For those who use tanks...

Tigergenesis · 10-05-03, 07:45 AM

I've read a few people on this forum mention they are able to maintain good temps and humidity even though they use tanks to house their BPs - with a little extra work. I'm wondering what you guys do to make this work - particularly with a sliding screen top on the tank.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

lilyskip · 10-05-03, 07:51 AM

i put a towel over the screen top, sometimes tinfoil, and then a towel. it works the best if the towel is the one i just showered with, because it's really damp. lately my humidity's been dismally low, though, but that's the weather's fault. curse these screen tops...

tHeGiNo · 10-05-03, 07:55 AM

The real question is, why not just use rubbermaids? They are awesome!

BoidKeeper · 10-05-03, 09:15 AM

I lay the tanks on their sides. They become front opening. They also become stackable and give you more floor space.
Trevor

daver676 · 10-05-03, 09:31 AM

People don't all use rubbermaids because some people like to show off their reptiles, or make it's surroundings more attractive.

I put a damp towel over my bps screen top and re-wet it every 2 days or so. Over that I put a piece of tinfoil to cover the towel, then a drape another towel over the entire half of the tank so the snake has a little more privacy.

lilyskip · 10-05-03, 10:47 AM

trevor--
have you ever had a problem with any of your snakes in side-opening containers getting nose rub? One of mine is in that kind of setup now, and was wondering if I should be worried about that.

Invictus · 10-05-03, 10:53 AM

Water dish over a heat source. You'll have to replenish the water every few days, but it does work.

mango · 10-05-03, 11:06 AM

I always leave a mulch bowl in my slide top tank. You take an appropriate(SP??) sized glad ware or tupperware container and make a hole in the top large enough for your bp to fit through. Inside is a humid hid created with moist cypress mulch. My bp and many of my friends bp's tend to "go poddy" in their mulch bowl like it is a litter box. My girl is in there now going through a shed. She loves it. When she decides to be stubborn and won't use it during a shed I use the wet towel on screen top method. Hope I've helped =D

BoidKeeper · 10-05-03, 11:25 AM

lilyskip,

No not as of yet. The lid is the same one I would use if the tank was right side up. So no matter what the tanks orientation was if the snake could make contact with the lid then it could be a problem. I like the exo-terra lids they are solide, lock down well and are smooth.
Cheers,
Trevor

emroul · 10-05-03, 12:46 PM

I use glass tanks for all my snakes and my lid is pegboard, that keeps in the humidity just fine. I built in a lockdown, and there has been no problems. =)

daver676 · 10-05-03, 02:01 PM

Hmmm.... Pegboard. Now that sounds like an idea!

Thanks!

Dave

Linds · 10-05-03, 08:05 PM

You can try insulating the glass, but it still won't make much a difference in holding heat if you need to increase the ambient temperature from that of room temperature. You can increase humidity by covering the top with a damp towel or plastic or whatnot....but by doing that you are cutting off the air circulation and are left with stagnant air...spores thrive in this sort of environment. By solving one problem you are creating another. It's understandable that rubbermaids aren't for everyone, as they certainly do not make great display pieces, but custom enclosures can be quite nice.

Tigergenesis · 10-05-03, 08:25 PM

I was wondering if this might work out better:

http://www.showcasecages.com/index.htm

Price aside, anyone have any experience/opinions on this company or their products? I was looking at their 3-4 tower units for my BP and 1-2 other snakes.

Any info/advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

lilyskip · 10-05-03, 08:59 PM

man, those are some nice cages. i only wish I could afford them...

viridix · 10-05-03, 10:05 PM

If you were to put a water bowl over a heat source, wouldn't that cause problems? That is, if the setup included an UTH, water bowl and an actively soaking reptile; i.e. causing a stress crack in a glass aquarium?

I use peg board as well; this is the only option that I know of to keep humidity high, and, at the same time, allow for excellent air flow.

I also keep the water dish under the basking light during shed; that helps.

Dustin