Housing ideas?

[ThatPetPerson]

I'm leaning towards a ball python. So if snakes shouldn't be houses in glass tanks, then what are some housing options? If you have any diy/alternative housing please post them!

[Minkness]

This is a controversial topic so you will get many opinions.

Honestly, a glass tank is fine so long as you customize it to your snake's needs. BPs need more humidity than some others, so, if you get a screen lid, cover it with something. I prefer rubber shelving liner myself. Lights aren't needed, but an under tank heat source is. Do your research and pick what's best for you. Many people suggest hooking it up to a thurmostat to gauge your temps properly and to use a digital gauge as well for both temp and humidity.

Other options include PVC enclosures, custom wooden enclosures, and tubs (think large rubbermaid or sterilite).

[SnoopySnake]

For something cheap and efficient, I'd use a tub with a heat pad on a thermostat.

[pet_snake_78]

Basically you can use tubs stand alone or in a rack system. You can build your own rack pretty easy or you can buy a cheaper one (sometimes can find a used one locally) or an expensive one that's geared towards pros.

For cages, you can build your own or you can buy them. If I were going to buy one, I'd get something PVC and stackable so you can add on later. If you build with wood, you have to seal it to prevent warping and swelling. With cages that are screwed together with multiple pieces, you want to make sure and do a smooth job sealing in the corners with silicone otherwise urates will get stuck in there and be a real headache to clean out.

Personally I would pass on a wood cage unless you're really going to seal the thing with polyurethane and a epoxy topcoat and I'd probably pass on the fish tank, too. I'd use a tub or PVC enclosure. One interesting idea is the wooden cage/fish tank combo see this (http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349012)

[ThatPetPerson]

Thank everyone!! I think that a sterlite tub might be the best option for me. Now I have a question about what scares me the most. The heating. I find it very confusing. Some people say heat tape burns, others swear by it I don't know whta to think. Same goes for heat pads. Could anyone explain this to me?

[Minkness]

Never had an issue with under tank pads. I have one on the bottom of my roach tub which is plastic. No melting or over heating.

[pet_snake_78]

The reason people have trouble with heat tape is because they either do not use a a thermostat, the probe dislodges, or the thermostat fails open and runs out of control. You can lessen the chances of that happening by using a high quality thermostat. Some models of herpstat are supposed to have a feature that helps prevent that from happening (safety relay) but I don't know how it works or how likely it is to work, but I do know that they do have a low point you can set in case the probe is dislodged it should be detected. You can also use two thermostats with two separate probes. The odds that two would fail at the same exact moment probably are not too high. I have a ranco and a hydrofarm running my heater for the snake room and have my heat tapes running on herpstats. Originally I used just a hydrofarm to run my space heater for the room but it stuck in the on position on day and could have overheated the entire room had I not caught it when I noticed the temps kept climbing.