Tub renovation :)

[weirdbuglady]

So since I've gotten my baby ball python Jacques (not my first), I've kept him in a tub with cocofiber, two hides, water dish, and no heat except his tub is on top of my other bps tank, right next to her heat lamp (and my room gets ungodly hot in the summer due to no AC).

Well it's undergone a renovation and I feel much better about it. His humidity was way too high, so I switched to newspaper, got him a better hide, got a thermometer/hygrometer (though I will go and get an acurite soon, with a probe), put an uth outside under one hide, bottle caps taped to each corner to keep the uth up off the surface the tub is sitting on, black paper and black eletrical tape around three sides of the tub to keep it a little darker, leaving the front so I can see through to read the temps/humidity without taking the lid off.

Some pics




And in other news, I got an acurite for my other bp (she's a big girl, 3.5', in a 40 gal tank) and even though I only have a heat lamp (red bulb) her temps and humidity are spot on! 82 cool side, 92 hot side, 56% humidity. Though it goes up on really hot days and I turn the lamp off. Should I get her an uth anyway, and go for a lower wattage bulb, and see if I can get the same results? Not sure if I want to mess with it. I don't really want to move her into a tub even though I know it's easier, because she seems to be doing well (she loves f/t rats like a fat kid loves cake) and I like having her as a bit of a display snake. Though once it gets closer to winter I have a feeling I'll need the uth.

[Bright202]

So your telling me you didn't use any heat what so ever?

[weirdbuglady]

It was always in the 80s in the tub, I needed to save up a bit more money to get the uth and acurite and thermostat - which I just did today!

So he's checking out all the wiring to make sure I did a good job. So far so good.

[Bright202]

It was always in the 80s in the tub, I needed to save up a bit more money to get the uth and acurite and thermostat - which I just did today!

So he's checking out all the wiring to make sure I did a good job. So far so good.

Well I'm switching to a tub due to uncontrollable humidity. Got any up to date pics to show me? And do you lock down the other 2 sides?

[weirdbuglady]

Here are some pics with it all set up...

Showing the temps and humidity - have been pretty stable since I set it up last night.


The thermostat - reptitemp 500R... Not sure how great it really is but so far it's working and keeping the UTH under control, right around 89-91.


And the wiring. The probe for the acurite is on top of the newspaper, under one of the hides which I have taken out. Used electrical tape so the snake wouldnt get tangled in the wires or rip things down. The probe for the thermostat is in the tub, under the newspaper. I had it between the tub and the UTH underneath, but I wasnt able to get the right temps that way.


I feel sooooo much better now.

[Ginevive]

I would always provide a UTH. They need belly heat. A thermostat would be a necessity in a room that varies its temperatures so much. Rheostats (dimmers) are really only good in a stable-temperature room, as they will not change output in proportion to the room temp changes, and can get too hot if the temperature soars. Flexwatt and a nice Helix would be a wise investment.

[mricyfire]

Some pics

Cool...looks like a perfect example of a Star Wars home

http://www.nachoua.com/Tatooine/tatoo12.jpg

[weirdbuglady]

Yeah once I get my hands on some birthday money in the next few days I'm going to get an UTH and a thermostat for my big girl. It's been a long journey of fiddling with tank conditions with her... very glad I've discovered this website.

[Bright202]

Im kinda bummed I don't have an acu-rite, I live in Canada and I could ony find a cheap version of it "acu-temp" lol but you have to switch it from in or out, so I'm getting another one for both sides, I'm also investing in some flexwatt and a Herpstat. So ill make sure to post some pics.