Your opinions on enclosures for a single baby BP

[JTC]

Hi! First post here. I did search this before posting, but I am sure I've missed something somewhere. Apologies in advance for that. I'll preface my questions with some background and setup info.

I have a very healthy Petco (I know, I know) BP that I've had for around 3 weeks. It is 110g right now, it has shed cleanly once, and is eating regularly and vigorously every 5 days- doing very well from what I see. It's very calm and easy to handle. I'm really happy with him/her. I've set up my 20g Long according to some of the guides I see here. I have a tstat controlled 12x8 UTH on the warm side which gives me a glass temp of about 93, and the surface of the cocofiber substrate on that side is right at 90-91. Ambient in the tank is 80 or so, and substrate temps on the cool side are around 77. House ambient is about 73. I have a foil wrapped screen lid with a cutout for a central heat lamp, I've done this in an effort to keep humidity under control. I can mist and cover the tank, sending humidity up to 70-75, but it slowly creeps back to the mid-upper 40s over the course of a few hours when it's cold out and the heater in the house runs a lot. I don't mind misting and wetting/stirring the substrate when I am home, but I don't like the swings in humidity when I am gone at work or when I leave for a bit (going out of state for Thanksgiving for 2 days next week).

Clearly my setup isn't going to work long-term here over the winter although it will be fine in the summer I'm sure. Rather than ask about what else I can do to keep humidity up, I'd rather go in a different direction- I want to get an animal plastics enclosure next month, which leads to my questions-

How do you think short term humidity drops to the mid 40s when I'm at work or gone for a day or two will affect my animal? Or, in general, the inconsistent levels?

Is it worth it to go to an AP cage for a baby who will outgrow it? If it's worth it, what size for a baby? From what I see, even their smallest models are on the large size for a BP the size of mine. I've thought about getting a T8 and putting in a temporary divider to give it a smaller space for now. I've also thought about just going to a small clear tub for a while, maybe even for the winter to help maintain constant humidity, or maybe full time until my BP is big enough for a decent sized AP cage- but with my home's ambient, I'd be wrestling with heat as opposed to humidity. A tub certainly would be the least expensive option.

Clearly the 20G Long isn't working out for me, so what do you suggest? Thanks for your time. This place has been invaluable to me so far.

[pbenner]

Clear tubs in the right size(s) until they're big enough for your AP cages. Ambient humidity between 40-50% is good, with more added during shed cycles.

AP Cages are expensive. If you're set with just one snake for now, do the tubs and then buy your cage later. Also, unless you buy Quick Ship stuff, you're probably not going to see your order to at least 90-120 days at this point.

Paul

[pretends2bnormal]

Clear tubs in the right size(s) until they're big enough for your AP cages. Ambient humidity between 40-50% is good, with more added during shed cycles.

AP Cages are expensive. If you're set with just one snake for now, do the tubs and then buy your cage later. Also, unless you buy Quick Ship stuff, you're probably not going to see your order to at least 90-120 days at this point.

Paul

I can't say I agree on the 40-50% ambient... especially not if you're using tubs, getting down to 40% means that you put too many ventilation holes...

Humidity should be 50-60% minimum normally and pushed up to 60-70% during shed.

Tubs until your snake is large enough for an AP cage or similar PVC cage is definitely a good way to go. They're much less expensive, although be aware your ambient temps will be pretty close to your household temps unless you have a 2nd heat source aside from a UTH of some sort. So if you have a cold house over winter, you may need a CHE and 2nd thermostat for winter.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[JRLongton]

So he's eating well, behaving normally, and temps are steady. Changing over to a new enclosure now seems like a lot of work.

Why not keep your current set up and find a way to better manage humidity? There are lots of people who manage in a 20g long. Maybe a bigger water bowl? Or a humid hide?

Besides, in a house with 73F ambient, I think you're going to have a hard time managing ambient temps in a tub. I've experimented (I'd love a rack) but never got it to work unless the room's ambient temp was 77 or higher. You'd need a secondary heat source, which is probably the cause of your current humidity problem. I'd hate for you to go through all the trouble of setting up a new enclosure only find that you traded one issue for another.

If you want to spend the $, and it will cost a bit, you could get a PVC that your BP can live their whole life in.

From my experience, there is no such thing as too big an enclosure. I kept a hatchling in a full AP T8, and from day 1 the little bugger never had any issues eating, shedding, pooping, or anything. He's growing like a weed and doing great. The only issue is that it seems like a waste of space since he never moves and stays in his favorite hide all the time.

The trick is to clutter up the enclosure; lots and lots of hides and cover. I don't think it's so much that BPs don't like big areas, rather that they don't like open areas.

If you want to go to a PVC now you probably could. Humidity and temps are a breeze to maintain in PVCs. You'd just need to make sure there was very little open area. Hatchlings love those cardboard tubes from paper towel and toilet paper, a couple of those, four or five small hides, a water bowl that can double as a hide (mine all really love those) and you're well on your way.

I'm a contrarian and am the only person here who will advise against buying from AP. They take forever to deliver an expensive product that you pay up front for, and the sliding glass doors are awful, they rattle all the time. I'd point you towards Reptile Basics.

Right now I have a hatchling in a RB 2x3x1 and she's doing great in it. She has tons of hides and cover, I never know where she is. She eats great, and is coming along wonderful. I even changed her over from live to frozen thawed. It'll probably be her enclosure for life.

tl:dr; Keep your current set up and find a way to manage the humidity better while you shop for a larger enclosure.

[Craiga 01453]

Welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of snake keeping!!!

First off, I'd suggesr gettinhg that hot spot temp down a bit. 90 should be your max.

Second, glass can work perfectly fine, I've been using glass for all my snakes since I got into the hobby back in 1999-2000ish. I just recently bought my first fiberglass enclosure, but primarily so I can consolidate enclosures that stack and make more room for more snakes.

I wrap my glass enclosures in foam board insulation. It helps immensely with heat and humidity control.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have. If be happy to help if you'd like.

[JTC]

I appreciate all of the input! I just put black foam board on three sides this week. Working on finding the Tstat setting that gives me a 90° glass temp, but the one I have has a 3° or so swing.

I'll be getting a digital humidity gauge tomorrow, I'm planning on having it located centrally, an inch or two above the substrate.

I recently bought a humidifier in an effort to raise the humidity in the room in general. It'll just be a lot of learning and adjusting as I get this dialed in, I suppose. It's fun!

[Craiga 01453]

I appreciate all of the input! I just put black foam board on three sides this week. Working on finding the Tstat setting that gives me a 90° glass temp, but the one I have has a 3° or so swing.

I'll be getting a digital humidity gauge tomorrow, I'm planning on having it located centrally, an inch or two above the substrate.

I recently bought a humidifier in an effort to raise the humidity in the room in general. It'll just be a lot of learning and adjusting as I get this dialed in, I suppose. It's fun!

Sounds like you're getting there!! Once you've got it all figured out, it gets much easier. Daily equipment checks will be all you need to worry about. Then it's less stress and more enjoying your pet.

It was much tougher years ago before Google and forums like this were even a thing. We were basically winging it. Thermostats were unheard of too when I started out.

But honestly, I feel like I learned more having to be more hands on.
Anyway, keep doing what you're doing! You're off to a great start!