A Rainbow Addition - Page 2

Lefitte · 07-23-15, 06:36 AM

Oh definitely but having a less nippy snake will help me handle it more confidently. I haven't been tagged yet and I only have a year's experience with snakes. I plan to do a lot of handling though. Starting with a less nippy snake and working with it regularly sounds like the best idea for me. I fully expect to get bitten on the first day and if not then then the first month for sure. I just hope that when I do get tagged, I don't flinch too much and yank the poor guy around.

Lefitte · 07-29-15, 04:46 AM

After discovering that my textbooks are much cheaper than I initially thought, weather permitting, I should be able to get my baby in two weeks [next paycheck]! We're supposed to cool down around the middle of August which would be shipping time. I'm nearly done with his set up. The heat mat [which does not need to even be connected at this point, my room is staying 78-83 degrees] is on the way here and the moss should be here tomorrow. However, I did run into an issue with setting up a stand. I initially thought that I could use a storage bin I already had as a stand but nope, it's much too short. It would have been fine with the shorter bin so I knew changing to the nicer bigger one would ruin that idea. Since I'm doing okay on my budget, I'm considering making a very basic bench like table with some 2x4s and plywood, it won't weigh much so it doesn't need to be super strong and it might be fun. I'll have to rearrange things again in a couple years once I get the 4x2' enclosure, but that's okay. Wish me luck on carpentry skills?

**EL Ziggy** · 07-29-15, 07:55 AM

Good luck Lefitte! Can't wait to see your new BRB!

Wingbeats · 07-29-15, 09:15 AM

Good luck and keep us updated!

Remember to build everything while thinking of super high humidity and moisture!

Lefitte · 07-30-15, 03:19 AM

Thanks guys! I can't wait to see him in person. I actually haven't had the chance to see any rainbow boas in person yet at all so I'm super excited to see one.. and this one's MINE so that's even better!

I really wish they made cooling pads like they do heating pads. Someone help me invent this. It would be so nice and ease a lot of my worries. I know I can keep things under dangerous levels but getting one side to be cooler for a proper gradient may require alternating ice packs [we recently bought a few just for this purpose, my mom even jumped on board with that and surprised me with one]. I'm not really getting much nighttime drop either. Mind you, it's mid-summer so this won't be all the time but I am concerned about it. I'm sure he'll be just fine at 80 degrees but I would personally prefer it if one side was cooler so he could choose. I probably won't even plug in the heating pad during summer.

I also bought the supplies for the table today! Came to.. twice what I wanted. I wasn't going to get paint originally and then we didn't realize one piece was per foot and already had it cut..

It'll be simple. Four 2x4s make the legs, standing at 24" high. Then I'm going to screw some plywood into the top [can't remember the exact thickness right now] which will make a 20x40" table. Around the top I have some smaller strips for added stability and I'm going to place those slightly higher than the plywood so that it creates a lip so that the tub can't slide off if it gets bumped. This will also give me a bit of storage underneath the table. I'm going to run and get a power drill tomorrow and finish it up within the next two days!
As for moisture, the paint should help prevent any damage from the wood if there's condensation spilling over or something like that, at least until I can fix the problem.

Here's what I started with:

And this is just before I cleaned up, getting a visual of what I'm doing.

Lefitte · 07-30-15, 04:49 AM

I'm silly and forgot that I still need to drill ventilation holes, but I really wanted to do a little test with humidity and temps... I'm excited! I just set the humidity gauge there right before I took the picture so that's not an accurate reading of the cage. While I was taking the picture, I was watching it go up haha.

Snakesitter · 07-30-15, 01:41 PM

Cooling pads:

;-)

Snakesitter · 07-30-15, 01:43 PM

On a more serious note, a small fan aimed at the cool end of the enclosure should help. You can add a cup of ice in front of it when needed.

Snakesitter · 07-30-15, 01:44 PM

Remember, for holes, less is more...easy to add, hard to take away.

SnoopySnake · 07-30-15, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snakesitter

Remember, for holes, less is more...easy to add, hard to take away.

This x10000

Lefitte · 07-30-15, 07:39 PM

Hahaha I wish I could use that! Ever try ice packs on the bottom of the cage? Ice will melt too quickly and is sort of fought over in my house as it is and I'd need a huge bowl of it. There is a fan blowing the a/c into the room a few feet away from the cool side of the tank but my room stays 78-83 throughout the day. I have those ice packs that I can place on a small piece of foam so that it touches the bottom of the tank? That should keep it cool without getting crazy cold and allow him to cool down right?

As for the holes, I'm think of doing a total of 10 to start? Not sure how I want to split them up yet. I know I want a lot by the fan but the opposite side to that side is almost flat against a wall. So I'm thinking maybe 4 on one end, two on each long side, and two on the back short side, fairly small holes.

Lefitte · 08-01-15, 04:09 AM

So, I nearly finished my table tonight! And then I broke the drill bit... again.. To be fair, the other one was super tiny and super cheap sooo... I have one more side panel to finish. For the first time ever carpenter, I'd say I did pretty good. The plywood ended up being a little bit warped but it straightened out a bit as I started to screw on the side panels.
The table is 20x40x24" [DxLxH] and is pretty sturdy. The little bumper/railings on the side are to prevent the tank from getting bumped off the table since it's so light while the little sticks underneath it are to prop it up for proper airflow for the heat pad once I get it set up. I spent way too much money on this, it's a lot easy to build these for cheap when you already have things like power drills, saws, wood, and nails lying around..

I also drilled his ventilation holes [I still need to do my king's cage though, she needs more air flow, it's too humid hah!]. Today I also tested my thermometers and hydrometer for accuracy. My hydrometer is -2 degrees off according to the salt test while both my thermometers are reading just a few points off in the exact same place which is accurate to me. So yay! I'm planning to buy another thermometer and hydrometer a few weeks after I get him when I have more money since I currently have two thermometers and one hydrometer between two cages.

Now for pictures of the table! Excuse my messy house, this is what happens when you're nocturnal and insist on building tables in the living room.

And the cats who are in everything everywhere always.

You can see the little dowels that are propping up the cage. There's four.

This is the side I need to finish.

Snakesitter · 08-03-15, 01:54 PM

Good progress so far -- congrats!

Make sure you make the enclosure cat-secure. A friend lost his lizard due to his pet cat, so it pays to be careful.

And RIP drill bit. ;-)

Lefitte · 08-03-15, 03:19 PM

The storage bin has locks on four sides and the little bumpers prevent it from sliding off. Four of my cats dont really care about my king but one does. I can easily lock them out of the room when I open the enclosure. Im going to have multiple hides and some fake plants in there to help the little guy feel more secure. And it looks like I need more air holes, it's 99% humidity in there and I'm growing fuzzy white mold on the moss in a couple places...

Poor little drill bit. My mom's been fantastic through this whole thing. Even though snakes creep her out a little and she's only touched one once, she's fully on board. She's beem helping me design the table, picking ice packs and drill bits up for me, ect. I'm hoping to keep the two week shipping date but it depends on what that paycheck is like. This table set me back pretty bad but yay I got to build something.

bigsnakegirl785 · 08-03-15, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lefitte

The storage bin has locks on four sides and the little bumpers prevent it from sliding off. Four of my cats dont really care about my king but one does. I can easily lock them out of the room when I open the enclosure. Im going to have multiple hides and some fake plants in there to help the little guy feel more secure. And it looks like I need more air holes, it's 99% humidity in there and I'm growing fuzzy white mold on the moss in a couple places...

Poor little drill bit. My mom's been fantastic through this whole thing. Even though snakes creep her out a little and she's only touched one once, she's fully on board. She's beem helping me design the table, picking ice packs and drill bits up for me, ect. I'm hoping to keep the two week shipping date but it depends on what that paycheck is like. This table set me back pretty bad but yay I got to build something.

I have yet to find a way to stop mold growth no matter what I do, even adding more air holes hasn't helped. I've given up and used paper towels in all but the BRB's tub, and I just change out his moss once a month or so. I have 2-3x the holes in the retic and baby BCI's tubs and I experience it in their's as well. I'm just chalking it up to the heat tape not drying the bedding out fast enough because I don't have those problems when I use CHE/RHP/heat lamps.