getting ready for a brb

[*April*]

hi, i'm trying to get my set up right so i can get a brb. i want to know what the owners of brb's recommend. what do you use for substrate, heat, whats your humidity, what size enclosure (for a baby), etc?

i've been doing a lot of research and have been reading over this forum a lot. i have a corn snake, which pretty much summarizes my snake experience, but i have other reptiles that are all thriving. i know brb's have strict requirements so i'm trying to get it all ready and stable now for when i go to the show in September.

any info you can give me now, mostly husbandry, would be greatly appreciated. i don't mind putting out the money to get this set up right, within reason (i can't afford a $200 helix thermostat). pictures of your set ups would be great, i love looking at other people's viv's, just like you love sharing them ;-)

Thanks again.

April

[mr86mister]

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=15


Check this out. This should help you out much!

HTH

[mooingtricycle]

i don't mind putting out the money to get this set up right, within reason (i can't afford a $200 helix thermostat). pictures of your set ups would be great, i love looking at other people's viv's, just like you love sharing them ;-)

Thanks again.

April

The Zoo Med 500R is a reliable T-stat for its pricerange. I am using two of them, and have been for some time, without issue. * but i DO recommend Herpstats over them because im also currently using one of those, and oh boy do they rock hardcore!* The Zoo Meds were recommended to me by another friend who has been using them far longer, without issue. they range about 20+ bucks.

Some dislike them and do not recommend them, but having had personal experience with them, i cant say anything bad about them.

[*April*]

i have another question, from videos i've seen it seems that people feed their boas in their tanks. is that what most people do? i would prefer to feed outside the tank then in it, would that be a bad practice for a brb? thanks

april

[littleindiangirl]

We just got our BRB's and feed both of them in their tubs, we use cypress mulch for most of our snakes. Both eat FT very easily, and are still a little nippy (young 06's). Awesome feeders they are, and gorgeous!

[ncbloods]

I feed in-tank. You do have to be careful of which substrate you choose. I personally use newspaper so it is not an issue for me. The most common argument you hear against feeding this way is that the snake will associate the opening of the enclosure with feeding time and be more apt to bite. I've never had an issue with it in my experience.

[*April*]

another question;
i can't seem to find anything online that talks about how fast they grow. i'm going to be attending the sacramento reptile convention in september and with everything being cheaper at the show, i want to try to get enough supplies for the next year. would a 20 long be big enough or too big for a 1 year old? how much growth can i expect in a year? i've read that its better to keep young ones confined, but would housing a baby in a heavily planted, w/lots of hides, 20L be alright?

thanks

[AndrewGeibel]

another question;
i can't seem to find anything online that talks about how fast they grow. i'm going to be attending the sacramento reptile convention in september and with everything being cheaper at the show, i want to try to get enough supplies for the next year. would a 20 long be big enough or too big for a 1 year old? how much growth can i expect in a year? i've read that its better to keep young ones confined, but would housing a baby in a heavily planted, w/lots of hides, 20L be alright?

thanks

It is going to be incredibly difficult to keep the humidity in a tank for a BRB. They need very high humidity levels especially as babies. I would strongly urge you to consider a tub. Much cheaper and you will thank yourself later. From my experience they are fairly slow growers.

[littleindiangirl]

If it's any measure, mine are late 06s, and about the same size as my 2 year old male corn. LOL, that was probably no help at all, but yes, I'd say they are slow growers.

Also, I agree, humidity is very important for this species, along with cooler temps, making them not ideal as a beginner snake because they are not easily forgiving of mistakes.

I would stick with a tub, right now both of mine are in 28 qts.

[*April*]

ok, tub sounds good. would anyone be able to possibly post a pic of their tub set up, just so i can see? i would really appreciate it.

in your tubs, i'm guessing you're using a UTH. how do you have that set up exactly? i've set up a small container with a small UTH, on the warm side the temps are to high at 95* (im going to get a dimmer) but the cool side is at 76*. from what i've read high 70's is great for cool side temps, i'm afraid that when i dim the warm side, my cool end will be too cold. how do i fix this? i'm using the small zoo med UTH.

so far my humidity is looking good, its just above 85%.

littleindiangirl:
how long would you say your corn snake was? my roommate has corn snakes all around 2 years but they are all different sizes. would you say maybe around 2 to 2.5 feet?


thanks to everyone for all their help
april