Hypothetical Inhabitant... - Page 2

DDW · 05-27-16, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Albert Clark

When you see the snake that captures your eye and your heart you will know that's the one for you. Keep shopping until you feel that! It should be what you want.

To be honest with you, I was just wanting to see my options

Lefitte · 05-31-16, 02:59 AM

For tubs, you can find something that has latches. Depending on the size, you might want something with a latch on each side such as my large tub [houses a rainbow boa].

Very escape proof, though it's not latched here because I'm in the process of feeding him. This one is made by Hefty. You can find them at Walmart type stores or Home Improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowes [which is where I found this] for under $20. You'll need a drill to make ventilation holes.

As for heat, I use Ultratherm heat mats. It's basically heat tape made into a mat but I didn't want to deal with wiring so I went with the Ultratherm instead. Fairly cheap, comes in a variety of sizes, and I always attach that to a thermostat [I like Hydrofarm or similar styled thermostats for the small probes and reliability]. I tape my heat mat to the bottom of the cage with the tape of my choice and partially insulate it with styrofoam if needed. It can be removed and adjusted easily.

These are pretty much all things members here have suggested before which is how I learned about them. My brb's set up came to about $100 which included the storage bin, heat, thermostat, substrate, 4 hides, jungle vine, and three fake plants. It's a large bin though so I needed many many hides, lots of substrate, and lots of decor to make him feel safe. If you get a smaller bin and less decor it will be far less money. The thermostat [about $30] was still the most expensive part. I absolutely love my storage bin and almost don't want to upgrade haha.

As for snakes? You seem to be settled on a corn which might be a good idea. I don't see my king much and when I do she's either against the glass of the door or simply poking her head out to glare at me, wondering who's walking near her cage. She's also a huge drama queen and a brat. Don't have a corn so I can't comment much there. Hope I helped.

DDW · 05-31-16, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lefitte

For tubs, you can find something that has latches. Depending on the size, you might want something with a latch on each side such as my large tub [houses a rainbow boa].

Very escape proof, though it's not latched here because I'm in the process of feeding him. This one is made by Hefty. You can find them at Walmart type stores or Home Improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowes [which is where I found this] for under $20. You'll need a drill to make ventilation holes.

As for heat, I use Ultratherm heat mats. It's basically heat tape made into a mat but I didn't want to deal with wiring so I went with the Ultratherm instead. Fairly cheap, comes in a variety of sizes, and I always attach that to a thermostat [I like Hydrofarm or similar styled thermostats for the small probes and reliability]. I tape my heat mat to the bottom of the cage with the tape of my choice and partially insulate it with styrofoam if needed. It can be removed and adjusted easily.

These are pretty much all things members here have suggested before which is how I learned about them. My brb's set up came to about $100 which included the storage bin, heat, thermostat, substrate, 4 hides, jungle vine, and three fake plants. It's a large bin though so I needed many many hides, lots of substrate, and lots of decor to make him feel safe. If you get a smaller bin and less decor it will be far less money. The thermostat [about $30] was still the most expensive part. I absolutely love my storage bin and almost don't want to upgrade haha.

As for snakes? You seem to be settled on a corn which might be a good idea. I don't see my king much and when I do she's either against the glass of the door or simply poking her head out to glare at me, wondering who's walking near her cage. She's also a huge drama queen and a brat. Don't have a corn so I can't comment much there. Hope I helped.

Oh, you definitely did help. I was always iffy about tubs and paranoid about escape artists. I see now what kind of container I should go for.

Get that stuff, come across a corn I want.
"Ma, I really like this corn here"
"where you gonna put it then? " (thinking I don't have space)
"oh, it won't take in more space. I have everything I nalwaysready"
"What!?"
"Yup, just need some pinks and I'm ready to go" no trouble otherwise"
"..."

A little off topic I know lol she still stands firm with no more snakes, but I'm sure if I make a really good case I'll be able to. Warming her up to the idea of going to Repticon again(darned things are always about 4-5 hours away from where I live)

Mini rant over XD

I'm pretty handy with a drill and there is always one on hand so not problem there

I'll also check out those supplies you mentioned ^.=.^ I had found ultratherm on Amazon but wanted to see what others think of it. Bonus that you said something about it without me mentioning it

Thanks a bunch

DDW · 05-31-16, 06:44 AM

What you said about insulation, do I need to get any special type of styrofoam or just a flat sheet?

Also, can the heat mat hang off the side if it is too big or should I invest in a smaller one until the snake is ready to move from the tub to the full size enclosure?(I found a nice tub on Amazon and plan to purchase it soon and would prefer to group everything together in one order)

Humble308 · 05-31-16, 08:06 AM

I buy flexwatt mats from Bean Farm and just wire and cut to the size I need. Super cheap and can be run on a rheostat or thermostat. Though if you don't want to mess with all that then UltraTherms are very popular as well.

Corn snakes are really awesome, though if want a snake with the feeding response similar to kings and more girthy than a corn you might consider Pitouophis. Bull snakes and gopher snakes are great pets and make for impressive display animals as well. Maybe El Ziggy will share a few pics of his formidable bulls! All the best

DDW · 05-31-16, 09:12 AM

Flexwatt might be a goot alternative for a temp enclosure but I may stick with ultratherm. Idk.

I've never looked into bulls or gopher snakes. I'll have to since you said something though. Sounds interesting.

Thanks^.=.^

Lefitte · 05-31-16, 07:11 PM

With the insulation, I'm mostly using it because my tank actually sits raised on a few square dowels instead of flat on the table and I didn't want to lose all the heat from the heat mat [though they do need a place to release heat]. I just grabbed a piece of styrofoam I had laying around from shipping something or whatever it was from? I think I might have actually bought a piece in the craft section at Walmart or something. Other people could probably tell you better. For Ultratherms, reptilebasics has them for cheaper than Amazon and other sizes as well, but if you're lumping stuff together it may not be the best option. I don't know about getting the bigger size and only placing the cage on part of it. I knew my storage bin would be used for 1-2 years so I didn't bother with a different mat. I figure whatever I don't need, I can resell later or keep on hand. Thinking about it now, my hoggie will eventually need a new tank and heat mat so this one can be repurposed for that after I buy my boa his adult cage which will need a bigger mat. Since I live in very warm climate and I was using a plastic bin, I went with a fairly small sized mat that ended up fitting perfectly under the bin. I'll probably turn his heat pad off in a couple days after he digests and leave it off until November because we are getting heat and moving into summer now and he won't need it at all. He could probably do without a heat mat at all because of where I live which is why I bought a fairly small one, covers only maybe 1/4 and he only uses it to digest and shed.

DDW · 05-31-16, 07:42 PM

Hadn't really thought about buying from other places but now that you mention it, sounds like a good idea to check out, thanks for all the info^.=.^

Lefitte · 05-31-16, 09:57 PM

Yeah they have some good prices there. If you do go with something from Reptilebasics, they have good prices on those black hides too. All of my snakes love those simple plastic black hides, so I'd suggest picking up one of those. I have a ton of different hides in all my cages for different temps, humidity ranges, sizes, ect.

toddnbecka · 05-31-16, 11:11 PM

I've been buying Sterilite plastic tubs that have black lids locking clips on the sides. Lids are designed to fit down into the tub around the top rim, so there's no gap or even potential access for a snake to push it up. They work great for colubrids, though I wouldn't trust them as much for a larger boa or python.
The only heat mats I use are Ultratherms. They don't get hot enough to cook your critters regardless of whether you use a t-stat to regulate the temp, though they do get a little warmer than necessary for some species. I use one 11"x17" heat mat for 2 tubs or tanks, and if I don't have a t-stat hooked up to the mat I put a large (18"x18") ceramic tile between on top of the mat to moderate the heat transfer a bit. That keeps the inner surface of the tub around 84, works very well for my Jap rats.

DDW · 06-03-16, 05:51 PM

I'm having a hard time finding a good size Ultratherm for the 36x18x18 terrarium:/ shouldn't the 6x17 suffice? or do you all have a better size suggestion?