enclosure

[eddiezahra]

i have a 20 gal tank getting set up for a ball python ... becasue the top is a removable screen lid..would i be able to put 3/4 of plexi glass on it to keep in the humidity?

[greenman1867]

If you chose to use an Aquarium you will need to have a plexi glass or lexan top for sure.

There are several posts here on the subject of housing. Most people feel rubbermaids are the way to go with BP housing.

Enjoy.

Shawn

[eddiezahra]

i know, id love to get a rubbermaid i just dont want to see my tanks go to waste.. i have a 10 and a 20..what do u think i should house..im open for anything but bugs

[Spirit]

Check out my reply in the thread "tank size".

If you're going to use an aquarium, you definitely plexiglass (or the like) on top. I'm temporarily using just a clear shower curtain, but remember that glass is terrible for retaining heat OR humidity. It's a bit of work, but it can be done.

Good luck!

PS. Those tanks are too small for an adult ball.

[Slannesh]

Originally posted by Spirit
but remember that glass is terrible for retaining heat OR humidity.


I always hate reading this statement over and over.

It's not the GLASS that makes tanks not so great at holding in heat and humidity... it's the fact that they have essentially an open top, and since Humid and warm air rises it goes right out the top. Has absolutely NOTHING to do with the tank being made of glass. An open top rubbermaid will do exactly the same thing.

Tanks are a lot more work to keep the temp and humidity stable in than a closed rubbermaid, that's true. But it can and has been done by many many people.

However with tanks of that size you'll want something other than a Ball Python anyhow, as someone else mentioned they're a bit small for an adult. I'd suggest something that doesn't need much humidity and thrives on belly heat there are a number of smaller snake species that could work. Sand Boas come to mind and probably dozens of lizard species that could do well in a tank. Leos are the first that comes to mind.

[Manitoban Herps]

There are so many beautiful aboreal geckos that would be great for your 20 gallon. I to would go for a rubbermaid if I were you :)

[eddiezahra]

thx guys, for my 10 gal im putting a blizzard gecko (hopefully) or some type of leo. and for the 20 i was thinking a baby ball? then upgrade it or no?

[Spirit]

Originally posted by Slannesh
I always hate reading this statement over and over.

It's not the GLASS that makes tanks not so great at holding in heat and humidity... it's the fact that they have essentially an open top, and since Humid and warm air rises it goes right out the top. Has absolutely NOTHING to do with the tank being made of glass. An open top rubbermaid will do exactly the same thing.


While that may be true about the open lid, have you ever stood in front of your window on a snowy day? Heat or not, that glass is cold to the touch. Bad for holding in heat. It's a fact.

If you want to use glass, the best way to keep the temps up inside the tank, is to insulate the ouside of the tank. I still say rubber is best... Mind you if you have a little space heater behind the tank, that back wall (glass) will warm up nicely and raise the overall temps inside. :)

[lanceinhispance]

i have my two in rubbermaids

[pablo111]

Originally posted by eddiezahra
i know, id love to get a rubbermaid i just dont want to see my tanks go to waste.. i have a 10 and a 20..what do u think i should house..im open for anything but bugs

If you need to know how to keep fish, PM me. Otherwise, 10 and 20 can be used for numerous reptiles.

In the 20 you could easily keep, say, a corn snake, or a hog nose.

In the 10, maybe a smaller lizard, like a small day gecko? Maybe an anole or two?
Have you checked out the fancy praying mantises? Like the flower mantis? Theyre pretty cool. you can hold them.

[beanersmysav]

Originally posted by pablo111

Have you checked out the fancy praying mantises? Like the flower mantis? Theyre pretty cool. you can hold them.

Haha this may have been a joke but where can you get these? I'd love to keep a praying mantis :)

[Spirit]

I looked into getting a praying mantis last year. Did you know they live only 6 months? Maybe I'm wrong? lol

[pablo111]

Originally posted by Spirit
I looked into getting a praying mantis last year. Did you know they live only 6 months? Maybe I'm wrong? lol

The mantises you find in the Northern US and Canada, yes. And actually its more like 8 or 9 usually in captivity.

These tropical ones like the flower mantis go for several years.

NEVER listen to the idiots at superpet.

[beanersmysav]

5-6 months, 2-3 years either way I want one, hook me up with a link to a breeder or somethin :)

[sapphire_moon]

you may be able to keep a corn in a 10 or 20, but corns get pretty long! And a 20 g would not be a big enough cage.

A hognose on the other hand would be great for a 10 gal tank, and maybe a couple (or 1 ) leo in the 20g tank.

[pablo111]

Im not sure what a leo is :(

My current plan, speaking of enclosures, is a 35G aquarium, heating pad, ceramic heating element x2, an open mesh lid, and an automated misting machine, so that the air is turned over frequently, but humidity is maintained high. I've always been an advocate of giving a snake as much fresh air as possible, while still maintaining adequate humidity. On heat loss, I've found aquariums pretty decent in my experience. They certainly lose heat a lot faster than a rubbermaid, but I find this not to be necessarily a bad situation if proper heating is maintained in the enclosure.

[Slannesh]

Originally posted by Spirit
While that may be true about the open lid, have you ever stood in front of your window on a snowy day? Heat or not, that glass is cold to the touch. Bad for holding in heat. It's a fact.

If you want to use glass, the best way to keep the temps up inside the tank, is to insulate the ouside of the tank. I still say rubber is best... Mind you if you have a little space heater behind the tank, that back wall (glass) will warm up nicely and raise the overall temps inside. :)

Ever touched your metal front door on the same cold day? How about the concrete in your basement? And guess what? If the windows were made out of Rubbermaid they'd be just as cold. :rolleyes

I wasn't comparing the heat retention capabilities of Glass to Insulation. You implied that a rubbermaid was better at holding in heat and humidity because it was made of plastic instead of glass and that's simply untrue.

As for recommending putting a space heater behind a glass tank to heat up the back wall to raise the ambient temp in an enclosure is not only irresponsible, it's dangerous. Regardless of what you may think, glass holds heat rather well and to raise the ambient temp in an enclosure the glass itself would have to be dangerously hot. Especially for a burn prone species like Ball Pythons.

[Spirit]

Of course it's dangerous, if it's inches from the glass (and used without a thermostat)... Sounds logical to me. Logical AND dumb.

[sapphire_moon]

a leo is a leopard gecko.

[Slannesh]

If it's dangerous why suggest it in the first place?!? That makes absolutely no sense at all.

A glass tank works fine for belly heat with an UTH just as a rubbermaid does. Make sure you use a thermostat or Rheostat to regulate temps and monitor it with a seperate digital thermometer.

[Spirit]

It's not dangerous at all if it's placed far enough from the tank where the glass won't get hot to the touch... a UTH will make the glass MUCH hotter to the touch than a space heater near the tank. I know several people who keep small ones near the tank because it's easier (and cheaper) to keep the ambient temps up around the tanks than heating the entire room. Do you not have a source of heat ( ie baseboard or central heat) in the room you keep your snakes?? What a dumb argument.

And you should always use a thermostat to regulate temps, no matter HOW you heat the tank.

BTW. Leo's are insanely cute. lol ;)

[Slannesh]

I live in Edmonton, of course I have heating in the house. My herps for the most part are kept in the basement with UTH to supplement the temp. My beardie uses overhead lamps to maintain the temp in the enclosure since UTH isn't of great benefit to a species that likes to bask the way beardies do.

My whole point was that it's not the glass, but the open top that makes tanks harder to heat and keep humidity up in vs. a Rubbermaid. The only reason it's true is becaue rubbermaids have closed tops and the ability to easily cross ventilate which you can't do with a tank. The material they're made of is mostly irrelevant to the humidity.

I'm not so sure about the 'cheaper' aspect of a space heater either. Even the small one I use in my office in the winter months uses 1000w on the low setting and 1500 on the high. That's a FAR cry from a 8-20 watt heat pad.