Help! >o< May I know how to keep the temperature if the snake likes climbing?

[alice40604345]

Thank you so much! Year they're separate but they are all in different glass tanks. I wanted to get tubs for them at the beginning, but there're only glass tanks for sale on reptile expo. I know it seems tubs a much better, but I'm not sure how to make a tub correctly for them by myself so I never changed. I’m not sure how many holes I should drill or is it OK to use heat mat under the plastic tub or will they escape from the sides without clamps so I haven't changed.

[dkatz4]

Yes tubs are better, but glass tanks aren't the end of the world if you set them up right. You can use heat pads under a tub as long as you have a reliable thermostat, and as far as holes are concerned, less is more, i learned that the hard way (see below) and had to add a whole lot of tape, lol. A professionally made reptile enclosure is the best choice, but budget and location may not allow it, Animal Plastics is a brand that lots of members of this site rave about though i don't have one myself. My favorite trick to use what i call "Dave's famous side-tub" (modest, aren't I?) Get an appropriately sized tub, usually a rather large one, and turn it on it's side so that the lid becomes a front access door. Not only do you get the advantages of front access, but with a little ingenuity you can utilize a radiant heat panel from the top. The photo below is an older one, i don't use the analog dials anymore and most holes are taped over, but the engineering is the same. The RHP in the middle sets a comfortable ambient and then on the right under the temple hide there is a heat pad (stuck to the outside of the tub) for a hot spot. Both heating devices are on dimmers and thermostats.
Now for the tricky bits. I was having trouble maintaining humidity, then i used some self adhesive foam weather stripping along the lip of the opening and now its tight as a drum, i have complete control of the humidity by opening or covering vent holes. The RHP is a little more involved. You can't see in the pic, but i have a plank of wood on top of the tub that is as wide as the whole thing (side to side, not front to back). This give the RHP something solid to mount to and also distributes the weight so that the middle of the roof doesn't sag. It was a little involved to build but really not bad, and the only component that cost more than $20 was the RHP. I dont really think of it as permanent, but a very nice place for the snake to grow up in until it ready for a bigger higher quality forever home.
OH! and as far as security, look for a tub with a very tall lip on the cover, it will be very hard to escape from, high quality tubs you will notice have lids that are hard to twist or bend, i have a cheap one that i have to use squeeze clamps in the corner to prevent escapes.
Hope this helps, good luck!

[alice40604345]

WOW!!Your tub looks so perfect!!!Thank you so much for your help!!!!! I'm really touched for your long, detailed and helpful suggestions and experiences!!! May I know what a RHP is? Is it a certain kind of radiant heat panel? Is it the black thing with a red light in the middle up of your tub? Is it different from heat lamp or ceramic heat? May I know where did you get it and do you have its link?
And for the humidity part, sorry I'm still kind of confused about it because of my bad English. Yeah I also feel it's super hard to keep high humidity and warm. I'm kind of confused about "foam weather stripping along the lip of the opening".
Do you mean you put a wet towel or something above the tub and cover some holes? What is the "weather stripping" for and may I know is there any replacement?
And for the security part, May I know that do you have any recommendation of the tub? I went to some super market like walmart and target but unable to find some good quality tub I always warried they may escape from like the upper part or the bottom part where there's no clamp like left part and right part. Thank you so much !!! I asked too many stupid questions... I'm too warried and don't want them sick or something.

Yes tubs are better, but glass tanks aren't the end of the world if you set them up right. You can use heat pads under a tub as long as you have a reliable thermostat, and as far as holes are concerned, less is more, i learned that the hard way (see below) and had to add a whole lot of tape, lol. A professionally made reptile enclosure is the best choice, but budget and location may not allow it, Animal Plastics is a brand that lots of members of this site rave about though i don't have one myself. My favorite trick to use what i call "Dave's famous side-tub" (modest, aren't I?) Get an appropriately sized tub, usually a rather large one, and turn it on it's side so that the lid becomes a front access door. Not only do you get the advantages of front access, but with a little ingenuity you can utilize a radiant heat panel from the top. The photo below is an older one, i don't use the analog dials anymore and most holes are taped over, but the engineering is the same. The RHP in the middle sets a comfortable ambient and then on the right under the temple hide there is a heat pad (stuck to the outside of the tub) for a hot spot. Both heating devices are on dimmers and thermostats.
Now for the tricky bits. I was having trouble maintaining humidity, then i used some self adhesive foam weather stripping along the lip of the opening and now its tight as a drum, i have complete control of the humidity by opening or covering vent holes. The RHP is a little more involved. You can't see in the pic, but i have a plank of wood on top of the tub that is as wide as the whole thing (side to side, not front to back). This give the RHP something solid to mount to and also distributes the weight so that the middle of the roof doesn't sag. It was a little involved to build but really not bad, and the only component that cost more than $20 was the RHP. I dont really think of it as permanent, but a very nice place for the snake to grow up in until it ready for a bigger higher quality forever home.
OH! and as far as security, look for a tub with a very tall lip on the cover, it will be very hard to escape from, high quality tubs you will notice have lids that are hard to twist or bend, i have a cheap one that i have to use squeeze clamps in the corner to prevent escapes.
Hope this helps, good luck!

[Zincubus]

Thank you so much! Year they're separate but they are all in different glass tanks. I wanted to get tubs for them at the beginning, but there're only glass tanks for sale on reptile expo. I know it seems tubs a much better, but I'm not sure how to make a tub correctly for them by myself so I never changed. I’m not sure how many holes I should drill or is it OK to use heat mat under the plastic tub or will they escape from the sides without clamps so I haven't changed.

RubTubs have some positive aspects but they're far from ideal in my humble opinion . I have some stunning looking snakes and they are also fascinating to observe - there is no way I'd want mine in plastic tubs .

You can get the temps / humidity correct in vivs / glass tanks or rubs - just takes a little research and fine tuning .

I know breeders love rubs as they take up far less room so they can fit more in the room plus they see easier to clean..


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[dkatz4]

WOW!!Your tub looks so perfect!!!Thank you so much for your help!!!!! I'm really touched for your long, detailed and helpful suggestions and experiences!!! May I know what a RHP is? Is it a certain kind of radiant heat panel? Is it the black thing with a red light in the middle up of your tub? Is it different from heat lamp or ceramic heat? May I know where did you get it and do you have its link?
And for the humidity part, sorry I'm still kind of confused about it because of my bad English. Yeah I also feel it's super hard to keep high humidity and warm. I'm kind of confused about "foam weather stripping along the lip of the opening".
Do you mean you put a wet towel or something above the tub and cover some holes? What is the "weather stripping" for and may I know is there any replacement?
And for the security part, May I know that do you have any recommendation of the tub? I went to some super market like walmart and target but unable to find some good quality tub I always warried they may escape from like the upper part or the bottom part where there's no clamp like left part and right part. Thank you so much !!! I asked too many stupid questions... I'm too warried and don't want them sick or something.

Sorry i didn't reply sooner, i forgot to follow this thread! OK, the black thing with the light is the RHP (radiant heat panel) there are 2 main companies, Reptile Basics and Pro Products. Generally speaking Pro Products are higher quality, but Reptile basics are more affordable, but both are better than bulbs and heat pads/tape. Mine is a reptile basics and it works great, but i am saving up for a pro-P when i upgrade the viv.
~Foam weather stripping, in the picture where its open you can see white stuff around the opening edge, that is this stuff.
~Escape from the unlocked corners is a very real concern, i have one tub shown below that it happened to twice, i have one of these on each of the corners, its kind of a pain, i will be replacing it soon, but thats the great thing, the tub was only $12 so no big deal! The better tubs with thicker lids are a little more expensive, ($20 ) but very secure. The hard part is that the lids are not clear, so you have to cut a window and add a pane of glass or plexiglass (hard clear plastic) like in the picture below - but notice the clamps . Hope this helps!

[alice40604345]

Thank you soooo much! I just find a tub which looks secure! May I have your opinions about this tub? Thank you so much!!! It's pretty shallow... Sorry I didn't see your suggestions before I buy it, but I was warried if it's high it may be more difficult for me to keep temperature and humidity....do you think I should change it with a deeper one? It's 24''x12''x7''high. May I know should I put the probe of the thermostat of the heat mat inside its hide of the tub or directly with the heat mat itself? Thank you so much for your help!!!

Sorry i didn't reply sooner, i forgot to follow this thread! OK, the black thing with the light is the RHP (radiant heat panel) there are 2 main companies, Reptile Basics and Pro Products. Generally speaking Pro Products are higher quality, but Reptile basics are more affordable, but both are better than bulbs and heat pads/tape. Mine is a reptile basics and it works great, but i am saving up for a pro-P when i upgrade the viv.
~Foam weather stripping, in the picture where its open you can see white stuff around the opening edge, that is this stuff.
~Escape from the unlocked corners is a very real concern, i have one tub shown below that it happened to twice, i have one of these on each of the corners, its kind of a pain, i will be replacing it soon, but thats the great thing, the tub was only $12 so no big deal! The better tubs with thicker lids are a little more expensive, ($20 ) but very secure. The hard part is that the lids are not clear, so you have to cut a window and add a pane of glass or plexiglass (hard clear plastic) like in the picture below - but notice the clamps . Hope this helps!

[dkatz4]

I have that very same tub for my young Burmese python (not for long, lol). Very secure, but you definitely need to make a few ventilation holes because the lid is so tight and has a sealing gasket. For a ball python it should be good for a while, although the height is definitely going to be an issue before long, they don’t really Need to climb too much but the young ones definitely will climb if you give them the opportunity. You’re definitely not going to be able to use a radiant heat panels or any type of overhead heater, so you’ll need a heating mat or tape, in that case you put me thermostat probe between the tape and the tank, that is to say outside of the tank so you were measuring the temperature of the heat pad not the temperature of the floor of the tub. Well before you actually get a snake, start “dialing in” the heat pad, use a Temperature gun to take instant readings of the floor temperature compared to the thermostat’s reading of the heating pad temperature. The heating pad will always have to be hotter than your intended floor temperature. So if you want the floor to be 82°, you may not achieve that until the heating pad is 95 or higher, that is the purpose of the dialing in, to see exactly where the heat pad needs to be to achieve the floor temperature – then you set your thermostat to hold that heating pad temperature and of course use a thermometer to monitor on the inside temp of the tub as well.

[alice40604345]

Thank you so much!! I made 11 holes, do you think that would be enough? I'm so surprised how well the tub keeps the humidity~~~It even slowly grows because of the water bowl!!! I want to move all my snakes in tubs lol!!!!It's really great!!! I should find a place to sell my glass tanks lol!!! Oh and may I know why we should always stick the probe to the heat mat instead of putting it inside their hide? Is that because it's more safe? Thank you so much!

I have that very same tub for my young Burmese python (not for long, lol). Very secure, but you definitely need to make a few ventilation holes because the lid is so tight and has a sealing gasket. For a ball python it should be good for a while, although the height is definitely going to be an issue before long, they don’t really Need to climb too much but the young ones definitely will climb if you give them the opportunity. You’re definitely not going to be able to use a radiant heat panels or any type of overhead heater, so you’ll need a heating mat or tape, in that case you put me thermostat probe between the tape and the tank, that is to say outside of the tank so you were measuring the temperature of the heat pad not the temperature of the floor of the tub. Well before you actually get a snake, start “dialing in” the heat pad, use a Temperature gun to take instant readings of the floor temperature compared to the thermostat’s reading of the heating pad temperature. The heating pad will always have to be hotter than your intended floor temperature. So if you want the floor to be 82°, you may not achieve that until the heating pad is 95 or higher, that is the purpose of the dialing in, to see exactly where the heat pad needs to be to achieve the floor temperature – then you set your thermostat to hold that heating pad temperature and of course use a thermometer to monitor on the inside temp of the tub as well.