Hello BP.net, I think I'd better come out of lurking mode since I'm about to actually get my first BP c: (I'm not new to keeping reptiles, I just haven't had a snake before.) I've been researching and lurking for a while and I've had my setup together for a few weeks, so I guess I'll just give a rundown of that first...

It's an Exo Terra terrarium, 36"x18"x18". I know keeping heat and humidity in glass terrariums can be hard so I taped cork tiles to the sides for some insulation, and covered most of the screen top in aluminum foil, leaving a few spaces open at the top for ventilation--the terrarium also has built-in ventilation at the front. (There's only tape on the OUTSIDE of the terrarium, by the way.)
For heating I have a 16 watt UTH on a thermostat (Zoo Med, the on-off kind, probe is on the outside of the UTH) for the hot side, and a 75 watt infrared heat lamp on a dimmer to raise the ambient temps on the cool side (not sure if I'll even need this during warmer months, but I do now). Each side has an identical cave hide. I'm monitoring temps with digital probe thermometers (Zilla), the probes are directly under the hides (secured with hot glue on the cords and the suction cups they came with). I also have a digital thermometer/hygrometer on the cool side glass for ambient temps (Flukers, an old leftover).
Let's see, other than that... I have another log hide that I may or may not keep for the sake of clutter, a corner water dish, and a plastic branch. And the substrate is 100% cypress mulch (Zoo Med forest floor). I have larger versions of the cave hides already if I wind up getting a larger snake.




I've been messing with the temps for weeks trying to get them right. The hot hide is usually between 86 and 90 (it's been hard because the probed thermometer and my infrared temp gun don't agree), the cool side 78-80, and ambient around 80. I'm still working on keeping the hot hide more steady. Humidity is a little high right now (70%-80%) because I JUST put the cypress mulch in there yesterday--I tried aspen for a couple weeks but it wasn't working out at all.

Anyway! Questions:
  • this is a pretty big terrarium (like big enough for an adult?), so should I be looking for an older BP? how difficult would it be to find a larger snake at an expo? I've never been to one before.
  • if all I can find is babies, would it be okay to get more artificial plants and clutter it up for security? or is this tank still too big?
  • maybe a shot in the dark, but has anyone done business with/can recommend any of the vendors on this list? I had a lot of trouble searching them... It looks like it's going to be a pretty small show.

I'm only looking for a pet at this point, so morph isn't that important to me although I like pastels. I'd also like a female. But maybe that's irrelevant right now, oops.

Sorry for the really long post! Just trying to cover all bases here. Probably missed things anyway. Thanks guys <3