Sumatran Short Tail - Right For Me?

[wnateg]

Experience or not, I would say go with your heart. Beyond anything hot, you can always come back from simple mistakes, as long as you do plenty of research beforehand and have the proper husbandry before you pull the trigger. More work = more reward.

Would it be acceptable to use a large, plastic tote for the enclosure? I planned on going with what Reptiles Magazine described- a Christmas tree storage bin (52x20x12) modified to be an enclosure.

Yes. If it's full grown, that sounds good; you may want to work your way up to that, if it's not.

And, If I use this, what would be the ideal way to give it ventilation? Should I add a thin screen to the lid, or should I make holes with a soldering iron?

I drill holes in mine, but it looks like swiss cheese afterwards. What I would do is set it up without any holes and measure the humidity (make sure it has the water bowl and heat and everything). Then you know how drastic you need to go with it, measuring the humidity along the way. But yea, I would do holes with a soldering iron over a screen lid for a tub setup.

And what would be the ideal way to head this setup? (I'm guessing uth)

Yea, UTH with a thermostat. Maybe two, if your house is cold, like mine.