Hello Everybody

[kitsunex]

just thought i'd make in intro post and all that.

anyway, i've wanted a BP since i was in elementary school about oh... *ponders* 20 years ago *cries* and due to various circumstances and my life being far too unstable with college i had to put it off. At the time long long ago (for you whipersnappers, this was before the internet was even a concept) i was doing research on them.that meant talking to other owners and reading whatever books i could find.

i'm now married and my son has been bugging me for one for a while now, but my wife doesn't like snakes. at all. she isn't as bad as i am with spiders though. i can't even watch spider movies. well needless to say this meant that i had pretty much given up hope on owning a BP. but that changed. last week i was talking to a friend that i know through a video game forum i hang out on and she mentioned that her bp had just layed a clutch of eggs. i joked that i'd wanted one since i was a kid and she asked if i wanted one, i'd just have to pay for the shipping. I jokingly asked my wife about it and she surprisingly said ok.

needless to say, my soon to be BP is still in egg form and won't hatch for a while yet. she plans on keeping them until they've gone through their first shed and seh knows they are healthy and have no eating problems. she said she's bred this BP before and the babies have always been healthy. i'll be getting regular pics of them after they hatch too to further torture me.

i've started the process of re-learning what i need to know and as can be expected, the care of snakes has changed a LOT in the last 20 years. Originally i was going to buy my housemate's snake enclosure. he'd had it custom built for his red tailed boa that died a couple months ago at the age of 20. its all hardwood construction with sliding glass doors on the front. its about 2.5'x2.5'x6' and he was going to sell it to me for about $150 because we are friends.

well after browsing this site and some others i've come to the conclussion that it just won't work. tis too large and would be far too difficult to keep the heat and humidity properly regulated in something that big. Heat probably wouldn't be that difficult but the humidity would. i recently moved here to Missoula Montana from the shores of Lake Superior in Michigan and its a lot different humidity wise. Living on the great lakes, humidity was generally pretty high. but here in montana, during the summer the humidity drops really low. like so low that your bread on your sandwich will dry out before you've finished eating it. this means i'm going to need something that isn't going to lose moisture easily.

because of all of that i've started looking into other options. honestly, after hearing you guys talk about tubs and such, i'm currently figuring on going with the D.I.Y. Rubbermade enclosure design from the DIY section. it doesn't look that bad to set up and i have all the tools, plus i like to build stuff anyway. so that is my tentative plan unless i hear some different ideas.

oh and even though my wife doesn't like snakes.. she has decide we are going to name her/him Becca lol.

[snakecharmer3638]

Congrats! And welcome to the world of BP's. I've heard the addiction starts slow but once it catches watch out. The good thing is you have a while to do lots of research and get everything just right before your new arrival. ENJOY!!!

[STORMS]

[casperca]

Welcome! Sounds like you're on the right track with the setup.. I highly recommend a tub.

[Rakk101]

Welcome and good luck with your new BP. My wife was not sure about snakes either when I started, she ended up loving our BPs and fell in love more with our Boas. Now she is addicted and we are thinking about trying our first Boa litter in the next couple years.

[kitsunex]

thanks! i'd feel more welcome if i wasn't being welcomed by a packers fan!! HAHA j/k

*looks at last weeks packer/lions score and weeps in the corner*

[Wh00h0069]

and make sure you post pics when you get him / her. Tubs with cypress mulch bedding will be great for raising humidity.

[frankykeno]

Welcome to BPNet. I'll make a prediction here that your wife will be in love with that little BP inside a month.

As far as tubs, have a look around for Iris brand. Sometime they are easier to find at bath stores or office supply stores. They have all the benefits of plastic tubs but are also glass clear and have very smooth interiors (picking hardened urates out of an inside tub ridge really loses it's charm fast LOL). Also with any tub you want to add extra security. Big black binder clips work as do C clamps, etc. Have a look around the site for ideas on that. Even the tiniest bit of give in a tub lid will allow the snake to slip out.

Double or even better triple milled cypress is a fantastic option for you in a very dry climate. Also choose a water dish that tends to have a lot of surface area. It'll evaporate faster but that's a good thing where you live.

Tell your breeder friend we want pics of the heads coming out LOL. We're crazy for pictures around here!