Best red tail setup

[Thor26]

Ok im looking for the best possible setup for a RTB i noe everyone says to use tubs but i want to be able to show him off. Im also looking for things that are fairly cheap. When i get my boa i want him to be happy. So tell me what works for you everything from the water dish to the substate thanks - Josh

[edie]

I keep my 2 larger females (15lb adult, 6lb juvie) in 4' cages from RBI, with aspen bedding, and a water dish. They use Ultratherm heat pads and I have them hooked up to a Helix thermostat, they also have temp/humidity gauges in the cages (the kind from Lowes/Home Depot that everyone talks about up on the BP section of the forum).

As far as cages go, if you want to display I would suggest a nice display cage from RBI, Animal Plastics, Boaphile, ect.. I've used tubs and they are very cheap, but I don't feel they're very good if you want the boa to be a display animal, also, you would have to hook up your own heat tape and drill your own ventilation holes.. I've also used terrariums before, which cost about half as much as the RBI cages I use, but its the biggest pain to keep temps. and humidity correct in them, the only snakes I keep in terrariums now are snakes with low humidity requirements.

I would suggest saving up money to buy a nice display cage/heating pad or tape/thermostat so that the snake has everything it needs.. and IMO shelling out the extra money for a nice cage in the beginning is worth it.

[starmom]

I actually have my 7 month old female boas in 2x3 cages from Rich at RBI (they each have their own cage!) When they outgrow the cage, my female ball pythons will get them and I'll get a 72x24 cage for the girls; I want them to be able to stretch out and move.

[starmom]

I actually have my 7 month old female boas in 2x3 cages from Rich at RBI (they each have their own cage!) When they outgrow the cage, my female ball pythons will get them and I'll get a 72x24 cage for the girls; I want them to be able to stretch out and move.

Here's the rest of my message that I took too long to write and so was not able to add under the 'edit' feature:
Edit>>>>> Thought I ought to provide more information for you. I'll have belly heat for the basking spot and will also have a RHP on the cool side in order to keep ambient temps up which I can imagine would be difficult in such a large cage that is also kept in my home (lower temps) and not in a temp controlled snake room! I have 2 Herpstat II t'stats that will run the RHP and heat tape for each cage. I want a shelf that runs the length of the cage and then turns the corner a bit for further thermoregulation for the boa.
That's about all I can think of right now. Nothing about this hobby is inexpensive- nothing! However, I love these snakes and so took on all of the responsibilities for husbandry with eyes wide open.