New to the community and BP

[Doglegged]

im gonna try and keep this as short as possible but i just want some feedback on my research that i have done. ive always had a curiosity and fascination for snakes growing up but never had the opportunity to own one myself until now. In my research that i have done i have learned alot in the past week. I have a few questions that i hope can get answered. i just joined this community a few days ago and done alot of research within the forum here and answered alot of my own questions, but i still have a few that i want to ask just to double check myself. My questions are mainly on the subject of heating my tub my snake will be in. Can i put aluminum tape down and put heating tape on top of it? and i ask that question because my tub will be sitting in a wooden rack and heat and wood dont mix well together. i have some welding skills and im planning on building a metal rack at some point when i get the materials. Also when it comes to thermostats for controlling my temp. on the heat tape what do you guys suggest? i wanna buy something that is gonna be very reliable and not take a dump on me and hurt my BP or my home. My final question would be is, when it comes to keeping a steady ambient temp. what do you guys suggest that i do to keep it in the sweet spot? i keep my home at around 68F year round. Will the heat tape put off enough heat to keep it stable? also one last question i live in the Nashville TN. area and i was wondering if anyone on here knows a breeder within that area or anywere in TN.? or can i be directed some were in this forum to ask that question? Anyway thanks for taking the time to read this and any info will be greatly appreciated.

[cron14]

Welcome! I wish I had found this site before I bought my BP because it offers a lot more accurate information then you'll find in a general search. Anyway, when you talk about using aluminum tape down are you saying inside your tub? If thats the case, tape NEVER goes inside your snakes enclosure. You should be ok putting your tub on the wood but someone with more experience willl be able to speak to that a little better than I can. As for ambient temps, heating tape doesn't do much for that. Its really only used to create a hot spot on one side. I'm not nearly as experienced as most of the people on here but everyones usually quick to respond. Sorry I couldn't answer everything but wanted to pass on what I know.

[Reinz]

Welcome to the forum Doglegged.

Sorry, I'm not a tub person, so someone else will have to help you there.

Glad you joined

[Doglegged]

Thanks for the info, and I did read about not putting tape inside the tub, what I meant was could I put aluminum tape down on the wood and then my heat tape on top of the aluminum tape then my tub on top of the heat tape?. Sorry about that I should have been a little more specific with my question lol. But yea man thanks for the info like I said any little bit helps and thanks for having me here I can't wait to get my first BP. I hear it's an addiction once you buy one you will want more,kinda like tattoos?

[cron14]

Thanks for the info, and I did read about not putting tape inside the tub, what I meant was could I put aluminum tape down on the wood and then my heat tape on top of the aluminum tape then my tub on top of the heat tape?. Sorry about that I should have been a little more specific with my question lol. But yea man thanks for the info like I said any little bit helps and thanks for having me here I can't wait to get my first BP. I hear it's an addiction once you buy one you will want more,kinda like tattoos?

As someone with tattoos, I can 100% say its exactly the same thing lol. I only have one BP right now but plan on getting a Jungle Carpet Python by the end of the year. My BP is awesome. Never has tried to bite me and is totally docile. I honestly think you should be fine putting the heat tape on the wood itself. With a tub you don't really need to put the heat tape on a high setting to get the heat through as you would a glass enclosure so you should be ok. I would tape the heat tape to the bottom of the tub with your prop in between the heat tape and tub. I only used a tub for a little while as I have a PVC enclosure from animal plastics on its way. A lot of people on here use tubs so they'll definitely be more helpful than me.

[LittleTreeGuy]

If you're starting with a plastic tub, you can just use the foil/aluminum tape and tape your flexwatt or heattape to the bottom of the tub. If you're going to sit it on a wood table, it may be a good idea to get a few small pieces of wood and use them as "feet" for the tub. It won't burn the wood below it, but if you can allow a small space between the heat tape and whatever the tub is sitting on, you're better off. You don't NEED a lot of space... a 1/4" or so is plenty.

[Doglegged]

I to have tattoos myself cron and I know that feeling of wanting more lol. thank you guys for your help I'm gonna continue some more research on this fourm. I haven't really decided on a certain morph or paint job or whatever you call it. (snake lingo that I hope to learn and use the right way) but there are tons of them and they are all beautiful.

[chrid16371]

As for your house temps being 68 you may have to put another heat source on the cool side and regulate that with a thermostat also. Get a quality thermostat like a herpstat, helix, ve. You will have to buy 2 thermostats or 1 that's capable of controlling 2 different heat sources. Unless you want to run the whole cage at 1 temp then you could cover the bottom of the tub with flexwatt and then the whole cage will run at whatever you set the thermostat to.