Completely Black Tub?

[danielwilu2525]

Hey guys, I love using tubs! I can't get a rack just yet, so sammy's setup is just a 15wt tub with no tub. I'm not liking the shirt covering his tub for making his tub dark/secure. Do any of you know a company that sells completely black tubs?

[KMG]

I don't see the reason. My snakes have been kept in clear tubs with nothing covering them just fine. The snakes do well and I think letting them experience a light cycle is better.

You can give them a hide within the tub for their secure home.

That said they do make tubs that are colored but Ive never seen one that is black. But again I don't like the idea of not giving my snakes any light at all. Id stick to the norm. Its tried and true with no reason to mess with it.

[KMG]

I only have one rack and its the Economy line from Animal Plastics. It is not enclosed like many racks. I didn't need the rack enclosed as the room is heated so I was able to save money by saving materials when I ordered it. I give each snake a hide and none of them have complained.

http://www.apcages.com/home/

[dkatz4]

Would you please post a picture of your set up, I am a big fan of tubs myself but I want to make sure I understand what you are working with before I make any suggestions. My set up is below, big clear tub from bed bath and beyond (115 qt I think), my personal innovation ;-) is arranging it on its side so that I can have front access like Boafile or animal plastics cage.

[KMG]

Would you please post a picture of your set up, I am a big fan of tubs myself but I want to make sure I understand what you are working with before I make any suggestions. My set up is below, big clear tub from bed bath and beyond (115 qt I think), my personal innovation ;-) is arranging it on its side so that I can have front access like Boafile or animal plastics cage.

How do you keep the lid secure?

It appears your tstat probe is laying on the floor of your tub. I caution you it this setup. Having the probe where it can be flooded by water or snake waste, moved under something in the cage, or laid on and covered by the snake is not the best method. If any of these things happen your tstat will think your cage is too cold and ramp up the power when its actually not needed.

The best methods are to hand(dangle) the tstat on a cage wall or a method I created using a cable strap. I have been using cable straps for years and its a simple install. I just use super glue to place the probe in the strap and then glue the strap to the rim of the RHP. Its important to have a stand off where the probe does not touch the RHP and the strap provides that.

[dkatz4]

This particular tub has the hinged latches on either end of the lid, and because I have a line of foam weatherstripping around the edge it closes extremely tightly and securely.
That probe in the middle of the cage is actually one of three thermometers, the thermostat is underneath the temple hide against the UTH (under the paper towels) held in place by the weight of the temple, But I like your cable strap method better, I'm going to have to implement that. I don't have a thermostat directly against the RHP because it is only a 40 W and even at maximum power (it's plugged into a rheostat) it's never been able to get the floor of the tub warmer than 84° And I generally have it at roughly 75% power , but it is also plugged into the thermostat that monitors the UTH, which is also going through a rheostat, but then also into the thermostat for extra safety which is set to 91° – although I've only seen it pop off a couple of times, after much experimentation I've got it dialed in pretty well. It's a little bit jerryrigged, but my tub is in a finished basement where the temperature is remarkably stable all, although as I mentioned I have three thermometers going simultaneously plus a temp gun so I'm sure to monitor everything closely

[dkatz4]

Tub with lid: note the hinged latches on the sides, i think the OP said his tub has no lid (?) . I tried my best to pry the lid off and also to try and open a gap between the lid and tub wide enough for escape, and although i think if i really gorilla'ed it i could probably break the thing, a reasonable amount of force (applied with the mechanical advantage of arms and thumbs i might add) wouldn't budge it. Unfortunately this particular one is not the best for visibility, but its not really in a display area anyway. He's 2 and 1/2 years old so I'm giving him another 6 months or so to grow before measuring for what will hopefully be a nicer forever enclosure. This tub's dimensions are about 30" wide by 15" deep and 14" tall. Irwin is just shy of 4 feet and slender so its cozy but adequate for the time being. When i set it up this past March, he was a full foot shorter, so it was plenty big at the time.

-Also, this is an older picture, i have replaced the garbage little dial thermometer and hydrometer with an Accurite - which actually makes 4 total thermometers in the tub (maybe overkill?)

[KMG]

Tub with lid: note the hinged latches on the sides, i think the OP said his tub has no lid (?) . I tried my best to pry the lid off and also to try and open a gap between the lid and tub wide enough for escape, and although i think if i really gorilla'ed it i could probably break the thing, a reasonable amount of force (applied with the mechanical advantage of arms and thumbs i might add) wouldn't budge it. Unfortunately this particular one is not the best for visibility, but its not really in a display area anyway. He's 2 and 1/2 years old so I'm giving him another 6 months or so to grow before measuring for what will hopefully be a nicer forever enclosure. This tub's dimensions are about 30" wide by 15" deep and 14" tall. Irwin is just shy of 4 feet and slender so its cozy but adequate for the time being. When i set it up this past March, he was a full foot shorter, so it was plenty big at the time.

-Also, this is an older picture, i have replaced the garbage little dial thermometer and hydrometer with an Accurite - which actually makes 4 total thermometers in the tub (maybe overkill?)

That's an interesting idea You have there. Ive seen glass tanks on their side but I don't recall every seeing it with a tub.

After going through many Accurites I stopped buying them and only use my IR temp gun. It is a great tool for a keeper. They are cheap and plenty on Amazon to pick from. Even buying nicer one you will save a lot of money buying a temp gun over the usual thermometers.

[Sallos]

Really useful boxes brand has all black tubs. I have one of these as a backup for my hatchling. Expensive,but very sturdy. I'll use them for storage when he outgrows them.

http://www.officedepot.com/mb/a/prod...Storage-Box-9/

[dkatz4]

That's an interesting idea You have there. Ive seen glass tanks on their side but I don't recall every seeing it with a tub.

After going through many Accurites I stopped buying them and only use my IR temp gun. It is a great tool for a keeper. They are cheap and plenty on Amazon to pick from. Even buying nicer one you will save a lot of money buying a temp gun over the usual thermometers.

Thanks, i've been pretty pleased with it. Its not perfect; since these tubs are designed to nest, the dimensions actually taper towards the back, making it tricky to level, i have the lip hanging off the front of the shelf to get it to sit flat. Also, if you were to use any sort of shredded or granular substrate it would really get everywhere whenever you opened the front. I was going to epoxy some sort of threshold to the front of the floor, a dowel or something, so that i could switch to shredded wood, but i'm pretty happy with paper towels for now.
I actually do have a temp gun, great little item! I forget the model but i opted for the mid-range priced one on amazon that had the most positive reviews, i think it was like $25 or $30 - the Accurite, however, is my little gem for its hydrometer feature. I had major issues with humidity when using the crappy little dials - long story short: it was reading about 30% low, so even thought i had humidity of 60-65%, i though it was arid, and after spraying 10X a day to get a (false) reading of 65% i had condensation pooling all over, it was infuriating! $12 later (and free Prime shipping, thank you very much) i dont even keep a spray bottle anymore, another great attribute of the tub, although the weather stripping along the edge of the lid is key in humidity maintenance.