Switching from Aquarium to Tub Advice?

[courtneyrae427]

Hey everyone,

after reading a tremendous amount of responses on people being against aquariums, and personally having to fight with the humidity and heat, I am making the decision to switch to a tub.

I just have a few questions.

My humidity is low, very very low, in my room. It stays at about 15%. would the water dish in the tub provide enough humidity? or is there another alternative I can do?

I was using a towel to cut off some of the ventilation in the aquarium, but it rarely kept it where I needed, and a damp towel is just a breeding ground for trouble. I'm really trying to get away from that. The problem with my room is it also falls cold at night, about 67 degrees at night. I plan on using an UTH, but I know that doesnt help with ambient heat. Is it possible for me to clip a heat lamp on the stand, and aim it at the plastic tub to get the heat generating (far enough away not to burn the plastic)?

Also, should I get a solid colored tub, or a translucent tub?

Should I not attach the UTH to the bottom of the tub? I plan on using paper towels or mulch as substrate. Is there any advice from anyone on which to use?

Also, can you find thermostats at walmart or target or any stores like that?

I've heard to start with about 5 holes per side for the tub to start with, and monitor its settings. What size tub would be appropriate for a snake thats about a foot and some change long (its young, still eating fuzzies)

Thanks for all of the input guys, this is something I just want one of, but I want to provide the comfort for the animal.

I just wonder if they can be happy in a tub like this, or if they would be happier in the aquarium and to just put forth the effort into making it substantial, if he would be happier in it.

I feel like it seems like a crappy way to live, but then again, I've only lived with 4-legged friends until Bane.

Thank you for the advice in advance!

[NormanSnake]

I'm not sure about the lamp thing, and this is off topic, but I'd bet your snake is big enough to eat larger prey. Most hatchlings start out on mouse hoppers straight out of the egg. You want it to be 10-15% of its body weight. I have an October hatchling that's already on medium adult mice. Around 18 grams each.

They can be happy in a tub, possibly even much happier. I have found that with just an UTH my ambients in my tub stay at a good level. You shouldn't need a lamp, depending on the room temperature. Usually the water bowl will provide enough humidity for your snake, and if it gets too low, you can try moving it to the warm side. If that doesn't work, I put a tupperware full of wet sphagnum moss in there on the warm side, leaving about an inch of water in the bottom of the tupperware with no lid on.

Walmart and target don't sell proper thermostats but you can get this one on amazon pretty cheap. http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...arm+thermostat

you can get any color of tub you want, but most of us use clear tubs.

[sorraia]

I'm still fairly new to the whole tub thing... but so far this is my experience in relation to your questions...

Using tubs for 6 ball pythons, and I've had no trouble keeping humidity up. Just a water dish, no misting or anything else. I have had to open far more than 5 holes on each side to keep humidity from being too high though ("too high" means in excess of 80% all the time, when a snake is shedding I'll close up some of the holes as needed to increase humidity, but need to have quite a few holes to keep humidity from getting too high).

Until I got my rack set up, I did have the heat pad attached directly to the underneath of the tub, with a thermostat. Didn't have any problems with the thermostat heating up and melting the plastic. I also had/have a thermometer probe inside the tub checking the temperature the snake actually comes in contact with. I use this thermometer reading to "calibrate" my thermostat and keep everything where it needs to be. If you can't/won't warm up the whole room (using a space heating) to the appropriate ambient temperature for the snake, then a heat lamp will work. The problem with the heat lamp is it can potentially dry out the air even more (although I guess a space heater has the same potential... so that may be a non-issue comparison). While I was experimenting with getting ambient temperatures correct (before getting my snakes) I did use a heat lamp and was successful at achieving correct temperatures with the heat lamp suspended above the tubs. Suspending it was easier for the arrangement I had, but you could potentially clip it as well. I did not have problems with the plastic melting, but I also did not have the lamp touching the tubs (didn't need to, would have been too hot if it was touching).

Colored or translucent tub is probably a personal preference, but I am using translucent tubs. I prefer being able to see my snakes through the sides, if they happen to be out.

Thermostats, at least ones of any quality, cannot be purchased in walmart or target. I have seen a thermostat in Petco (I *think* Zilla brand), but cannot attest to its quality compared to other brands and models. I purchased my thermostat from Reptile Basics. I was using a Hydrofarm I ordered off Amazon.com before purchasing this one with my heat tape and getting the rack set up.

NormanSnake - OP might mean rat fuzzies, but will have to clarify. Most of my snakes are eating rat fuzzies.

[Aes_Sidhe]

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...e-Basics-*DUW*