Fountain in the Tank

[WakoNako]

My fiancee recently purchased a small waterfall/water bowl from pet smart cause it was on sale. It basically takes water from a holding tank, to the top of some rocks and drops it into a holding bowl which fills up and over flows into the holding tank.

Do you think our BP would like this?

Also, we had to build up the sides of the bowl a little to stop overflow, we used children's modeling clay because
a) we already had it
b) its non toxic
c) it dries solid

Well I painted over the white clay with a textured paint and I'm just wondering what would be the best way to seal it so that the BP doesn't come in contact with the actual paint and so the paint doesn't seep into the water?

[blackcrystal22]

My fiancee recently purchased a small waterfall/water bowl from pet smart cause it was on sale. It basically takes water from a holding tank, to the top of some rocks and drops it into a holding bowl which fills up and over flows into the holding tank.

Do you think our BP would like this?

Also, we had to build up the sides of the bowl a little to stop overflow, we used children's modeling clay because
a) we already had it
b) its non toxic
c) it dries solid

Well I painted over the white clay with a textured paint and I'm just wondering what would be the best way to seal it so that the BP doesn't come in contact with the actual paint and so the paint doesn't seep into the water?

How big is this tank?
I feel like the ball python wouldn't benefit from this or care about it. It may be a nice decoration, but you won't find him playing in it or anything of that sort.
I feel like this tank has to be awfully big to fit a waterfall, and tanks that large are usually pretty stressful to begin with.

[WakoNako]

Right now it's only a 10 gallon tank, we're gonna be changing that out to a 20 in a week or two, but the fountain is only a small one, maybe takes up a 3" x 4" space of the tank floor.

I just figured the snake might prefer moving water rather than still water

[flynn]

I'm not sure if I will get the ban hammer for directing you to another site....but, the herp-habitats section in herp-central.com has some great ideas about things like this (http://www.herpcenter.com/herp-habitats/). I'm sure if you flip through the threads you will find an answer about what to seal with. I would think a water based urethane, however I have no idea how well that would adhear to the clay.

As far as the BP 'liking' it, I dont know. I wouldnt think they would care one way or the other, so long as the water is clean etc.

FWIW I tried a fountain in a (frog) terrarium years ago and the thing that killed the idea for me was filtering the water supply, and cleaning out the pump when any dirt/poo/etc get in the system. Far to much work for the visual appeal. Benefit for humidity was next to nothing.

[WakoNako]

Humidity isn't really an issue for us. I'm based in Florida so if anything I'm generally trying to keep the humidity lower. It generally hovers between 40% and 60% throughout the day

[baller29]

I bought one of these waterfalls at petsmart too because of a humidity problem because i thought "in theory" that it would boost my humidity levels in the tank because the guy there told me it was used for humidity, due to dry heat in the winter,lol. Now because it was like 50 bucks and i dont want a 50 dollar paperweight to look at, I still use it. Its great if you put a piece of cut plexiglass over half the top to boost humidity during the shedding process, but this strange slimy residue builds up on the inside of the waterfall and it needs cleaned often. And just like in the other reply, keeping the pump and all those tiny crevices cleaned is a massive pain in the a**. To me it seems like more trouble than its worth.

[4theSNAKElady]

Ok...I have some reality on this, that may help you. The oldest BP in my collection is 12 yrs old. She was my second BP ever. When I was fairly new, I thought a fountain would look soo cool in the terrarium (had her in glass at that time), replace her water bowl, and also help keep uo the humidity. It was similar to the one you are describing...and cost $80. Well, needless to say, she loved it, but I ended up hating it. What would happen was she would slither into it, and most of her body would be positioned uner the "waterfall" part, so that water would flow all over her body. She kept doing it, so I fugured she really liked it. Well, I soon discovered it became a huge problem, because all the water would flow over her body and out.....so not only did I constantly have to clean and refill it, but the bedding would be SOAKED every day, so of course I had to change it EVERY day. I felt bad when I finally took it away, but man, that thing was a PIA.

[Seru1]

My cats love moving water dispensers.

I doubt my BP would care. But it would look nice.


The two people above me raise extremely excellent cons however.

[seeya205]

I had one in my tank and it was really nice to look at but it was a pain to clean every week! My bp only used it as a climbing rock to get closer to the lamp(used in winter). It was great for boosting humidity so I used just during shed periods! I got mine at a yard sale for $10 and even at that price, it was not worth it!

[WingedWolfPsion]

The first time he pees in it, you'll have to throw it away. Imagine powdered urates getting caught in the pump.