Good dedal for a tank & stand?

[jncoclub]

I work at a rather large company and we have our own classifieds in our intranet. A guy is selling the following tank with the description:
“A nicely kept 70 gallon aquarium and wood stand. Comes with natural looking gravel, filtration system, and other supplies. Needs a heater. New was over $350 will sell for $150 or B/O.”
It may just be the picture, but do the following dimensions that eh gave me seem right?
“28inH X 19inD X 48inL for the stand, and 24inH X 18inD X 48inL for the tank”
I initially offered him $125 because it’ll be used for snakes, not fish, so I won’t use the supplies. He told me that others have been interested so then I told him I’d pay the $150. I’m able to pick it up this Sunday.

Seem like a good deal? Let me know what you think. Thanks!

PS- if the pic doesn’t show it’s because I’m new at posting one.

[Stalabros]

I think you are getting a very good deal, as long as it is in good condition of course.

Take it if you have the opportunity.

[Dom]

Its a good deal althoguh I still don't understand why ppl keep animals in tanks.. there by far one of the most stressfull enviroment for a snake.. Just my though.

[jncoclub]

I'll be checking it out this weekend.
That's something I really haven't heard about before- that tanks are stressful. May I ask why? Personally I thought keeping snakes in rubbermaids seemed odd. I felt I could give a larger, closer to nature feeling in a tank that is set up properly. I'd love to hear what you have to say on this.

[marisa]

Tanks suck because of many reasons.

1. Ventilation. You cannot possibly have good ventilation in a tank. And since ventilation is key for some species, and important for all....that makes tank less desirable. A rubbermaid has proper air flow set up by the melted holes, a tank only has the top. Lke in a car, when do you feel the most air flow? When all four windows are up and the sunroof is open? Not really. You feel the most when two opposite windows are open.

2. Heavy tanks are heavy, hard to clean properly because of their weight and can crack.

3. Humidity. Tanks are DRY. If you make yourself a glass or plexi lid for the tank to hold in humidity, then you are ruining what crappy ventilation you might have had. Rubbermaids have great humidity with little to no work.

Those are the reasons I can think of right off the top of my head but there are more. :D

Marisa

[stretch]

I doubt its all that stressful. As long as you have the requirements the snake needs. It is true the more spase you give the better. I kept my bci in glass made tanks for up to a year of his life and I never had one problem. It always ate and never seemed stressed at all. If a snake is stressed it start showing in its appearance. Thats my opinion.

[jncoclub]

I understand your points and respect them.
Can someone explain how you can have nice high humidity levels, but still have a good ventilation all around? Id o have glass tanks for everyone and I do actually have acrylic sheets covering part of the screened lid to help trap in some of the moisture from their moistened Eco-Earth substrate. It almost seem slike a catch-22 to me.

I believe my snakes are all doing quite well and have great appearances. What would be signs of stress which I could look out for?

I do enjoy my snakes for the interesting exotic creatures that they are and I value their lives, however, I feel that I enjoy them in a visible tank where i can see them and keep a good eye on them. How can you do that in a rubberemaid of which is hard to peer into without taking off lids or disrupting their lives? (I hope that wasn't poor word choises. I'm having a hard itme wording my questions exactly.)

[marisa]

Well no offense but all your reasons for keeping them in tanks are for you. Human reasons. i.e. viewing etc.

You can have a humidity level of 80% or more in a rubbermaid AND have ventilation. Thats why rubbermaids are so good. They can easily maintain the humidity even when you have a dozen or more holes drilled into certain sides.

When you cover up a tank lid you are basically stopping ventilation for the most part. For some species this doesn't matter as much but it can mean death or poor health for others.

Rubbermaids also come CLEAR so there is really no differance. Not to mention of course looking at the snake won't harm it but in the long run they'd rather not be seen anyway. I don't bother my snakes to look at them enough to bother them in the rubbermaids anyways.

Its not that you can't use tanks. That is not what I am saying. Its just that after awhile most people realize how much more work they are and how much happier most herps are in rubbermaids. But plenty of people do keep in tanks, although some like myself and others, just plain won't use them for reptiles ever again. Tanks are for fish! *LOL* :D

I am sure Dom has more thought out better worded answers for you than I do. :)

Marisa

[stretch]

I f you want a lite durable tank check out vision tanks or boaphile plastics they hold humidity look great and are light in weight.

[jncoclub]

I never heard that keeping them in glass tanks was bad before this post, so I don’t think I put them in there for selfish human reasons. I believe I have very good humidity because I have the moist eco-earth substrate and I mist them. Their heat is good because I always have a heat pad on under them as well as day heat lights and night heat lights. I just moved from Florida to Connecticut where it tends to be more cold and dry, so I put the acrylic cover over only a portion of the top to help trap in even more humidity. As for ventilation, they all have more than adequate sized tanks that are set up well with hides, sticks, and water, and they are taken out to roam and do snake things almost every day. The tanks are in a well-ventilated room that gets fresh air every day as well. I’m not trying to start a pick fight back, but I thought my set ups in the tanks were very adequate for my snakes. Thank you again for your comment, again, I’m not getting pissy, I just felt I needed to respond.
;)

[marisa]

I am sure they are adequate, and again that's not what I was saying.

All I was saying is that most people have realized that A. tanks are for fish and B. they are FAR harder to work with than rubbermaid. And C. there are countless reasons why they are not as good for the snake. I am not throwing out my opinions, just facts. Most people have given up on tanks for snakes. If you have a couple corns and a boa well then I am sure you won't have any problems. But certain species just can't be kept in tanks. Period.

If you don't like rubbermaids and want to stick with tanks, thats cool. Good luck. But otherwise, I stated my reasons, which have been proved true by countless numbers of people. I won't argue your points because its pointless but yeah so thats all I have to post.

Good luck!

Marisa

[Greg West]

with those dimensions i get a 90 gallon cage.

I think its a good deal for the cage whatever you are going to use it for.

Greg

[Alicewave]

JncoClub, how are you enjoying Connecticut? Enjoy the dry weather while it lasts, once summer hits it's 80% humidity all the time. Since I have dry loving creatures (Leos and a Rosy) summer is a big pain in the butt. At the moment I keep all my herps in glass tanks because so far it's been the most convenient. I'm also one of those people that likes to have a nice aesthetically pleasing enclosure while at the same time providing proper and safe requirements. I personally hate glass. It doesn't hold heat well at all, the ventilation is not great but I don't have herps that require an extreme about of ventilation. The thing I hate most about standard glass aquariums is that the sizes are really not practical at all for my herps. I think it's better to have more depth especially since Leos and Rosys are primarily ground dwellers. Anyway, so satisfy both aesthetic and practicality, I'm working on a set of wood enclosures to keep them.

[jncoclub]

I live in Groton, CT and this town is about as exciting as the name sounds. I'm initially from Chicago and I lived in Jacksonville, FL last year, so I understand humidity, and bugs. Thansk for asking.

I did end up picking up the tank and stand. We're actually pretty pleased with it. It's deeper than the pic appears. We know we have to get a different lid for it so air can flow through out the tank. Pretty much we bought it becasue it seemed to be a good deal. All the tanks that the snakes are currently in are fine, so we probably won't move anyone into the new one right away. My hog loves to climb and lay on branches, so I think she'll end up liking the new tank. It is kind of tall, but I think it will work out well.

Thank you everyone for your replies, I've had a lot to think about.

[V.hb]

I think the main factor with tanks is their size. Though suitable for certain species, there are many that just cannot suffice in an aquarium.

To get a large tank custom made for say a boa, would be rediculous. Glass costs to wood costs have a very large difference.

I think all in all the home made approach is alot more efficient. why pay tons of money for glass when you can make a wooden enclosure for a fraction of the cost and put the rest of the money out in proper housing items etc.