Anybody use a tank??

[Tyler99]

Im just curiousif anyone uses a tank. I use one. Im trying to get the himidity up Today I woke up and it was 21%!!! I am not going to a rubbermaid AT THIS TIME. Since Its always hard to get the humidity up, can I just add a humid hide so whenever it needs humidity, She can just go in there??

[VI Reptiles]

I use a tank and my humidity doesnt go past 50%. Im actually going to use a rubbermaid after my bp is healthy again!


Thanks

[Tyler99]

LOL Im kid of slow (just kidding) But do you mean that you can never get it over 50% or do you mean that yours will never drop under 50%?

[oliver]

ether put a big water dish in your snakes cage or mist it more!!!

Oliver

[daiyoukai]

I use a tank, and I get full sheds everytime and a healthy ball python. It's set up with one hide box, a skull and a water dish on either newspaper or papertowle. Iv used both paper towle and newspaper and both worth about the same. I just spray the tank every day once in the morning and once in teh evening. The python just stays in the skull unless it's to fat from a meal to fit lol.

[VI Reptiles]

It stays at 50% but It will sometimes go higher to about 60%.
I have a tupperware container as a water dish and a box as a hide.

Thanks

[Manitoban Herps]

I have a tank and I built a a lid made of melamin with hole drilled through. We had 2 much humidity in it (80 %) so I had to switch substrates..lol

[Vengeance]

You can make a tank work, but it's not worth the effort. I used to use a 50 gallon for one of my balls, he was sheding fine but it takes allot more work then it's worth, get a rubbermaid, it is your best option.

[Tyler99]

Yeah, Ive got a big water dish over the light. The temps are 87-93 normally and I was wundering if those misting machines work??

[marisa]

I wouldn't get a misting machine.

The problem is, sure spray more. But you can only spray so often unless you want a filthy damp bacteria growing cage. Or set it up to handle the large amounts of water (proper substrate etc) You gotta have balance.

I suggest making a lid. Adding a humid hide will certaintly help for now though.

A good cheap lid could be made from plywood and some plexiglass with the appropriate number of air holes drilled into it. You still need reasonable fresh air of course.

Good luck,

Marisa

[Jeff_Favelle]

How often does it rain on a BP in Africa?

[Manitoban Herps]

I think it's worth the time and effort in tank, rubbermaids are ugly, you can easily make a nice lid on tank and make the cage look good and meet the snakes needs.

[malaysianbloods]

I would not suggest a mister because they have a small current that passes through the water, not sure if iit is big enough to harm a ball python but why take the chance they don't need that much humidity anyways.

[smeagel]

I used to use a tank for one of my balls, but like people have said, its not worth the time and effort to make it work the way it is suppose to. I know rubbermaids are ugly but the health and well being of my snakes are more important to me than looks of the cage so i switched to rubbermaids. My balls eat tons better because of it.

[Slannesh]

I've used a tank for years.

That being said it's a LOT more work to maintain humidity levels in a tank than a rubbermaid. But it can be done, yes.

I currently use a humid hide and mist the entire enclosure several times a week to keep the humidity up a bit. Although living in northern alberta when the furnace starts up it's challenge to keep the humidity up anywhere in my house that isn't a sealed container or the inside of my fish tank :) Average humidity outside of areas where I control it is about 10% In my house most of the winter.

[Vengeance]

I used to have a nice display tank too

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/3606Old_Cage-med.JPG

I made a lid out of plexi glass to keep the hummidity up, the plexi glass cost me $50

All the cage equipment to make sure it felt secure int he cage, $50

Glass tank $100

Heat light becase the ambiant in te cage was too cold $50

Time to cut the plexiglass, setup the cage and make sure everything worked, too many hours to count. Also I need 2 UTH heaters, one for a cool side and one for the hot because the cool side was too cool in a glass tank.

After all that work and money everything was good, but my Ball never felt secure, ate sporatically and never realy thrived in his cage.



Now I have this for the same ball python...

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/3606new_cage2-med.JPG

$20 for the rubbermaid

$2 for the S-hooks to secure the lid

10 minutes to drill the holes to secure the lid

Now that same Ball python is one of my more agressive feeders. He feels secure in his cage and eats like a champ now.

So you CAN make a glass tank work, it costs more money and more time but in my opinion it doesn't work as well as a rubbermaid.

[Manitoban Herps]

The tank I use was cheaper then a rubbermaid, if you look around you easily find cheap or free tanks, then we purchase a sheet of meleamin and 2 hinges and a lock on the front = Total of around 25.00$

But I will admit rubbermaids work super good, but they are very ugly.

[Tyler99]

Yes they are very ugly, so I guess they are my only choice.

[BoidKeeper]

Im actually going to use a rubbermaid after my bp is healthy again!
Putting it in a rubbermaid now will help it get healthy faster. Not the other way around.
If you want to use a glass tank the best thing you can do about the humity is to lay it on its side. You can stack them this way and you don't lose as much humidity out the front as you would out the top. You can also silicone in some tracks and use two pieces of plexi-glass with air holes drilled into it. That is the best way to keep in the humidity in a glass tank.
If you are going to use a glass tank with out putting it on it's side the humidity in the tank will almost always be the same as the humidity in the room that the tank is in. The open top allows everything, heat and humidity to rise traight up and out the top.
Alos by putting the tank on its side you've increased your floor space.
Cheers,
Trevor

[Tyler99]

Ill think about doing that boidkeeper. :) Though do You think I can just spray alot, and put a humid hide so whenever the snake needs/wants more humidity, It can go into the humid hide??

[BoidKeeper]

No then all you do is have a wet tank for an hour or so at a time instead of a consistently humid cage.
Cheers,
Trevor

[beanersmysav]

I definatly say ugly but healthy is better than pretty but incorrect. Just my oppinion, but maintaining humidity in a glass tank can be done as I do it for my Savannah, my Cresteds, and my Tokay

[Tyler99]

Ok, Bt can I just add a humid hide?

[robitza]

I use a tank (for now) and have my oldest ball in a melamine enclosure. My next project is to build a corner melamine unit to house 3 snakes. (3 tiers).

Personally, I would never use rubbermaids for anything but transportation. I wouldn't want to live in a plastic box. My snakes aren't going to live in one. I know a lot of you use them and I don't mean to offend you. Sorry if I did.

[Vengeance]

How do you know they don't want to live in a plastic box? The only thing we can know is based on the behavior of our snakes. My Ball python when kept in a glass tank wouldn't eat on a regular basics would go months at a time without eating for no apprant reason even though every requirment was met.

Now in a rubbermaid he eats much better, i barely have to wave the rat in his face anymore to get him to strike where as in the glass tank I had to dance the rat around for quite a while and if I was lucky he MIGHT strike, if he didn't I had to hope he was in his hide because if he wasn't in his hide there was no way he was going to eat because he never felt secure. All this took place 2 weeks after being in a rubbermaid. He hadn't eaten in 2 months prior and now he has had 5 meals every 7 - 14 days without question.

So when you say I wouldn't want to live in a plastic box so my snakes wont, you taking the prespective that a snake has the same feelings as us, when they don't. So tell me if a snake shows 100% improvment in from switching from a glass tank to a plastic rubbermaid who does it benift to keep the snake in a glass tank, the owner or the snake?

[hhw]

I still keep my original normal male ball in a tank, albeit with a sheet of plexiglass covering most of the top. I also need to moisten the substrate a bit more often, rather than just during a shed like I do with my sterilites.

As long as you're willing to put in the extra time and effort, it can be done. However, especially as your collection grows, you'll want everything to be as efficient as possible.

[Jeff_Favelle]

I would say that a Ball Python would RATHER live in a plastic box with the correct environmental conditions over living in a nice display tank that's pleasing to OUR eyes but has crap conditions. JMO.

Not to mention, being a burrowing nocturnal snake, how far off are our "plastic boxes" to the conditions in which they were hard wired and evolved for thousands of years for? Probably pretty close if you asked my opinion.

[Mustangcsa]

Honestly I wouldn't want to live in a glass tank or a plastic box. I use a rubbermaid and my ball has never refused a meal and has had 2 perfect sheds since I got her. Her temps and humidity stay perfect all the time. I had her in a tank the first day I got her but that was just until I went to wal-mart to pick up a rubbermaid. She seems to be happy in it.

[robitza]

Guys I wasn't saying anything against rubbermaids. Just stating my feelings. Now onto what is natural or hardwired into a snake. I doubt the seek out rubbermaids or glass tanks in the wild.

As long as your animal is safe, warm, has a good humidity, and is eating it is great. I honestly would suggest a melamine enclosure over both rubbermaid and aquarium. More room for the snake to stretch out and roam around at night. I also feel that with a rubber maid if you have an aggressive eater that you could get bitten when trying to open the lid.

When changing my snakes' enclosures, I put them into a rubbermaid. They are very curious and like to roam. As soon as I go to put the lid down they are on the move to escape. Have to be careful not to snap the lid in place each time. Might hurt them.

Another issue would be that the plastic could melt if it comes in contact with a heating source if it is no properly set up.

A reptile rescue agency told me that they do not recommend rubbermaids either.

I know that people have been using rubbermaids for a long time and I have nothing against that. I am just stating my feelings on the matter.

My young ball, between 6-8 monts old, is in a glass tank inside of a cabinet. The cabinet has doors on it so they can be closed to offer extra darkness. This also helps to keep the heat and humidity in. The older snake is in a melamine enclosure that I build. This keeps in the humidity. The heat goes up and down because the wood has a hard time holding heat without a heat lamp but that can be fixed.

[Tyler99]

Imgoing to keep with the tank since, I was already planning on building a melmine cage in a year.

[Manitoban Herps]

Go with a rubbermaid, I have had no problems with my tanks or rubbermaids and if you look around NO one's pythoins have trouble with rubbermaids, and home many people have problems with tanks?