python tank questions...

[jimmyfoxca]

Careful of the towel idea as they tend to breed bacteria. Lots of people using glass tanks foil the lid or plexiglass the lid to help with the humidity.

If humidity is an issue still, many use sphagnum moss with excellent results

Rheostats work well and require little daily tinkering if the external environment stays pretty darn constant. If your room environment changes temps throughout the day and night, a thermostat will work much better.

Yes, this is true. I wash the towels once a week to be sure. I choose to use towels because I get paranoid about having standing water other than the water dish in the enclosures. Mainly because I do not want the snakes to rest on anything that is damp or wet.

Also, I agree with you about the rheostat.

This brings up a question I would love to find an answer to. If you are trying to maintain temperatures in three different 'zones' (i.e. warm hide 90, cool hide 80, ambient temp 80) in a display type enclosure, do you need three different thermostats? Is there a super thermostat out there that has multiple probes attached to multiple outlets?

Jimmy

[xanaxez]

Thermostat: You will get what you pay for and the snake will get the consequences...

Water Bowl: No they do not lay around in their water bowl and so a small one will suffice as you change the water in it daily.

Hides: Hides are best kept smaller than you think will suffice. These snakes are great at squishing into tight places and they really like to feel the sides of the hide touching all the parts of their body.

Remember that you need to get a thermometer/hygrometer to measure the inside tank temps and humidity. This is very important given that it is a glass tank.

Remember to put the thermostat probe under the substrate and on the glass itself.

Oh yeah, they will not associate your hand with prey- humans smell terrible I believe!!

big apples BAH 1000's are just as good as any helix you can buy. i have 2 helix and 3 bah1000's and i have had more trouble out of helix. i have never had a problem with the bah 1000's and i can get 2 of them for 83 bucks and in my opinion with using them both the bah 1000's are better. every one has preferences but to say you get what you pay for isnt entirely correct always because i gave 139.99 a piece for my helix and they arent as good as my bah 1000's.

[python baller]

Thermostat: You will get what you pay for and the snake will get the consequences...

Water Bowl: No they do not lay around in their water bowl and so a small one will suffice as you change the water in it daily.

Hides: Hides are best kept smaller than you think will suffice. These snakes are great at squishing into tight places and they really like to feel the sides of the hide touching all the parts of their body.

Remember that you need to get a thermometer/hygrometer to measure the inside tank temps and humidity. This is very important given that it is a glass tank.

Remember to put the thermostat probe under the substrate and on the glass itself.

Oh yeah, they will not associate your hand with prey- humans smell terrible I believe!!

yeah i was really unsure about the size of the hides and bowls.

i have a thermo/hygro combo but i will buy another one to put on each sides of the tank.

i also plan on foiling the screen up today and will start misting the tank. she is shedding right now. do i mist her directly or just the actual substrate or both?

[python baller]

I use 40 gallon breeder, glass enclosures that have slide-on screen tops. I have 11 inch x 11 inch jungle heat pad under the the cool side hides and 11 inch x 11 inch desert heat pad under the hot side hides. Also, on the hot side I have overhead ceramic heat emitters (up to 100w). They are all controlled with dimmer switches.

This setup allows me to maintain 90 degrees in the warm side hides (measured with a probe thermometer), 80 degrees in the cool side hides (also measured with probe) and ambient temperatures (temp of the air measured at ground level in the middle) of 78 degrees (measured with thermometer/hydrometer combos that read 60-70% humidity).

Now, I have a screen tops and an over head heat sources, this evaporates the moisture in the air thus lowering the humidity. To remedy this I use wet towels over the rest of the screen. This keeps the humidity and temps just the way I like it.

I feel that I do not require a dish that my snakes can soak in because they already have all the humidity they need. However, I am unsure if it would be a good idea to have a smaller dish if you cannot maintain high enough humidity.

For instance, I 'rescued' my first snake from my brother who did not have a clue what the humidity was because he did not even measure it. I would guess that if she had a bowl to soak in, she would have shed in one piece. Having said that, if you have to choose a large water dish or a humidity level that best reflects their natural environment, I would go with the humidity.

Jimmy

now i'm unsure about keeping her in the 55gal. if i buy a plastic tote, what's the best way to keep it shut? should i look for a smaller tank? i guess it's probably just up to my personal tastes, huh?

[jimmyfoxca]

now i'm unsure about keeping her in the 55gal. if i buy a plastic tote, what's the best way to keep it shut? should i look for a smaller tank? i guess it's probably just up to my personal tastes, huh?

I cannot give you information about using totes as I do not use them. I only use glass enclosures. In time, I wish to use PVC enclosures that give you the best of both worlds. First, they hold in the heat and humidity like a plastic tub would. Second, they give you the luxury of having a display enclosure.

If you do not want to use a plastic tote and you do not have the money to buy a PVC enclosure, I would consider a smaller tank because it could be easier to maintain heat and humidity. I have used smaller tanks (1 foot x 2.5 foot of floor space) however the set-up I explained in my other post remains the same. The exception being, the mats and overhead heat are smaller.

I hope this is helpful.

Jimmy

[starmom]

Yes, this is true. I wash the towels once a week to be sure. I choose to use towels because I get paranoid about having standing water other than the water dish in the enclosures. Mainly because I do not want the snakes to rest on anything that is damp or wet.

Also, I agree with you about the rheostat.

This brings up a question I would love to find an answer to. If you are trying to maintain temperatures in three different 'zones' (i.e. warm hide 90, cool hide 80, ambient temp 80) in a display type enclosure, do you need three different thermostats? Is there a super thermostat out there that has multiple probes attached to multiple outlets?

Jimmy

I have only one thermostat controlling my RHP's in each of the cages. The RHP (and same with the flex watt when I used that product) creates one zone, then the dissipation of the heat creates the rest of the (cooler) zones.

...i have a thermo/hygro combo but i will buy another one to put on each sides of the tank.

i also plan on foiling the screen up today and will start misting the tank. she is shedding right now. do i mist her directly or just the actual substrate or both?

You really need to measure only the temp under the warm hide and then the unit goes on the other side of the enclosure that measures the humidity and air on that side. This way you can spot check your heat, humidity and ambients all with the same unit. That said, I like temp guns for measuring temps

I would not mist the snake but rather mist the walls of the enclosure. Careful about getting the substrate too wet... Also, sphagnum moss works very well in bumping humidity

[python baller]

humidity seems to be ok, i've coverd the screen top w/ foil and i have a 125w heat lamp on one side.

i have a small uth under the hidebox. it doesn't get real hot but will keep her warm at night(the tank is in my oldest son's room and a nighttime bulb will disturb his sleep). is it ok for the uth to be under the hidebox or do i need one that will fit across most of the bottom?

i also just bought a 50qt plastic tote (26.7x15.8x10.8)to toy around with. i have some ?s about setting this up as her house...

there are 2 decent lock tabs on the ends but what could i use to keep it securely shut?

how do i heat it? a uth under the whole thing? how would i incorporate a heat lamp or do i need it?

[python baller]

scratch that 125w lamp. way too much...hot side was 100 degrees. i had a 75w basking lamp but it just died so i'm using a normal 60w bulb to see how that goes.