Quote Originally Posted by bryndolyn View Post
This is very helpful, especially with the pricing! I was looking up prices on things that I would need before and I was barely scraping above 300 dollars total for an enclosure and it just didn't seem like I was spending enough. I'll try to find stuff that fits within that price range, and I totally agree I would rather by the nice stuff right up front. Probably save me money in the long run anyhow.

I do have a few more questions if you are willing to answer them! No pressure!

As far as enclosures vs how big my snake gets. How many enclosure should I expect to purchase as my snake grows if I start with a baby? Could I possibly buy only one and modify the size of the enclosure as it grows by making like a wall of sorts with something like cardboard?

For heating, I have read many places that I could use things like an electric blanket. This doesn't seem very easy to regulate, though. Do you have any recommendations for types of heaters that I could use? There are so many options and a lot of them seem kind of complicated, but I could probably figure them out with youtube tutorials or the instructions.

As far as humidifiers go, would you recommend buying some sort of machine to keep it humid for me? Or would it be easy enough to manually keep the enclosure humid?

You also mentioned a radiant heat panel, what exactly does that do?

Lastly, how often should I be handling my snake? I'm seeing some people say no more than twice a week, but that seems a lot less than what I would have expected and from what I have heard from a friend who has owned one before. Taking what that friend told me into account, said friend ended up with a dead snake within the first 6 months, and I would surely like to avoid that!

Sorry if this is an overwhelming amount to ask! I really want to be prepared for owning one...
You can buy as big of an enclosure as you want, there's no such thing as too big. BUT there's such a thing as too open. Make sure it has appropriately sized hides and enough of them so they can choose what temps to be in. If you're only planning on one snake I'd say buy the one you want for it's whole life and just change the hides as it grows. You can use cheap bowls/litterpans/flowerpots so it's not too expensive.

If you're in the US amazon has the best prices on UTH I've seen, I'd use that or just buy heat tape. I think a heat pad for a 40 gallon tank is like 17 bucks on amazon. At that point I'd rather just use something more intended for reptiles than using a heat blanket. All you do is buy a thermostat, set the probe, plug the UTH or heat tape into the thermostat, then set the temperature. They're not complicated at all.

If you have a pvc enclosure or tub I wouldn't really worry about humidity as much. If it's just a little too low then get a bigger water dish. If it's way too low move the dish closer to the hot side. If it's too humid then add ventilation (just holes). If you have a glass tank though you'll have to cover most of the top. In FL I have a lot of humidity but when the room is 50% humidity and upper 70's it seems to always stay dry in the glass tank because of the heater.

Radiant heat panel I'd describe as a small space heater. Usually ceramic and raises ambient temps of the enclosure.

I don't have a plan with how much to handle my snakes. I pull them out maybe once a week to hold for a few minutes. I more just want them to get used to my scent than anything else. It's something you have to kind of feel out really. I have 4 snakes and I don't really have the time to take each snake out for 10-20 minutes each multiple times during the week. Not to mention the day of feeding and the 2 days after I don't mess with them at all. So that only leaves 4 days in the week and even less if I feed every 5 or 6. I care about my snakes and I want them to be happy and healthy, but they're snakes, I don't really bond with them the same way that I would my dog or if I had a cat.