heating a bin?

Katastrophe · 11-18-12, 10:17 PM

Hey guys, I'm new to the sight

so I have 3 questions right now:
1) I've had a ball python, & he needs a new enclosure. Tried finding a tank but no luck since August. So I decided to buy a Sterilite bin, but I'm afraid putting a UTH will burn the plastic. How on earth do you guys keep it from melting? I have a heat lamp on him now, but the small bin he's in has a metal screen lid ductaped to it. Should I cut a hole in the lid of the new one so I can put the heat lamp on there? & what do I do with the UTH? It's pretty cold in my room, & I'm also a fan of keeping a damp towel in there or over half the lid for humidity.

2) How long does it take for a frozen adult mouse to thaw out to room temp if I don't run it under hot water? I'd rather thaw it slowly, I feel it would do a more thorough job.

3) I should know this for a fact, but I'm just making sure; I have a corn snake, she's about 4/5 feet, about 1" diameter, & my ball is 3', about 3" diameter. I can't put them in the same tank, correct? They've been face to face several times & shown no aggression at all towards each other, but I'd still be worried they'd try to eat one another lol.

Thanks in advance for your answers & suggestions!

**millertime89** · 11-18-12, 10:44 PM

1) if you've got a t-stat for the UTH it won't burn the bin

2) several hours, the bigger the longer obviously. I just put mine in my room when I leave for work in the morning and feed when I get home (9-11 hours later). I've waited as little as 6 hours though with small rats which are a good deal bigger than all but the biggest mice. In all honesty I would try and get the BP off of mice and onto rats ASAP.

3)separate enclosures for sure. Corn snakes are not known to eat snakes, but neither are BPs and that's happened as well, and corn snakes are relatives of kings which are snake eaters. Just because they've never had problems in the past doesn't mean there won't be problems in the future. IMO better safe than sorry. Besides, they both have different husbandry requirements.

Katastrophe · 11-18-12, 11:00 PM

Unfortunately I'm unable to afford a t-stat. I use the zoo med uth pads that stick to the enclosure. He seems to be ok with just the light, & he's still warm, but he's going to be in a bigger bin, therefore, further from the heat lamp.

Ok, but one problem with rats- he'll only ever eat live. Since I've had him, he's only eaten one fresh killed mouse. I've tried dangling them to seem alive, but no luck. I only wish he'd eat f/t, for his safety, plus they're cheaper. & I'm afraid a rat would hurt him, even though he does kill pretty fast, I know rats are fast, too. He's a very picky eater. I know the dead one he ate was a very fresh kill, should I try buying a live one, kill it & throw it in? The only problem with that is the ones at the pet store are too large...

I figured they shouldn't be, but it always helps to be reassured

I had no idea corns were related to kings. Now if I were to get another ball, would I be able to put them together? As long as they're relatively close in size, of course.

& thanks for your answer

**millertime89** · 11-18-12, 11:13 PM

Can you afford one of these? I use them exclusively and never have any problems with them.
Amazon.com: Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat For Heat Mats: Patio, Lawn & Garden

You might be surprised how big of a prey item he can eat. How big is he now? You could always try waiting him out until he takes a frozen rat on his own. You could also find a rodent breeder in your area and get smaller rats and stun/kill them before feeding to him. There are a lot of methods to getting your snake onto f/t food, search around, there's tons of threads here about them.

I still wouldn't house two BPs together. I know some people house some species of snakes together, but I'll never house any of mine together except for breeding.

They're not closely related, but they're still North American colubrids, closer than I would trust to house together with other snakes.

Katastrophe · 11-19-12, 12:21 AM

Wow that's a lot cheaper than in stores, thanks

now I can use that with the heat pad or is it a heater all it's own? I'm not too familiar with them.

Right now his thickest is probably about 3" wide, closer to 2". I feed him large mice. I guess I really never thought of getting him rats, but I'll definitely get one when I go tomorrow. Around here it's hard to find anything. Petco is really the only place around for my area, & I've tried searching online & by mouth, nothing. No one's a big reptile enthusiast around here unfortunately. I tried breeding my own mice 2 years ago before I gave my 1st ball to my co-worker, but it didn't work out so well lol.

I figure most animals, especially males, would be territorial, so I don't think I'd try either.
Close enough for me too!

**millertime89** · 11-19-12, 12:39 AM

Use it with the heat pad, they plug in on the bottom and have a temp probe on the end of a 6ft cable. I was quite happy to find them because I was using a modified t-stat designed for window a/c units or space heaters that were 10 bucks more.

You could always order larger amounts of mice or rats from breeders and they'll ship overnight, the prices are usually good enough that if you place large enough orders its worth the shipping costs when compared to the pet store.

**Aaron_S** · 11-19-12, 09:03 AM

Stop worrying about a budget.

Buy the thermostat to regulate temps and don't worry about cheaper mice. A single rat is fine. Feed it live if it wants live. Breed your own. Get a friend to breed them for you. Buy in bulk like Kyle suggested.

Katastrophe · 11-19-12, 05:16 PM

Well I wouldn't worry about a budget if I had the money to spend, but I only have one job at the moment & I have to pay bills, etc.. So every dollar I make that doesn't get spent on necessities gets spent on them & their needs. But I will be getting the t-stat for his bin so he's wamer & I'll be getting rats for him from now on. Thank you very much for the advice