picked up my cage & supplies today!

[mainbutter]

I've got a 30X12X12 glass cage and everything I need(except for some ground foliage, i wanted to see how much empty space I had after putting in the two hides)

Quick question about getting this all set up, is there any particular cleaning I need to do? I'm going to give the inside of the glass cage a good clean, but not really go heavy on soap or anything, and make sure it is 100% rinsed very well.

For my two hides I have some coconut shell halves with a diameter of about 5 inches for inside room.

I've got a UTH, a bag of "Coco Soft"(recycled coconut husk) for substrate, thermometer/hygrometer, infrared temp gun, and a water bowl. I forgot to grab a spray bottle(I don't recall seeing any at the store anyways so I'll head out to a target tomorrow).

Anything I'm forgetting?? (other than a cold-blooded roommate and some food, of course?)

I'll post pics of the setup soon.

[whitewolf]

Don't forget to secure the lid to your cage if it has one What kind of top/door does it have?

[mainbutter]

The top opens by sliding out(so anything trying to push upwards can't open it)

It's a "Zilla" glass cage. http://www.zilla-rules.com/products/critter-cages.htm

[whitewolf]

ooh ok. I have one of those. The lid sometimes doesn't click back all the way so you have to be sure to double check it's latched. I have a beardie in mine, so I didn't have to worry about escape, but I've found it wasn't latched all the way soemtimes and easily opened even though it looks fine.

[mainbutter]

Pic of my setup so far:



You can see the hygrometer/thermometer on top. I've got an infrared therm gun to read substrate temps, UTH on the right side of the cage. I've been wondering how to best arrange the two hides and water bowl, I don't want the bowl over the heater for health reasons (I'd rather not have a petri dish heating up in my tank )

It's not so pretty at the moment, really just alot of brown, so I'll be getting some color in there soon with some plastic plants which will also provide my snake a bit of extra cover so it can feel a little more secure. maybe also get some kind of decorative vivarium wallpaper to put on outside of the back of the tank to hide the wires a bit.

If I get some reliable temp/humidity readings, I'll pick up a roommate tomorrow! (hope the GF doesn't mind my new roomy being a girl)

[WizzySRT10]

Looks like a nice terrarium. What kind are you getting?

[mainbutter]

I have my heart set on a normal female, CB hatched in '08. That's all I looked at today, they have some color morphs but I didn't even want to tempt myself since they're pricey and the wallet is already shrunk from the supplies.

[WizzySRT10]

You buying from a Pet store or a breeder? If you don't have the money right now you could always save up till you get the money. I know I'll never buy another snake from a pet store but that's just me.

[mainbutter]

A breeder who happens to own a reptile shop. He's very professional, I scoped out the place before I bought anything there checking for healthy animals, clean cages, knowledgable employees. They breed all their own ball pythons there

From their website:

"Twin Cities Reptiles breeds many of our own animals, mammal and reptile. In doing this, we are able to give you an entire history of the animal that you are getting, including feed records. This is very important, especially in the spring when massive amounts of ball pythons are shipped into the country and into the stores with no idea of if that animal is going to eat or make it through the stress of the whole ordeal. Please feel free to ask about any of the animals we have, and we'll be happy to help."

[mainbutter]

quick question about heating the substrate: At the moment the cool side is still about 72 degrees, or room temperature(I've only had the UTH plugged in for 2-3 hours), the ambient air temp inside the cage so far is 75-76, and the warm side of the substrate is above 80, 83 inside the warm hide, climbing steadily.

Since the UTH only covers part of the underside of the tank, should the "cool" side of the substrate generally even out to be about the same temperature as the ambient air temp within the cage? If so, then bringing the ambient air temp to about 80-82 should be good for the cool side of the substrate, right?