housing questions.

[johnabrams82]

ok i have a few questions regarding how to house my BPs

*can i put 2 females and one male of roughly the same size in a 75 gallon tank will plenty of hides?

* when i feed would a long sweater box work for feeding.

* should i use an undertank heater or a heat emitter or both?

* does anyone know of a good cheap thermostat . or where i could get one.

* would i be better off selling the 75 and getting three 20 longs or something like that?


thanks everyone i know i could have found all this if i searched the forums but right now my daughter is sick and i dont have much time. thanks again

[hardball]

I dont have much experience and i only have 1 but i can tell you pretty much everyone is going to tell you to use 3 seperate 20 gal tanks as opposed to the 1 tank for all of them. Everything ive read on these forums suggests that its a bad idea.

[sweety314]

Depends on how big your trio is. Balls like tight, enclosed places. In the wild, they're found in burrows and termite mounds.


One snake, one cage whether it be tub, or tank. Less spread of disease, easier to maintain, less likely chance of cannibalism, and DEFINITELY less stress for the snakes. No dominance issues to have to deal with or feeding problems of one "bully" or bigger snake picking on the little guy.

To start, hatchlings can fit in shoebox sized tubs, or 10g tanks. Mine, up to about 600+ grams lived in a 10g w/two hides and a water bowl, w/o any problems.

Adults do fine in 30-40g breeders. I have one sub-adult in a 30g long, one adult in a 40g breeder tank and the 3rd adult male is in a 30qt tub in a rack.

2 yearlings, and two 8/06's are each in 12 qt Rubbermaid boxes in another rack. All have hides and water bowls.

You don't have to move the snake to a different box for feeding. For really shy snakes (which balls sometimes tend to be) moving back and forth causes stress and discourages them from eating. Also, moving right after feeding can increase the chances of regurging, which is never good for a snake.

UTHs are best, but both can be used. Depends on HOW U need to get the right temps. Just remember that CHEs and heat lamps are killers for the tank humidity and you'll either have to mist OFTEN, use the bed-a-beast (coconut husk bedding) or some other means of keeping the humidity up. It doesn't matter HOW U do it, as long as the cool (ambient) temp is 82-84* and the hot side is 92-94* STEADILY. No need for night temp drops.

In T-stats, cheap isn't better.....esp. since if your T-stat dies, you could cook or freeze your pets.

I have rheostats on a couple of tubs, and the temps are VERY steady in my temp-controlled room now. The rest are on the Johnson Controls thermostats. J's aren't top-of-the-line, but were within my budget and they're working VERY well for me. Alot of the breeders here will swear by the Helix, but Icouldn't afford that brand.

OOooooooodles of threads of pros/cons of various t-stats, heating sources, and also live vs. FT when you get the chance to read.

But hope this helps!!!

Welcome Aboard!


RuLyn

[frankykeno]

Ball pythons do better housed individually. Things like spread of disease, being unable to actually tell which one is sick, unplanned breeding, too early breeding of the female with the risk of having an egg bound female, fighting, domination for space....the list just goes on.

[rabernet]

Everyone knows how I hate the word "cheap" when it comes to anything to do with ball pythons. Don't take short-cuts when it comes to providing care for your animals - you're going to have them for 20+ years - so investing in individual housing and QUALITY thermostats is worth every dollar you spend.


I use both Ranco and Helix thermomstats - you can buy them from http://www.reptilebasics.com.

[Reptile_Man]

im the same with everything i buy,i dont like paying cheap.but i almost always buy from germany(same stuff as ireland but less expensive).
as for electrics like thermostats and stuff, id rather pay good money cause that way u will know u are geting a quality product with a good garantee.

[johnabrams82]

thanks you guys i appreciate the help. im going to look tanks at yard dsales and flea markets today if i get a chance. ill just sell off my 75 and use that money for a good thermostat.

[JLC]

thanks you guys i appreciate the help. im going to look tanks at yard dsales and flea markets today if i get a chance. ill just sell off my 75 and use that money for a good thermostat.

Sounds like a good plan! Welcome to BP.net!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

*can i put 2 females and one male of roughly the same size in a 75 gallon tank will plenty of hides?

NO

Here are some reasons why, transmission of diseases, parasites, stress, going off feed, premature breeding, injuries, cannibalism

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ltiple+housing

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ltiple+housing

when i feed would a long sweater box work for feeding.

No need to feed outside the enclosure

should i use an undertank heater or a heat emitter or both?

Mainly belly heat the rest will deppend on type of enclosure and ambient temp of your hoe

does anyone know of a good cheap thermostat . or where i could get one.

Pet ownership is not cheap and to control heat on 3 different enclosure you will need something reliable which will cost about 75$ on the low end and 135$ on the high end

would i be better off selling the 75 and getting three 20 longs or something like that?

Adult they will need 30 gallons tank but keep in mind the enclosure should grow with your BP and there are other alternative to tanks

[keeb]

You can buy tubs really cheap in the meantime at any major place like Target, Wal-Mart, etc

They're huge, and like $3.50,hold in heat and humidity REALLY well, and you'd just need to line with newspaper.