Questions from a newbie

[foman]

A kingsnake would also be worth looking into, They are great snakes they come in different patterns and coluors and are a piece of cake to look after.

[Tim_Cranwill]

Well for starters, don't listen to some dude in a pet shop with 3 balls in glass tanks when you are getting much better advice from us. Corns are not horrible, even if they are not "your cup of tea" they are still cool snakes. I think you'd enjoy one. They are cheap, easy to care for, readily available, good feeders, easy to handle and come in 3 million color/pattern morphs! They would also fare much better in a glass tank than a ball would. Not to say it's the best enclosure for a corn but it would "ok"....

[Vengeance]

Yea I've looked at King snakes and Mill Snakes, Corn snakes, and Ball Pythons. Just gotta go back to the drawing board and figure out what is best suited for what I'm trying to build.

[Syco]

Sounds to me what you are really looking for is a snake to *decorate* your 50 gal tank. Also, just because someone has 3 BPs and has them all in tanks doesn't mean he's doing it right. As for the Rosy Boa... it wouldn't be a very good choice either, wouldn't do much to enhance your 50 gal, if you have the right substrate you would probably never see it.
I'm done trying to make sense of this... if you love snakes like you say you do, you would put fish in the 50 gal or call it a loss and house your snakes in an enclosure that makes *them* happy, not try to find a snake to go with your tank.

[marisa]

Also another point for colubrids is for a first snake they are sometimes more what people would expect....a lot of Ball Pythons spend 90% or more of their time hiding. While corns do this at young ages, most adults constantly cruise the cage, or sit in the open. Which can be more appealing to a new owner than never seeing your snake

Marisa

[maiden_canada]

get a rosy. and you really can't house any moderate sized baby snakes in a 50gallon...its way too big, block off 1/3 of it

[GotBalls?]

this isn't meant to sound sarcastic or anything...but how on earth do snakes survive in the wild if a 50 gallon tank is too big for them?

[eyespy]

They burrow. And reptile mortality rates are roughly 90-95% of all neonates don't make it to their first birthday.

[maiden_canada]

Originally posted by eyespy
They burrow. And reptile mortality rates are roughly 90-95% of all neonates don't make it to their first birthday.

thank you. i know i wouldn't like being locked in a huge cage with monsters staring in on me all the time , i think rubbermaids also make them feel more secure since you can't see through them well, my BP can't even tell im in the room unless i come up close

[GotBalls?]

If mortality rates are that high, then how have snakes survived for so long? I'm not familiar with the age of sexual maturity for most species but I can't imagine that many babies being produced by each snake if they only live a year.

[maiden_canada]

the have big litters, maybe only 1 or 2 from each litter survives in the wild. thats how

[jowens]

As far as I know, neither the rubber of a Rubbermaid nor the glass of an aquarium is water permeable. There is no reason that an aquarium should lose humidity any more readily than a Rubbermaid if both have the same exposure to the outside air.

Vengeance, your idea of getting glass covers to sit inside the lip of your aquarium, under the screen top, is a good one. To offer ventilation, either have holes drilled into the covers or have the covers cut slightly shorter lengthwise. You just need to determine the appropriate surface area for the vents. IIRC, Boaphile's mid size cages have about five square inches for ventilation. I believe other popular commercially made cages are comparable in this regard. In any case, all edges of the covers will need to be ground, and you will spend some money going the glass cover route. Also, make sure you use a large water dish, and place it so that it at least half of it sits over your heating pad.

However, as many have suggested, I would house a baby ball in something much smaller.

I hope this helps.

[maiden_canada]

rubbermaids > aquariums. jowens its funny you start an arguement in your first ever post lol

[daver676]

Originally posted by maiden_canada
rubbermaids > aquariums. jowens its funny you start an arguement in your first ever post lol

WTF? I see nowhere in jowens post where he is arguing. He is sharing his opinion. That is still allowed right?

I keep my 6 month old bp in a glass tank, I just cover up half the lid with a damp towel, then cover the damp towel with some tinfoil. However, my tank is a 15 gallon. You may have more difficulty with a 50. I would suggest a smaller tank....for now. Once your bp is full grown, then the 50 could be used.

Good Luck.

[maiden_canada]

didn't really mean an arguement, just something that alot of people will disagree with hehe, but many people have proven that rubbermaids hold humidity alot better then aquariums, also if you put a danmp towl on the top you have to dampen it 1-2times a day, atleast i had to