Quote Originally Posted by kitedemon View Post
I'm in Halifax (actually I teach at NSCAD) The problem you will have is central heating. The humidity in my place in the winter is 15% with out help. I'd expect you to fight humidity in the winter with a open top tank. I'd look at something like a vision or tubs. Sounds like a tub is the way you are heading. If you are thinking of breeding tubs are the way to go. You don't need a rack yet but that is easy to build later.

The comment about ball not being display animals is true from one point of view and not so much from another. If you don't have an animal to view out of the hide why not have a 'landscaped' enclosure to look at? At least that has been my way of thinking. I don't intend on breeding or having too many snakes either. I find that mine are active 3 or 4 nights a week. I actually spend time in the evening before bed just watching. Again you can see why I went with an display system. Hiding or not I like to look in and relax. I had tubs but kept opening them up to watch, I didn't feel it was what was best for the snake so I changed it up. To each he own neither is better just different.

I think it fair to say that a basic one is in the 100-150 dollar range (US) the canadian suppliers take a bit cut and for me shipping from the states has been painless and duty free. If you are planning on expanding in the near future you might think on a multi probe version. Although I am not a breeder so perhaps that is best answered by one here. The breeder I know has a bunch of versions and manufacturers all mixed up. Based on my observations it seems to be the case of the more the merrier, but perhaps there is other ways. I can't answer that.
Hope that helps,
Alex
Thank you!

I'm not familiar with the weather in Ontario, but I suppose the dryness is a Canadian winter standard no matter where one is. I have to admit I am leaning towards tubs and racks, especially space may be at a premium for a while.

I'll probably be relying on my aquariums for that 'landscaped tank' look, since I am quite into aquascaping. For reptiles, I think I would prefer a planted, naturalistic type enclosure, more suited for things like cresties than balls.

So it looks like a nice thermostat is certainly something to budget for! A multi probe would be nice, but I'm unsure how long until I start to expand my non-existant collection. How long is the lifespan of thermostats?