how to save money keeping reptiles..

[infernalis]

I thought this would be a great thread idea.. A discussion about getting the job done without a lot of cash.

Here is things I have found over the years to save money, and still keep your animals healthy and sound.

Sturdy glass or otherwise washable ash trays work great for water bowls, and can be found at any rummage sale for a quarter.

Fish tanks are all over the place, and leaky ones often free, since we use them dry, who cares if the seams leak?

Hides need not be purchased at all, small cardboard boxes are free, and can be used just fine, snakey won't think your cheap, I promise.

If you are creative, and want to build an enclosure, most glass stores will sell you a panel that was mis cut or never picked up for next to nothing to get it off the rack.

I have used clean soil from outside and planted grass in the tank, it is handsome, and free!

toilet paper tubes, paper towel tubes and cardboard shipping tubes make fine places to hide.

clamp lamp domes are $5 at Lowe's, fake vines at the dollar store, if you look around and really think, an awesome Viv can be built for next to nothing.

for the more resourceful folks, I have found some great steel framing at a local scrap yard for pennies, look around it's out there!

[shaunyboy]

my money saver is going to my local forrest and cutting my own branches treating them then into the tank with them

decent branches out a reptile shop cost between £15 to £35 each depending on the size of them

$23 to $52 each

cheers shaun

[candyraver69]

great tips :)

[infernalis]

Driftwood sold at craft stores works well and is inexpensive too.

dog or cat bowls found at dollar stores work well for herps as well.

scraps of lumber can be had for free if you ask for them at a construction job.. so if you are building a cage or rack and need some short hunks of building lumber, just ask a contractor.

Larger items ship in plywood crates, these crates are commonly discarded, industrial parks are a good place to look for crates, just be sure to get permission so you don't get in trouble.

for cage liners, some people use newspapers, they are free. (I personally find newspaper unattractive, but it's still functional)

If you are OK with electrical wiring, even more possabilities present themselves.

I made a UV light form my Anole cage with a replacement "bug zapper" bulb, total cost was about $3

the plastic saucers that go under potted plants are sold in multi packs for a couple bucks, they make great water bowls too.

[Reptile_Reptile]

unused lids that go onto jugs (like something you would put lemonade or koolaid into)
make great hides

[presspirate]

Large sized gladware makes for great humid hides. I bought a 3 pack of 6"x10" for $4. Also, recycled coffee cans, Ice cram containers, margarine tubs....

Freebee furniture. It's on craigslist, freecycle, sitting on curbs, If you think sideways a little bit, what a great display cage for your snakes.

Buy organic sphagnum moss or cypress mulch at a garden supply center instead of the pet store. Most garden centers sell organic non treated supplies now days at a lower price. Aspen can be found in bulk at farm supply stores way cheaper than the pet store.
There's my two cents on saving two cents....

[infernalis]

A penny for your thoughts and you gave me two cents... Hope you are not expecting the other penny back.

[presspirate]

Nah, I got a jar full. Keep the change.

[nanna]

No I know how to pinch a penny I love creigs list and if you wait long enough they will usually give it to you. Old console tv broken let me tale it off your hands empty the tv guts and new tank also my husband is a wood worker so I get any and all kinds of wood and am hoping to be able to figure out the shavings to use them.

[Aaron_S]

I find that everything I pretty much need for my animals I don't go to a pet store for. The only reptile specific item I own is the thermostat made for us.

[dragunov.762]

newspaper is a good tank liner (i personally use the wall street journal). talk to people and you will be surprised at how many have had reptiles and are willing to sell stuff cheap (i got a 40 gallon breeders tank, a dome light, a UV light, tons of plastic plants, and a background for 70 bucks) cat and dog water bowls are $1.50 or so and some can double as hides (all my snake love hiding in the hollow space of the water bowl) building your own enclosure is cheaper and more rewarding than buying an expensive pre-made one. plastic tubs work better than aquariums and are lighter and cheaper.

[infernalis]

Lets see, in just the last year I have picked up half a dozen empty aquariums for free, One sat on the side of the road with a hand drawn sign that said "free" and it had a screen top already on it.

That one has a rat group in it. I have a 55 that a guy delivered to my door that had the brace in the middle missing, he told me if I filled it with water it would come apart, that also has a rat colony in it.

The big 40 gallon hex tank I have my Infernalis' in was free too, it was collecting dust in a shed.

a couple of them were on the curbside on trash day.

Since I heat the whole room, and keep mostly north American colubrids, these have worked out fantastic for me.

[dragunov.762]

ooh also local herp shows are a great place to get stuff. in Ohio people are always trying to sell tanks and cages fairly cheap. also the animal are at wholesale prices (well most of them anyway). i go there and get food so i don't have to pay for shipping and i have a blast looking at all the reptiles and talking with breeders.

[gonesnakee]

Buy everything in bulk & wholesale, this applies to everything in life as far as I'm concerned.
Buy everything breeder direct whether it be animals or prey, cut out the middleman whereever & whenever possible.
Trade & barter as much as possible as well, why pay the Govt taxes? LOL
Loonie or Dollar stores as mentioned, never buy ANYTHING from a petstore that can be bought elsewhere as it will always be cheaper elsewhere 99% of the time.
I have not bought a hide/dish from a petstore for over a decade.
For hides & dishes etc. recycle & reuse.
Animals could care less whether their hide is an old kraft dinner box or a fancy $20 petstore hide, same for water dishes etc.
As mentioned already one persons trash is anothers treasure.
Buy smart & if possible never buy anything ;) Mark

[presspirate]

why pay the Govt taxes? LOL

As mentioned already one persons trash is anothers treasure.
Buy smart & if possible never buy anything ;) Mark

Wise words to live by! Amen Brother!!!!!:yes::yes::yes::yes::yes:

[infernalis]

Salvation army thrift stores usually have lots of useful stuff on the cheap too.

[Will0W783]

Salvation Army and the Dollar Stores are paradise for finding useful things for water bowls, hides, and I've even found aquariums at the thrift store.

[infernalis]

I got this ash tray for free....

http://www.thamnophis.us/2010/garterbb.jpg

[presspirate]

And snakes don't even smoke!

Buy necessities on line via Amazon, ebay, or other sites where you can browse prices. I just got a 150w and a 100 w ceramic heat emitter off Amazon for under $30 shipped!

[gonesnakee]

Unfortunately all the SallyAnn thrift stores around here went under :(
There are Goodwill stores still but they are very overpriced in comparision, better off buying new at a dollar store or hitting garage sales.
Its sad that the S.A. could no longer afford to keep up the retail spaces that was bought/leased out to bigger retail outlets etc. instead of them getting renewed leases.
Thats the way of the world unfortunately, Mark

[citysnakes]

my .02 would be that when spending cash on either a living animal or supplies that must be purchased for the animal (for example: a thermostat), always spend the necessary cash on quality. this will also help to reduce the risk of unnecessary/unforeseen expenses in the future.

[infernalis]

Yes, but when that same thermostat costs 3 times as much just to have a zoo med logo or exo tera logo on the stupid box, it just makes common sense to buy the lower priced one and use the savings on feeders or vet visits. ;)

[citysnakes]

thats funny, i had no idea that there were thermostats cheaper than a zoo med in existence. i was thinking more like spend the extra hundred to few hundred so that you may have a thermostat unit with a spyder robotics logo on it. but i guess thats just me...

[Aaron_S]

Spyder robotics are the hands down best in the business! I believe in spending money on quality animals and quality thermostats. Let's not forget that the thermostat will keep your eggs in proper temps during incubation. When you think about it that's a whole lot of lives in the balance!

[presspirate]

Hit the dollar store yesterday and picked up a couple good sized doggie water dishes for.... A buck a piece! Also a large sized snack bowl for.... You guessed it! A buck! And...and... I got a couple more fake vines....for a buck each! So, I got some new water dishes and vines for my family for 5 bucks plus 6.5% sales tax.

[Will0W783]

There are a lot of really good tips on here. I too think it's great to save money, but yet there are things one shouldn't scramp on..like incubators and thermostats and animals from quality, reputable breeders. If you save money on hides, water bowls, and vines/decorations, then you can use the savings on the really important stuff ;)

[presspirate]

I agree Willow, save money where you can, and spend it where it counts!

[serpentshideawa]

i know this is late but you can use pickle juice instead of vinegar in some cases i was talking to someone today and he said he uses it to soak his snake if it has shedding issues and it brings out the irridesence in the snake

[edens]

well i am starting to feel foolish for the fortune i spent....sheesh who knew!

[infernalis]

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/eggcarton.jpg

[shaunyboy]

Spyder robotics are the hands down best in the business! I believe in spending money on quality animals and quality thermostats. Let's not forget that the thermostat will keep your eggs in proper temps during incubation. When you think about it that's a whole lot of lives in the balance!

^^^^^
this

i am striving to get all my tanks run by these guys they can run 4 tanks at the same time so if you divide the costs by 4 its not too bad
MICROCLIMATE ADVANCED DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEM (http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sussexreptiles.co.uk%2Fmicroc limate-advanced-digital-control-system-726-p.asp&rct=j&q=microclimate%20proffesional%20thermostats&ei=IWDmTOrxNoiAhAfJ3tDgDA&usg=AFQjCNEE0Vi7m2gnpSlHeqyEXKTFNr8cBg&cad=rja)

cheers shaun

[edens]

are the thermostats you are talking about for incubators? i am confused :-)

[justin4snakes]

for all those who breed there own rodent, use cheap cat litter as bedding. it smells great and is very absorbent

[presspirate]

I'm jazzed. My $7.00 cheapo sprayer that I use to mist my Boas' cages, developed a couple of holes so I have been looking for a better replacement. All the ones I found around here were running $25-$50 a piece. So I went on Amazon and found a 2 gallon with a wand attachment for $13.99. It just arrived today. Man I could shower with that thing! What used to be a 5-10 minute chore, I can do in two minutes!!!!!!

[Lankyrob]

We wanted a sprayer that eould produce a mist as well as aspray, ended up spending £15 in a garden centre, will have to look online next time!!

[infernalis]

Cool! I'm so over it with the dollar store sprayers, they don't last.