| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| jonoandapril |
Posted - 07/11/2011 : 21:55:15
so, trying to put my setup together for what i hope will be a soon to arrive BRB. i got a fish tank that i have made a lid for as i figured that would hold humidity better than a wooden viv. iv just got to cut some vents out of that now.
the thing iv come to now is heat. iv been reading thru the threads on here and am a little confused on whats best! i use ceramics and bulbs with my other snakes but have seen on here that they mess with your humidity, but wont a heat matt struggle to get any moisture in to the air?
the tank is 3ft x 1+1/2ft x 1ft (ish). what do you guys recommend? |
| 5 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Snakesitter |
Posted - 11/11/2011 : 20:28:03
Joe, long time no talk! Well done and explained (as always!), but then you have the experience to break almost any reptile guidelines out there lol! |
| flaboye |
Posted - 10/11/2011 : 02:06:54
I'm one of "those" who use a glass aquarium. I actually broke most of all the rules as I put a yearling in a 75 gallon to begin with after bringing her home. I can tell you how I did mine. First it's up against a wall and into a corner, thus the only "exposed" glass is the front and left side, the entire back and right side is up against the wall. It has a screen top, so I use two 13 gallon kitchen bags cut to a perfect fit to either entirely cover it, or pull back from the middle an inch on each side if I wish to regulate humidity. I use cypress mulch and mist it twice a week, as it holds the moisture very well. I use under tank pads, another thing Cliff recommended as opposed to ceramic or other above tank heating, or inside the tank heating. I do have a moonglo bulb so I can check her out at night without her realizing it. She does hide mostly under the half log hide all the time during the day and comes out at night. Of course by now she's well acclimated and has almost quadrupled in size since I first brought her home. She's really growing now that she is getting fresh rats which I am raising for my 3 snakeys. I have a very LARGE water bowl, bath in one corner, big enough for her to completely get into and submerge. I really enjoy watching all 3 of mine hunt, so I feed them live rats sometimes, another thing a lot of folks will say you shouldn't do. I think it's enriching for them, and it sure is a treat to see. But, mostly they're fresh thawed as I have bags of various sizes all frozen up too. I usually run the temp around 80-83, but it can fall as low as 68 sometimes, and she'll just curl up near the heating pads. Humidity is around 80% usually.
I don't know if I'd recommend an aquarium for anyone but that's how I did my rainbow. My hypo BCI is in a sterilite tub, but he's about to get a 40 gallon breeder, and my large redtail is in a 40 gallon breeder. However, those two types of snakes don't need as much a rainbow as far as humidity and temperature care so they thrive just fine in glass.
Hope that helps. Again, I am not recommending glass, but if it's what you have, then you can make it work for you. Hope the tips help
Hi Cliff!
Joe |
| Snakesitter |
Posted - 09/11/2011 : 20:46:07
Glass tanks are best only as temporary measures: they do not hold heat well, offer little privacy to these very secretive snakes, often have inappropriate lids (less ventillation is better), and can be fragile. On the flip side, they do hold humidity extremely well once the lid issue is resolved.
If you go with a glass tank, make sure to cover much of the sides in an insulating material like Reflectix (http://www.reflectixinc.com/basepage.asp?Page=Double+Reflective+Insulation&pageIndex=622) to allow it to better retain heat. Place it in a low-traffic area so as to give the snake some privacy. Make sure ventillation in the lid is minimal -- it's easier to make fewer slots/holes now and add more later than to try and plug existing ones up.
For heating, I actually prefer underbelly heat. If you place a large low water bowl partly over the underbelly heat, it helps fuel evaporation, which raises the humidity. Ceramics and RHP can work fine, but do not promote evaporation as well. Bulbs are to be avoided. Whatever you use, invest in and use a quality thermostat -- these snakes can die if they are trapped in heat over 85F. A perfect gradient is low 70s to low 80s.
As a fallback to humidity in the general tank, add a small hide packed with dampened moss. The snake will use this frequently to take advantage of both the privacy and the extra humidity.
I hope this helps, and good luck! |
| jonoandapril |
Posted - 09/11/2011 : 18:55:44
cool, cheers. so basicly il just have to mist it quite alot then and itl be ok? |
| lukeraymont |
Posted - 09/11/2011 : 10:12:29
hello :) i use a ceramic and humidity is 75%+ i mist about 1-2 times a day and use a glass viv, i was advised that use of a heat mat with them wont help them thermoregulate as they need to. |
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