Rookie needs help!

[Scktrick]

Hey everyone!

I've had my corn snake for about a year and I'm picking up a ball python tomorrow! She's about 2ft-2.5ft (over a year old).

I have a few questions to be answered though...

Basically I need help with everything.. I've done research but every site says something different. I'm getting either a 20 long or 30 tank tomorrow.. along with all the other supplies. I need to know: 1. Whether i should get 20 long or 30ft? 2. Is aspen the best substrate? 3. Heating?? (Lamp or heating pad) 4. and how to control the humidity for them? (for my corn ive never done anything for humidity.. shes been fine.. i guess its because its already humid enough here in florida)

and thats about it!

Thank you so much!

[KMG]

Basicall you need ambient temps near 80, a hot spot of 90-94(I dont like going higher), and humidity of 40-60% with a boost to 70% during shed.

Tank= Either can work, if you get the 30 it will last you longer but you will need to help make your bp feel secure. I would make sure to give it at least two hides, one cool side and one hot side. Then give it some fake plants and other cover to help it feel secure in the larger tank. The number one thing is make your snake feel secure. Being able to move in cover from hide to hide will help keep its stress down.

Tubs are cheaper so upgrading to a bigger size doesnt hurt the wallet so much, more on that in a sec.

Heat= That really depends on you and your home. I keep a cold home so on a 40 gal tank I have a 75 watt ceremic heater for the warm side with a UTH, and 60 watt day and night bulbs on the cool side. My heaters are on lamp stands which gives me the ability to move them and change the stand off there by changing the temps in the cage. Closer=hotter, farther= cooler. This will need some testing on your part. Be very careful and keep a close eye on the tank until you are sure the temps are good. You may decide to use a Under Tank Heater(UTH) as well, if you do make sure to use it with a thermostat(tstat). You will also need some thermometers for the tank, most here use digital because the wall mounts suck for the most part. Also the wall mounts do not give you the ground temp only the ambient. I prefer using a IR temp gun to get accurate surface temps.

If you are keeping the snake in a heated room than a UTH with tstat will do fine for a hotspot. Instead of mounting the UTH to the bottom of the tank place foil on the sticky part so you can use it on other tanks later and clean the tank easier when its time.

Humidity= It will prob be fine for you. Adding some moss to each hide and misting it every few days works for me. Also covering the screen lid with foil tape helps keep heat and humidity in, just remeber to leave enought open area your lights, if used.

TUBS:
You may want to look into using a tub. They are much cheaper and easier to keep. They also have a much smaller foot print to save on space.

Check out this thread on that

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...with-pictures)

Unless you are like me and prefer the naturalistic look the tubs are alot easier, tanks can be alot of work.

[PorcelainxDoll]

I think Kmg pretty much summed it all up!

[Kaorte]

1. Whether i should get 20 long or 30ft? 2. Is aspen the best substrate? 3. Heating?? (Lamp or heating pad) 4. and how to control the humidity for them? (for my corn ive never done anything for humidity.. shes been fine.. i guess its because its already humid enough here in florida)

1.I would go with the 20L to start. You might find later that you don't really like all the maintenance that comes with the tank and you might decide to go with a PVC enclosure or a tub when you need to upgrade. Or maybe you want to go with the PVC enclosure right off the bat! Animalplastics.com is a favorite.

2. There is no "best" substrate. Aspen works well but I prefer paper towels. It really comes down to personal preference. You can use paper towels, newspaper, craft paper, aspen, cypress mulch, sani chips. They all work. If you are already using aspen for your corn snake, then aspen will do just fine

3. Heating depends on what your house is like. If you like to keep the house super cold (below 75* normally) then you might want to use a lamp and a UTH. If your house is normal 75* and above, you could get away with just the UTH (under tank heater). Regardless of what heating source you use, you must have something to control it with. For a UTH, you will need a thermostat. For a lamp, you can get away with using a rheostat. You can buy they for like $10 at home depot or lowes. Good thermometers go hand in hand with thermostats and rheostats. Make sure you get some good digital thermometers so you know exactly what the temps are. You don't want to play the guessing game here.

4. Humidity in tubs and PVC enclosures is a piece of cake. Where people start to have problems maintaining 50%-70% humidity is in glass tanks with a screen top. A lamp is going to reduce your humidity considerably. If you are in Florida, you might not have as many humidity issues as those of us in the northern states.

[Scktrick]

wow thank you so much for all the help! I didn't expect so much information!

You guys answered everything question I had! I'm about to buy everything and pick the bp up!!

thanks again

[Kaorte]

wow thank you so much for all the help! I didn't expect so much information!

You guys answered everything question I had! I'm about to buy everything and pick the bp up!!

thanks again

No Problem

Oh yeah, to BP.net!!

[Scktrick]

Actually one more question! Sorry! haha..

I'm going to keep her in the garage where it's like 80*-85* during the day and about 75*-80* at night...

Would I only need UTH? Or a lamp also? for day and night