Easiest Enclosure Type for a Beginner?

[NomiGold]

Hello everyone! As you may notice, I am new to this site and (coincidently) ball pythons. I've had a yen for snakes for a great majority of my life, and in the past year for keeping a couple ball pythons. I have been doing research for a few months, but I still have many, many questions.

For instance, what type of enclosure is easiest for a beginner herp keeper to maintain, racks or aquariums? Obviously space-wise the racks win out, and seem more economical in the long run if one plans on keeping more than a couple specimens. However, is it easier to maintain the humidity and temperature in a glass aquarium or racks?

One possibility I was considering was to start out with a 15/20 G tank for my starter ball, then as it gets larger (or I get more bp's), I move it out to a rack system and keep the tank as a quarentine tank (bleaching/disinfecting it in between individuals, of course). Any other suggestions or tips? I still have quite a while to hash out plans, as I most likely will not be ready for a ball until this winter/early next year.

Thank you in advance for any answers or advice!

[kitedemon]

Well to start with welcome!

I think that you need to ask your self a handful of questions,

do you want an enclosure that is has visual interest or just an acceptable home?

Are you going to keep one or two balls or lots?

What is the budget like?

Can you feel confident in building something?

Everyone has differing ideas of what is best. The truth is there is a whole lot of shades of grey, it is a question of taste and what works where your animals are being kept. In warm humid basement a tank would work well as humidity may not be a problem. In a very dry area they can be troublesome to keep heat and humidy in. See my point?

Personally I have a vision enclosure and it works really well for me. I have a natural feel so it looks like an enviroment. I like it, it works for me. So either tub rack tank or custom enclosure.

Look at the area where you plan on using check the regular temps and humidy and see how much adjustment it will take. Than decide on time will you devote time to cleaning every month or are you pressed for time. I enjoy cleaning too so I set 2 hours aside and do a big clean every month or so and spot checks daily. Tubs are quicker to clean and check.

Whatever answers you come up I cannot recommend enough a good proportional thermostat enough my personal choice is a herpstat but the others (ie helix) also are very good. They take the guess work and concern away. Even if you decide that a viewable enclosure is the way you want to go but can't afford both enclosure and P thermostat I'd say buy the thermostat and use a tub for now and then save for the display enclosure.

I know I have posed more questions than answers I hope you understand my point.
Alex

[bsash]

Welcome to ball-pythons.net, and I think Kitedemon pretty much has it covered. I hope you enjoy your stay here.

[Zenllama]

Well first off, Welcome to the site!

It sounds like you have done some research already and you pretty much have the answer already. Tanks will be the easiest for keeping a few snakes. I would say that a rack is a bit too much for just a few snakes. Do as you wish but it really comes down to a few things.

1) Do the snakes you are going to keep all have the same humidity/heat requirements?
*if so, then a rack system will do

2) Do you want to have easy viewing for display and enjoyment?
*then you would not want a rack of rubbermaid containers (unless your talking about a glass front store style display) in which case your not going for the cost effective path

3) Room, the big issue. what type of floor space do you have to work with?
*do you have a room that you can dedicate to your collection, or are they going to share say part of your office like I have done.

4) With item #3 in mind, how many snakes are you planning on having?
*unless your starting a breeding operation or something of that quantity, I would recommend just staying with tanks for now. Expand with your collection. Not your collection to your facility.

5) If you find your in need of upgrading you can always sell off no longer needed gear to the next up-&-coming collector.

Really hope I was of some help.
Best of luck!

[NomiGold]

Well to start with welcome!

I think that you need to ask your self a handful of questions,

Thank you for the welcome, and all the input!

do you want an enclosure that is has visual interest or just an acceptable home?

While I do like the idea of a visual tank, it's not too high up on the 'must have' list. And I do know that ball pythons generally are not 'display' animals in any case (despite how gorgeous they are. Hiding all that beauty, little stinkers).

Are you going to keep one or two balls or lots?

At first, one or two. Though eventually I would like to try breeding for one or two of my favourite multiple combo morphs. While I never plan on having, say, hundreds, I could see myself keeping about a dozen, give or take. This is all future tense though.

What is the budget like?

The budget would be that of an art student. Luckily, though, I have a good scholarship, a nice amount of 'random school expenses' savings, and fishkeeping/ball pythons would be my main 'extra'. Not so big on things like expensive clothing, alcohol, coffee, ect. Still, budget will be tight, so I see a lot of DiY-ing in my future. And if I don't feel confident that I have enough to keep more than one ball python, I'll just have to but that wish on hold for a bit.

Can you feel confident in building something?

More or less. I've built a few small things in my time, though I wouldn't attempt anything fancy. I'm also not opposed to second hand tanks, or racks that need a little TLC.

Everyone has differing ideas of what is best. The truth is there is a whole lot of shades of grey, it is a question of taste and what works where your animals are being kept. In warm humid basement a tank would work well as humidity may not be a problem. In a very dry area they can be troublesome to keep heat and humidy in. See my point?

Personally I have a vision enclosure and it works really well for me. I have a natural feel so it looks like an enviroment. I like it, it works for me. So either tub rack tank or custom enclosure.

Look at the area where you plan on using check the regular temps and humidy and see how much adjustment it will take. Than decide on time will you devote time to cleaning every month or are you pressed for time. I enjoy cleaning too so I set 2 hours aside and do a big clean every month or so and spot checks daily. Tubs are quicker to clean and check.

Whatever answers you come up I cannot recommend enough a good proportional thermostat enough my personal choice is a herpstat but the others (ie helix) also are very good. They take the guess work and concern away. Even if you decide that a viewable enclosure is the way you want to go but can't afford both enclosure and P thermostat I'd say buy the thermostat and use a tub for now and then save for the display enclosure.

I know I have posed more questions than answers I hope you understand my point.
Alex

Hmm. I'll be in Ontario, so it'll be a fair bit more humid/warm than it is here (Alberta), but still cold by ball python standards. I believe that the weather, on average, ranges between -15*C to 25*C, though it can get warmer or cooler. The humidity seems to fluctuate between 40-90 on average (I'll be right my the lake). Anyone have any ideas on how these sort of humidity levels would effect the humidity of the ball's enclosure?

Cleaning/general maintenance doesn't really bother me, as I'm already used to weekly/bi-weekly waterchages, aquascaping, monitoring water levels, ect for my aquariums. Weekly feeding, regular spot checking and water replacing and monthly cleaning shouldn't be too hard to fit into a schedule. That's sort of what draws me to snakes, their (relatively) easy daily/weekly care.

And I'll make sure not to skimp on the thermostat! Good advice! How much, generally, do herpstats/other god thermostats go for?

Thank you again for all the advice!

[kitedemon]

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

[Kaorte]

If you have dry winters (which I suspect you do ) Then go with a rack/tub setup. It will be much easier in the long run. Tanks are heavy, hard to clean, don't maintain temps and humidity well, and generally much bigger then they need to be for a ball python (mainly in height). Tubs make keeping your humidity up very simple. You control the humidity by making holes in the tub. Less holes = higher humidity.

If you are okay with the idea of tubs, go with tubs. If you go with a tank, you will probably end up switching to tubs soon after anyway

PS:

[NomiGold]

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?

[stevepoppers]

I saw a thread asking this a little while ago and it didn't get many answers. I think that means no one's reached the limit of their thermostats' lifespans.

Fwiw, if you're planning in the long term, just get racks now. Put the thermostat probe in the central most location you can, on the heat source. Plastic makes humidity a non-issue.

[Kaorte]

Thermostat life is generally dependent on the quality of the thermostat, so higher priced ones are of higher quality and should last a bit longer. I know there are people who have had the same thermostat running for many years with no issues, and there are some people who have had them fail after a few years.