Really need advice on a plastic tub setup! First time for me.

[Blizzard]

Hey! Hope everyone is having a good day.
I am about 88% sure I will be purchasing a baby lesser 66% het pied from a Breeder, but currently do not have quite enough to splurge on a tank right now and will wait until the future for that, perhaps when he gets a little bigger. I tend to enjoy tanks because I like to watch my snakes doing their weird stuff.
Ahem, anyways, I will be going with a tub setup for this little guy. Problem is, I’ve never done a tub setup before and would really like to make this snake’s home ideal but I also don’t have a super high budget, so I would really appreciate some advice on: what is the perfect tub setup for a baby ball python? Possibly cheap? What is everything I need?

I am also worried about temps, it’s easy for me to gradient a 20 gal tank, but how do you do that in such a small area like a tub? Any advice on that or really, is there anything else I should know about keeping a BP in a tub?

Thank you you all so much, I really appreciate the people on here willing to give their time to help others with their questions, you have helped me with many of them myself!

[BallPythonWannaBe]

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...e-Basics-*DUW*
One of the best simple tub setups I've found so far

And in a proper sized tub with the mat covering 1/3 to 1/2 of the tub the snake should be able to regulate its temps

Please correct me if I am wrong!

[tttaylorrr]

for tubs, the biggest issue will be heating and controlling ambient temps. you have limited options for heating a plastic tub: heating the entire room, heat tape + 'stat (better for smaller tubs), or CHE (not recommended by Deborah but several users including myself use them with tubs). this is where it gets tricky and you'll need to make the decision based on your own environment, but we'll help!!!

another thing with tubs: ventilation. using either a drill bit or soldering iron (i recommend soldering iron in a well-ventilated area) you'll need to make holes along the sides of the tub. you might need to add more holes later if your temps are incorrect, but remember you can't take away any holes you make. (protip: do not place holes lower than 1" from the bottom of the tub, as substrate and water will come out).

also, security: you'll need to make sure the tub is secure so the snake cannot escape. look into a well-secured tub or purchase luggage straps.

UTH works like with any other set-up. i won't go into this.

[SDA]

How warm you keep your room is going to dictate how you are going to have to heat the tub. If your room gets down into the upper 60s in winter, your tub's ambient is going to get too far below a safe range. The under tank heater is not really going to do anything for the ambient temps in the tub. Can you use a CHE or heat lamp? Yes. Should you? No. The problem being is the tub has a plastic lid and over head heat emitters can get hot enough to soften or warp a plastic lid. Not recommended to do as it does present a hazard. Others use them but personally I can't recommend it.

Some creative solutions have been to get a second heat mat and thermostat and use that as a makeshift radiant heat panel. The only issue is you would need that outside the lid which creates wiring challenges as you need to have the heat pad wire and probe attached to the lid which you open to clean and feed the snake. Some however put a heat mat insead on the side of the tub which might work depending on the size of the tub.

If you room stays around 75+ degrees year round, you don't have much to worry about.

Just remember this one hard and fast rule... under no circumstance for whatever reason should you ever place any tape or sticky pad/velcro/dial inside a snake's enclosure. If something need to be permanent, you glue it down, never tape it.

[Ashleigh91]

How warm you keep your room is going to dictate how you are going to have to heat the tub. If your room gets down into the upper 60s in winter, your tub's ambient is going to get too far below a safe range. The under tank heater is not really going to do anything for the ambient temps in the tub. Can you use a CHE or heat lamp? Yes. Should you? No. The problem being is the tub has a plastic lid and over head heat emitters can get hot enough to soften or warp a plastic lid. Not recommended to do as it does present a hazard. Others use them but personally I can't recommend it.

Some creative solutions have been to get a second heat mat and thermostat and use that as a makeshift radiant heat panel. The only issue is you would need that outside the lid which creates wiring challenges as you need to have the heat pad wire and probe attached to the lid which you open to clean and feed the snake. Some however put a heat mat insead on the side of the tub which might work depending on the size of the tub.

If you room stays around 75+ degrees year round, you don't have much to worry about.

Just remember this one hard and fast rule... under no circumstance for whatever reason should you ever place any tape or sticky pad/velcro/dial inside a snake's enclosure. If something need to be permanent, you glue it down, never tape it.

So I've seen this stated here a time or two, that if ambient is 75 or higher you can just use a heat mat (on thermostat obviously).

My apartment is a steady 74-75. I'm one of the ones running a CHE for my heat because I worry about the ambient. If I ditch it and just do a heat mat set to 90, he's going to be okay with the ambient 75?

Confuses me since all the care sheets say 80F and I'm paranoid about him being too cold and getting sick lol. I hate fighting with the humidity, just playing with ideas. Could always do the heat mat at 90 and the che on a dimmer for cool side but then there's still the humidity issues -sigh-

Not trying to thread jack, just extrapolate and get some more info since the question is already being asked here lol.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk