Saving up for bp

[bryndolyn]

I would suggest, if at all possible, going with a herpstat thermostat. If you look around, that is what everyone recommends and they seem to do so for good reason. That is what I'm going to be purchasing. They are pricey, but they are a good product. That will be around $100-$125.

Thermostat and thermometer/hygrometer are two (three actually) separate things.

Thermostat - controls and tells your heat source when to turn on. You actually plug your heat source (UTH) in to this device and when the thermometer probe attached to this device gets to your set temperature, it will turn the heater on.

Thermometer/Hygrometer - this just measures temperature and humidity... This is mainly just to show you what the room (ambient) temperature inside the cage is, and what the humidity inside the cage is. You can find them at Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, etc... something like this will work just fine: http://www.walmart.com/ip/INSTEN-Whi...Meter/42555963 I have two of them in my cage, one on the warm side, and one on the cool side, as I like to know the temps all the time, on both sides. They will run you $5-$10 each, but are well worth it.

Ok, I was totally mixing up words, but that does clear things up!
As for the actual enclosure, I probably will be buying it as one of the last things on my list because I don't have anywhere to put it as of now and I also don't know what I want at the moment. I am interested in the Animal Plastic options, though. Since you are planning on buying from them, I was wondering what of the add-on options you would recommend, and also if you have any knowledge of ap versus pvc.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

You can buy as big of an enclosure as you want, there's no such thing as too big.

Wrong number one newbie mistake who are experiencing issues with their first BP is in 90% of cases, an enclosure that is too big. Housing an hatchling in a 30 gallons tank is the worse advice for a new owner.

Now OP

First you need to know whether you want to get an hatchling or and adult this will help with your supply list.

You are looking for an enclosure that is anywhere from a 6 quarts plastic tub slowly upgrading to 12 quarts or 15 quarts before housing your animal in his permanent enclosure tank, tub or cage which will not need to be larger than 36 x 16 as far as foot print goes, anything larger will not be better and will become harder to maintain and BP are not forgiven when it comes to husbandry. You can also start an hatchling with a 10 gallons tank but it will be a more expensive option as you will transition.

For a stand alone enclosure you will need a UTH or Heat tape, the best UTH can be found here http://www.reptilebasics.com/ it will also be a great place to get a RELIABLE thermostat and hides as well as water dishes and thermometers, yes there are cheap thermostats but remember thermostat are the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT piece of equipment of your husbandry supply, cheap ones will fluctuate and will likely fail within a few years and many a known to fail wild open (this means burn and fire hazard)

For permanent housing if you are looking into cages Animal Plastics has great cages http://www.apcages.com/home/ , glass enclosure can work they how however harder to maintain and clean if you go that route a 30 gallons breeder is more than enough.

As for where getting your animal from I would recommend getting an animal from a breeder, rescues can be problematic and not the best first experience.

[bks2100]

Wrong number one newbie mistake experiencing issues with their first BP is in 90% of cases too big of an enclosure. Housing an hatchling in a 30 gallons tank is the worse advice for a new owner.

If you have enough hides and clutter to make them feel safe then it doesn't matter.

[bryndolyn]

Wrong number one newbie mistake experiencing issues with their first BP is in 90% of cases too big of an enclosure. Housing an hatchling in a 30 gallons tank is the worse advice for a new owner.

Now OP

First you need to know whether you want to get an hatchling or and adult this will help with your supply list.

You are looking for an enclosure that is anywhere from a 6 quarts plastic tub slowly upgrading to 12 quarts or 15 quarts before housing your animal in his permanent enclosure tank, tub or cage which will not need to be larger than 36 x 16 as far as foot print goes, anything larger will not be better and will become harder to maintain and BP are not forgiven when it comes to husbandry. You can also start an hatchling with a 10 gallons tank but it will be a more expensive option as you will transition.

For a stand alone enclosure you will need a UTH or Heat tape, the best UTH can be found here http://www.reptilebasics.com/ it will also be a great place to get a RELIABLE thermostat and hides as well as water dishes and thermometers, yes there are cheap thermostats but remember thermostat are the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT piece of equipment of your husbandry supply, cheap ones will fluctuate and will likely fail within a few years and many a known to fail wild open (this means burn and fire hazard)

For permanent housing if you are looking into cages Animal Plastics has great cages http://www.apcages.com/home/ , glass enclosure can work they how however harder to maintain and clean if you go that route a 30 gallons breeder is more than enough.

As for where getting your animal from I would recommend getting an animal from a breeder, rescues can be problematic and not the best first experience.

Thank you for your response!
I'm getting a lot of mixed messages about what is and isn't ok for sizing. Would the option to buy one tank at final size and then put a divider in as the snake grows be a reasonable option beyond just filling the tank with less objects to hide in as the snake gets larger?
It seems that in my state it's hard to find any rescues that have balls, so I probably will go with a breeder. As a first time owner, it does seem like a safer choice. What kind of differences would I expect to find between a snake bought from a breeder and one from a rescue?
Thank you for the links as well! I am hearing a lot of great things about animal plastics, so that will probably be where I end up turning to.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

If you have enough hides and clutter to make them feel safe then it doesn't matter.

Wrong and we will agree to disagree based on the number number of people I have been troubleshooting over the last decade.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Thank you for your response!
I'm getting a lot of mixed messages about what is and isn't ok for sizing. Would the option to buy one tank at final size and then put a divider in as the snake grows be a reasonable option beyond just filling the tank with less objects to hide in as the snake gets larger?
It seems that in my state it's hard to find any rescues that have balls, so I probably will go with a breeder. As a first time owner, it does seem like a safer choice. What kind of differences would I expect to find between a snake bought from a breeder and one from a rescue?
Thank you for the links as well! I am hearing a lot of great things about animal plastics, so that will probably be where I end up turning to.

Dividers do work it's harder for tanks because they are not really meant to have something to divide them and that will stay in place even if the BP pushes against it. PVC cages like the one I mentioned do have divider options.

The problem with rescue is that they can cost you a lot more than the rescuing fee not all are healthy and some ailment may be undetected at the time you rescue the animal (this really depends on the rescue you are dealing with). Same thing when you rescue a snake from a private party the animal may or may not be in good condition, This means your rescue could cost you a lot more in vet fees. Not knowing the history also sometime make the tradition harder and more frustrating. I am not against rescue but I think that anyone looking into their first experience should start of with a good one.

If you buy from a REPUTABLE breeder you will get a healthy animal that is well started and you will also buy more than just an animal you will get customer service and support should you have issues.

[LittleTreeGuy]

Alluding to what Deborah also mentioned, I believe the T8 enclosure from Animal Plastics does offer a divider as an option. From my research, people who have them say they sort of "snap" into place and stay where you put them. Also, as there is not a defined spot for the divider, you can essentially create as small of a space as you want, and then move the divider as the snake grows.

Something else to think about... if you don't have space for the tank now, will you have space for it later? The longer you have the enclosure and the more time you can try/test the heating and humidity, the better off and less stress you'll have later. I did NOT take this approach, and I regret it.

Just my opinion...

[bryndolyn]

Alluding to what Deborah also mentioned, I believe the T8 enclosure from Animal Plastics does offer a divider as an option. From my research, people who have them say they sort of "snap" into place and stay where you put them. Also, as there is not a defined spot for the divider, you can essentially create as small of a space as you want, and then move the divider as the snake grows.

Something else to think about... if you don't have space for the tank now, will you have space for it later? The longer you have the enclosure and the more time you can try/test the heating and humidity, the better off and less stress you'll have later. I did NOT take this approach, and I regret it.

Just my opinion...

I totally understand what you are saying and this is definitely important!
I live in a tiny dorm right now, but am moving into a duplex thing this coming June. I'll be waiting until then to get the more permanent stuff for the tank, like the tank itself.