tank size

[soda]

Hey!

How big of an enclosure do I need for a full grown ball? I'm against using rubbermaids and would like to use an aquarium.

moocho gracias.

[VI Reptiles]

a 40 gallon


Uhh, I have 2 for sale so if you can tell me where you are I can give you an estimate! With aquariums I pay half shipping!

[Jeff_Favelle]

Rubbermaids and FISH cages (aquariums) are NOT the only cages out there.

[soda]

what do you recommend Jeff?

[Ron]

There are many options, you can buy or build yourself an enclosure from wood or melamine. There are also several plastic enclosures available now. I am getting a couple display cages custom made from Reptic Plastics in Montreal, if they turn out the way I am hoping I may replace all of my adult caging with them. Here is a link to check them out:

Reptic-Plastics (http://balls-o-philiak.tripod.com/repticplastics/)

[VI Reptiles]

I think hes referring to the vision cages or home made ones. But he could have a completely different idea

[VI Reptiles]

wow, those are fairly expensive!

[Ron]

Originally posted by VI Reptiles
wow, those are fairly expensive!

Not really, they are only about 10% more expensive than melamine cages with loads of advantages. Ever try and re-arrange a whole room of melamine cages? I think they are a great choice if you don't want to use a rubbermaid.

[justinO]

Melamine enclosure for SURE, if it's your only snake and you want to display but keep him in proper humidity, etc, it's (IMO) the best way to go!

They are not expensive at all, depending who you get to make them.

And again, VI Reptiles, PLEASE put your location on your profile if you are selling items! "Canada" doesn't help at alllll... ;)

Jessy

[Jeff_Favelle]

Build your own, to suit YOUR snake, YOUR situation, YOUR budget, and YOUR needs. Far better than buying a pre-set standard that doesn't really do any good for the snake.

If I was building an enclosure for a Ball Python adult that wasn't to be kept in a rack system, I would use 5/8" plywood and construct a 3x2x1 wood cage with sliding glass doors at the front and a UTH on ONE said of the cage to give me a gradient of 90F warm side and 80F cool side. PERFECT Ball Python cage and you could make it look really really cool.

Although, my choice for a display snake would not be a nocturnal subterranean snake like a Ball Python. Might as well get a large earthworm instead. They're cheaper to! LOL! ;)

[MouseKilla]

Oh crap, someone said "aquarium" again. Now you have to say "Rubbermaid" 3 times fast to make Favelle disappear. lol!

Hey Jeff, did you still want those hypomelanistic Irish spitting worms? If so they're gonna cost ya because they are nearly impossible to breed in captivity, however they are easily mated with the North American bald clam for some reason... just one more of nature's mysteries I guess. In the mean time I suppose I'll just have to keep cutting them in half to make more.

[tdherper]

Ouchh

[Jeff_Favelle]

LOL!! ;)

.....no props for not even mentioning the word Rubbermaid in my post??? .......................;)

[VI Reptiles]

I want some hypomelanistic irish spitting worms :)

[ATBlover]

there you go again VI, wanting something else...:S....LMAO

[Spirit]

I use a 30 gallon breeder aquarium (I thought it was 40, but the floor space is the same - 40 gallons are taller, but I digress), and it's quite the pain in the butt to keep both the temps AND the humidity up. The size of my tank is 36Lx18Wx13H.

What I ended up doing (and it's working very well) is taping a clear shower curtain to the top (screen lid) and cutting flaps for the doors. One door flap I leave open and keep a red bulb to keep the ambient temps up. The other side, I keep closed and just lay towels over top to help trap in the heat.

This will all soon be replaced with a large rubber mat. Since glass is also next to impossible to trap the heat in, you may have to put something (styrofoam, rubber, tin foil -not the best- etc) around the back and two sides of your tank to help trap the heat inside.

I use forest bark substrate and it works GREAT. Misting however, does nothing to raise humidity so what I do is spray the entire surface of it every couple days, then just sort of mix it all up with my hand so it's not wet to the touch (don't want scale rot). I also take warm (NOT HOT) water and spray it directly on the glass under the substrate, on the UTH.

This keeps the surface of the substrate dry, and humidity up for about 3 days, but the constant care of the viv is quite the pain. And if that's not bad enough, every couple weeks (to a month) I have to boil (or change) the substrate to prevent bacteria or mold growth.

When I'm not home (and at night) I cover the front of the tank so the snake has privacy (I have cats who like to watch, and this can cause stress on your snake).

So far it's working GREAT, but when he's older, I'm likely going to put my cornsnake in his tank (the corn will outgrow the one he's in now) and put the python in a sterlite container.

I'm against rubbermaids *gasp* as well, but I'm learning quickly that although it CAN be done with glass, it's definitely not the easiest, and likely (with all the disturbance), not the best thing for your snake.

There are sterlite containers out there that are clear plastic (great for photocycle), about 3-4 feet long, 2 feet wide, and about a foot deep. A few holes drilled along the top of each side, a UTH underneath (use feet), a couple of hides and a large water bowl is not only cheaper, MUCH easier to care for, but your snake will be healthier and likely a better feeder.

From someone who knows the pain of using a glass viv and is being as stubborn as possible about switching to plastic... that's my $0.02. :)

Edited to add: I have a cornsnake in a 25 gallon aquarium, with forest bed substrate and a screen lid. I spot clean daily and change the water every other day. That's it. LOL (I mean I knew pythons were different, but holy cow... )

[greenman1867]

Jessy

Umm off topic a tad but if you look to the far right of a persons post you can see where they are from usually. In this case VI is from Vancouver Island BC.

Shawn

[HumphreyBoagart]

Edited as tongue is being bit.