Setup?

[gameonpython]

I am now going to ask for opinions on my tank for Marshall.

Cage: zoo med 10 gal terrarium

Heat: heat pad( picking up rheostat today or thermostat if I can find one.)
Stays at 90f in hotspot, 72-75f cool side, about 2-3 degree drop at night.

Humidity: always stays around 50-60.

Substrate: paper towel

Hide: 3 in 1 cave/water dish/basking spot

Water: same as above

Food: f/t fuzzy mouse, will be moving up to hoppers.


Please share your opinions in a kind respectful way.


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[mohawk]

Ok, a few things .............
How are you measuring your temps, and humidity ?
Your cool side, or ambient temp is too cool. Ideally, you want it around 80f. 72 is
too cool, and dropping a few degrees at night puts you at 69. I would suggest some type of heat lamp.
I use ceramic heat bulbs for my enclosures, because I live in a cold climate.
You also want to have a hide on each side of the tank, this allows your snake to thermo-regulate
and feel secure at both sides of his tank.

[yellowbelly76]

I am now going to ask for opinions on my tank for Marshall.

Cage: zoo med 10 gal terrarium

Heat: heat pad( picking up rheostat today or thermostat if I can find one.)
Stays at 90f in hotspot, 72-75f cool side, about 2-3 degree drop at night.

Humidity: always stays around 50-60.

Substrate: paper towel

Hide: 3 in 1 cave/water dish/basking spot

Water: same as above

Food: f/t fuzzy mouse, will be moving up to hoppers.


Please share your opinions in a kind respectful way.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Ok...your 10 gal is fine for now, as he is young. However, you will eventually need to upgrade to something larger. I know from your other posts that you are in Canada, and do not have Petco. However, I caught petco running a $1 per gallon sale on tanks, and picked up a 40 gal. I think he will be plenty happy in there permanently, but eventually I would like to get a T8 from Animal Plastics, which will allow for a second BP.

Heating: The UTH (heatpad) is good, but you definitely want something to control it. As you have heard, a thermostat is your best option, and can find a reasonably priced one on Amazon. As a last resort, use the rheostat, but you will still have variations. The cool side sounds too cool...you should probable have it at about 80-82F. Add a heat lamp with a low wattage red bulb to boot the temp on that side.

Hide: I don't know how big your hide is, but I like the idea of a 3-in-1. However, you want to provide Marshall with a hide on both the warm side, and cool side.

Humidity: Looks pretty good, but you'll want to boost that a little when he goes into shed to make it easier to get his skin off.

Substrate: No issue there...I use cypress mulch, but plenty of people use paper towels.

Food: Fuzzy mice are probably too small. When I got mine, he was on live hoppers. I quickly switched him to f/t rat pinkies. Rats provide an overall better meal for your BP, so if you can get rats (order frozen ones online if you can), that would be a better option. If not, move up to hoppers at a minimum. You should be looking for a meal that is around 15%, by weight, of the weight of your BP. That ensures that you snake gets a properly sized meal, and grows the way he should.

[gameonpython]

Ok, a few things .............
How are you measuring your temps, and humidity ?
Your cool side, or ambient temp is too cool. Ideally, you want it around 80f. 72 is
too cool, and dropping a few degrees at night puts you at 69. I would suggest some type of heat lamp.
I use ceramic heat bulbs for my enclosures, because I live in a cold climate.
You also want to have a hide on each side of the tank, this allows your snake to thermo-regulate
and feel secure at both sides of his tank.

Ok...your 10 gal is fine for now, as he is young. However, you will eventually need to upgrade to something larger. I know from your other posts that you are in Canada, and do not have Petco. However, I caught petco running a $1 per gallon sale on tanks, and picked up a 40 gal. I think he will be plenty happy in there permanently, but eventually I would like to get a T8 from Animal Plastics, which will allow for a second BP.

Heating: The UTH (heatpad) is good, but you definitely want something to control it. As you have heard, a thermostat is your best option, and can find a reasonably priced one on Amazon. As a last resort, use the rheostat, but you will still have variations. The cool side sounds too cool...you should probable have it at about 80-82F. Add a heat lamp with a low wattage red bulb to boot the temp on that side.

Hide: I don't know how big your hide is, but I like the idea of a 3-in-1. However, you want to provide Marshall with a hide on both the warm side, and cool side.

Humidity: Looks pretty good, but you'll want to boost that a little when he goes into shed to make it easier to get his skin off.

Substrate: No issue there...I use cypress mulch, but plenty of people use paper towels.

Food: Fuzzy mice are probably too small. When I got mine, he was on live hoppers. I quickly switched him to f/t rat pinkies. Rats provide an overall better meal for your BP, so if you can get rats (order frozen ones online if you can), that would be a better option. If not, move up to hoppers at a minimum. You should be looking for a meal that is around 15%, by weight, of the weight of your BP. That ensures that you snake gets a properly sized meal, and grows the way he should.

Thank you both for you responses

I am measuring my temps with an analog thermometer combined with hydrometer. I know that these get a bad rep, but mine is honestly more accurate than the digital one I got. The hydrometer is way off, so I have to calculate a few things to find the humidity.

Isn't the cool side supposed to be cool? Of course I understand it can't be ridiculously low, but 70-72 is actually fairly hot I would think.

I will definitely upgrade as he grows. I was thinking the exo terra 36" long 18" deep and 12" high would be a good fit.

I will boost the humidity when he sheds, about 70%?

Thanks both of you for bringing up that he needs a cool hide as well. I will definitely add something.

Yes I am aware the food is too small, that's what he was eating at the petstore so I didn't want to stress him by giving him something bigger as this will be his first meal with me. I am going to move him up to a bigger size though.

Again thanks for your replies! Very helpful!




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[PitOnTheProwl]

All your answers have already been posted HERE

[yellowbelly76]

Thank you both for you responses

I am measuring my temps with an analog thermometer combined with hydrometer. I know that these get a bad rep, but mine is honestly more accurate than the digital one I got. The hydrometer is way off, so I have to calculate a few things to find the humidity.

Isn't the cool side supposed to be cool? Of course I understand it can't be ridiculously low, but 70-72 is actually fairly hot I would think.

I will definitely upgrade as he grows. I was thinking the exo terra 36" long 18" deep and 12" high would be a good fit.

I will boost the humidity when he sheds, about 70%?

Thanks both of you for bringing up that he needs a cool hide as well. I will definitely add something.

Yes I am aware the food is too small, that's what he was eating at the petstore so I didn't want to stress him by giving him something bigger as this will be his first meal with me. I am going to move him up to a bigger size though.

Again thanks for your replies! Very helpful!




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Try one of these digital thermometers (I bought 2, and love them): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Regarding the temp, you may think that 70-72f is too warm, but keep in mind that these things are originally found in Africa. That's why the cool side should be 80-82F with a hot spot of about 90-92F.

70% humidity during shed, I BELIEVE, will be just fine. Don't want it too high, but higher than the normal 60%.

He will be more stressed by not having the husbandry perfect than by giving him a larger prey item for your first feeding. If the husbandry isn't right, it is normal for a BP to turn down a feeding. So, if he does not take his first meal from you, that will be one of the first things people will suggest you check...with ABSOLUTE accuracy. Here are a couple of things I suggest you get:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/Nubee%C2%AE-Te...emperature+gun
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Those are all great things to have to ensure that your husbandry is perfect for Marshall. Then, if needed, you can order larger frozen prey through the web.

Originally suggested Rodent Pro, but they do not ship to Canada.

[DVirginiana]

I am measuring my temps with an analog thermometer combined with hydrometer. I know that these get a bad rep, but mine is honestly more accurate than the digital one I got. The hydrometer is way off, so I have to calculate a few things to find the humidity.

What are you 'calculating' to find the humidity?

Isn't the cool side supposed to be cool? Of course I understand it can't be ridiculously low, but 70-72 is actually fairly hot I would think.

It's supposed to be comparatively cool. 80 is comparatively cool to 90.
On the offchance that this is something you'd try, you could get an oil-filled space heater for the room. You said you have WTFs, so that would boost their ambient temp too (as per the care article on frogforum.net, WTFs prefer an 80-85 day temp, so the ambient temps would overlap).

I could be wrong, but I believe the questions about your thermometer and ambient temp have already been answered multiple times... In the most polite way possible, you're going to keep your animals the way you decide to, but you'll save yourself a lot of drama by not continually asking if a practice that was incorrect yesterday is somehow correct today.

[Sonny1318]

Really, who ever it is sucked you in two if not three times already. Their name might say a lot, Gameonpython? But most of you are so eager to pass your "knowledge" on, you just keep running head on into it. Says a lot about some of you. So I really don't blame the person if they are gaming you.

[DVirginiana]

If this person really is a stubborn teenager from somewhere in Canada, then they have reasonable advice. If not, I've got my daily dose of drama without even having to talk to another person (On that topic, who picks a python forum to troll? If you really want to rile people up, go comment on a major news site).

[gameonpython]

Really, who ever it is sucked you in two if not three times already. Their name might say a lot, Gameonpython? But most of you are so eager to pass your "knowledge" on, you just keep running head on into it. Says a lot about some of you. So I really don't blame the person if they are gaming you.

If you actually read my posts, you will see that I really haven't caused drama or been rude to anyone, and that others just get so upset that they end up causing drama for themselves over MY problems.

My name is gameonpython because it rhymes. I like rhymes. If I would've gotten Marshall before I joined, it would have been Marshall_arts.


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