ball python habitat questions.

[zeion97]

So... it all began with being able to own my first snake.. everything went good, but now I have 5! One of which is a 5-6 foot Burmese. The whole lights thing just isn't working any more and it's wasting all of my spare money.. I need a COMPLETE environment revamp. My current set ups go like this. (Please be aware they are bland, my pet store had a break out of mites so I wanted to be safer then sorry.) I have 3 tanks designs. A 40 breeder, 2 "deluxe snake habitats" which I bought for the lamps and cage. And a 55 Aquarium. Each one is lined with 3 layers of newspaper, contains a water bowl. (Cat dish Because of the price of $1 and they can hide under it) and on top. A 150 day and a 100 night. I also have two of the zilla UTH which are for tanks 20-30 (medium size) which I don't want to use as my super black pastel has two small burns because she likes to touch the glass And hide under the paper. I really want a COMPLETE revamp. Our house is set to always be 75 now. And I planned on using aspen as there substrate And adding an additional hide to cover there water bowl, as well as one for the cool side. I could experiment and find a perfect setting for myself, but times deal us bad hands, besides a sick snake we have thousands in repair bills. So I would like to spend very little, or even use what I have to obtain the perfect home for my pets.

I would like to hear personal set ups for this matter and what works for you yourself. Please no one give a comment about getting rid of them Because I "don't" take care of them, I give all my animals more attention and care then a lot of people do, the truth is, I just have to many to use my old methods and now I need some help.

Thank you in advanced, and if you need any more info just ask away!

[Spyderco1116]

Ever think about getting or building a rack system?

[zeion97]

Ever think about getting or building a rack system?

I have, but I only have 4 right now. I have some skills when it comes to DIY, the only plans I've been able to come across were for holding about 20. And if I built one that large.. well I'd just have to get more snakes. Lol. I want to try to stick to cages right now though.

[blushingball419]

It's true that most rack plans are tailored to the breeders who have huge collections, but you can customize them for any number of snakes great or small. Just build the number of shelves that you need. I "only" have 6 snakes, but building a rack was the best decision I ever made. It would require buying and switching over to tubs, but they're fairly inexpensive and since your ambient temp will be staying relatively constant now, I would say that they would be a good option to consider.

If you're really set against it though or it's just not for you, I agree that getting rid of the heat lamps would be a good place to start. I'm a little confused by your description, however, so just to clarify: does each of your bps have its own enclosure? And do you have a thermostat to control the temps of the heat mats? If not, I would definitely recommend getting one, since that would allow you to use the UTHs without your snakes getting burned. And since you don't have a lot to spend, I would recommend the Hydrofarm, you can get one on amazon for $30 and they work great for an on/off. You can control all 5 heat mats with one thermostat too as long as you have a power strip.

And yes, every snake should have 2 hides, one on the warm side and one on the cool side, so that would also be a good way to improve their enclosures if they don't already have them. Hope this helps!