Heat tape

[Jay]

walmart has long tubs not that expensive lids dont secure so a little duct tape will be a must lol or a big pillow case.
i use my duffel bag with a towel inside with 5 or 6 bottles of hot water

[Wolfus_305]

Jenn

Each snake will get it's own tank, I heard it stressed them out to keep them together.
So you think that a 36L would be fine for a female ball? (not arguing, just clarifying to make sure i understand)

[Wolfus_305]

Jay, mhmm I have a nice box for her. the issue is getting her out of her home and into her box. as soon as she hears the locks or you walk by she starts striking..

[Jenn_06]

yeah a 36L its going to be a great size, just think breeder keep there females in smaller tubs.

[Jenn_06]

sounds like you need to wear gloves and get a hook. my rat snake is like that and i just put a snake bag over its head and grab it.

[stephanbakir]

Stress isn't the only reason not to keep them together, possible transfer of diseases and just the fact that if you find signs of someone being sick, you don't know whom it came from.

[Wolfus_305]

exactly, i just think it's better for both of them to be kept separate

Thank you jenn! you've been so helpful! i really appreciate it

ahahah her tank isn't the most convenient. it's on top of our piano, so i need to stand on the dining room table to reach it and it opens on top... horrible set up, i know.

[Marica]

Since BP's are mostly ground dwellers Option 2 should be fine, unless you want the extra height for decorations, etc. It is usually recommended that your UTH source should cover approx. 1/4 to 1/3 of your cage, so an 11" piece should suffice for either a 36" or 48" long tank like Jenn mentioned above. 2 suppliers I'm familiar with are Cornelsworld who will wire Flexwatt for you and NGM Exotics who sell Ultratherms of which the Viv Mat 30 would suit your tanks. FYI...the wiring on Flexwatt connects along a short side and will come out the back of the tank, whereas Ultratherms are along the the long side so the wiring would come out from the side of the tank. Assuming the tanks you are looking at are glass you could either adhere the heat tape to the underside of them or the surface you are placing the tanks on top of. As for thermostats you could go for a cheap (price wise) on/off like the Repti-Temp 500R which is sold in most pet stores, or a higher end proportional like a Herpstat (the basic model). Both can be used to regulate 2 heating devices, though as there is only one probe both setups (tank and heating devices) must be the same otherwise you risk one heating device getting much hotter/cooler than the other.

[Wolfus_305]

Thank Marica!

PowerHouse Displays - Products if you scroll down and click reptile cages those are the ones I am looking at. It opens a pdf so i didn't know how to post that directly.

The only reason i was considering the extra height would be if the heat tape didn't work sufficiently and I need to put in a bulb because it would need a guard.

I will definitely get a thermostat of some kind. Just looking into which ones I want. I would only be using if for the two BP's so the temps could be the same. with the probe issue are you saying that as long as the probe is in one tank and both are set to be at the same temps everything should be fine?

Thank you!
Kendra

[Jendee]

I agree with Jenn..I have 48x24x12's with 11'' flexxwatt underneath the cage, works great!!

[Wolfus_305]

Jendee
Thanks! glad to know somebody else has it and it works! is it safe to stack the tanks (the tanks themselves are stackable, i'm more concerned about the heat tape)

[Jendee]

yup mine are stacked 6 high

[Wolfus_305]

ohhh I wish i could afford to have that many :P
thank you for your help and input!

[Wolfus_305]

sorry, just thought of another question.
because this is my first time using bottom heat what would be a good substrate to use? and is there anything i need to be careful about?

[Jenn_06]

you can use what every substrate you want.