Looks good!!

IMO you could even go bigger and I think your carpet would greatly appreciate it!


Mike

[MelissaFlipski]

Looks good!!

IMO you could even go bigger and I think your carpet would greatly appreciate it!


Mike

Thanks. We do plan to go bigger later. This is a temporary set up until we build one. The next upgrade will probably be his permanent home, or one that can be expanded w/out too much hassle. Wood, plexiglass, hinged door, etc. with a larger climbing accessory.

Also, we changed the red light to CHE - he seemed to dislike the red heat light at night. Can snakes see red light?

[Reptilian]

Can snakes see red light?

That's always something I've wanted to know as well. Glad to hear he's not nose rubbing anymore.

[8b8ll]

Thanks. We do plan to go bigger later. This is a temporary set up until we build one. The next upgrade will probably be his permanent home, or one that can be expanded w/out too much hassle. Wood, plexiglass, hinged door, etc. with a larger climbing accessory.

Also, we changed the red light to CHE - he seemed to dislike the red heat light at night. Can snakes see red light?

Excellent yeah these guys really appreciate some room to roam around, bask, perch, hunt ect.

I've always heard that they cannot see red light.

It might have just been too hot for him at night, what temps were/are you running at night?


Mike

[MelissaFlipski]

The top of the branch was probably 83 and the bottom of the tank is 77. I have the CHE aimed at the top of the branch (right side) and a heating pad underneath. He hides a lot. So I turned off the heating pad and turned the CHE down just a tiny bit and he came out.

It is hard to measure the temp right at the top of the branch. So I am guessing. I would think that 83 would not be too hot, even 85.

Thoughts?

[Colin Vestrand]

i keep mine with a hot spot of 90 or even higher... but all my carpets have hidden when they were younger. except when i'm cycling them there's not much of a nite drop... the room probably drops 4 degrees or so. the big thing is to provide a gradient.