RCReptiles.com

[fschwartz]

Hi all,
My son just ordered a BP from Ron. He should be receiving it on Tuesday. He has done a lot of research on this, and we believe we have almost everything he needs. Just to make sure we're set, he asked me to post this on the forums.

Before you jump on me with the search function, let me just say that we have been lurking on this forum for awhile, have read a lot of FAQs, a lot of threads, and have seen a lot of conflicting opinions. We've only scratched the surface of all the knowledge there is out there on ball pythons, but we're out of time, since he's coming on Tuesday. These questions are hopefully not too basic and annoying. It seems there's an add-on product for everything, and I haven't seen much discussion regarding

1) Substrate - we bought reptibark. How often do you recommend replacing and/or cleaning it? The package mentioned cleaning it with yet another of their wonderful products to do so. Is this recommended, or overkill?

2) With the kit we bought, there was a bottle of humidifying spray called "Tropical Mist". Is this recommended, or do you just use water typically?

3) Some people say to put the water dish over the UTH to help with humidity. The warning label that came with the UTH said not to do this.

4) (edit: never mind, figured this one out)

5) Lighting - Some say you need them, others say you don't. The UTH should keep the warn side at the right temp, but I guess with a thermostat, even if the basking light is on, the temp will be regulated. Is there any advantage to using both, or is this overkill? Also, the dark light. Is this just for heat? Is the UTH enough?

6) Please see the attached photo of his tank. It's a 20L tank. The UTH is on the right. The kit came with two dome lights. The one above the middle is a day light, and the one on the right is a night light. The only thing we haven't purchased yet for this tank is the thermostat. Is there anything else you think we need, or that we did wrong? From left to right: thermometer/humidity gauge, hide, fake plants. Water dish in the middle, big enough for his whole body. On the right is the UTH, and a hide and crawl log. The substrate looks a bit deep. Did we put too much in the tank?

7) The thermostat we plan to get is this one: http://www.bigappleherp.com/BAH-1000-Thermostat?sc=2&category=15# along with a digital thermometer with a probe for visual confirmation (probably the Accurite suggested on this forum). My question here is, how do you have something like this in the tank, and hang the wires outside the tank without compromising the security of the lid? Do I need to cut a notch in the lid to allow the probe wire in? How do you guys do it? Also, do you plug the UTH and the dome light into the thermostat? If so, doesn't it get annoying with the light going on and off?

8) I just came across this thermostat on ebay (repti Temp by Zoo Med): http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120255862003 Any opinions on it? It's considerably less than the one listed above, and the merchant is very close to me, I can actually pick this one up in person.

Opinions and suggestions appreciated.

Thanks,
Frank

(EDIT): Sorry, forgot the photo...

[deborahbroadus]

Ohh, that's quite a lot of questions. I am off to bed, but will address them tomorrow morning if someone else hasn't chimed in by then.

But I can tell you that the thermosat on Ebay sucks the big one. I had one and could NEVER get the temps stable it was just a mess of a thermosat . Trust me and get the first one or a similar one. The first one that you pointed out is very reliable and quite easy to use.


and WELCOME!

[fschwartz]

Thanks for your opinion. That's exactly why I posted it. I will take your advice and go with the one I had originally planned to get.

Frank

[jb.t3ch]

i can try to get you started and others will be by to help out.

1) spot clean often (everyday) remove urates/poop. i change mine completely once a month. what was the other product they mentioned to clean it with? i disinfect completely when i change the substrate to prevent any bacteria left over from gaining ground or growing on the new substrate (others can guide you on whats best to use).

2) not sure what this is, water is fine but again others may be able to guide you better.

3) in a tank if you spill cold water where the uth is it could splinter/fracture or stress crack your tank.

5) kinda overkill depending on the ambient temps of the room where you house your ball. when i had a tank setup i had a basking lamp for the hot side and an uth on the cool side controlled by a rheostat. some people do it the opposite. you may need to use both during the cooler months and only 1 during the warmer ones.

6) looks good, i would buy a digital therm/hygro device to measure temps and humidity accurate.

7) my snake escaped on me when i left a small gap (he learned how to slide the lid open) for the wire. you may want to put the gauge in the tank and run the probe to the hot side. i would buy a 60-75 watt bulb for hot side temps and only plug in the uth to the therm (this is just my opinion).


hope this helps.

[deborahbroadus]

JB got you started and his opinons refect the majority of the members on the forum.

Let me pitch in a bit more as I promised:

[fschwartz]

Wow. Great stuff. Thanks so much for the responses. I appreciate the opinions.

I ended up picking up a indoor/outdoor thermometer with hygrometer from Radio Shack. Lowes had everything but the one I was looking for.

Frank

[todd13]

what kind of bp

[fschwartz]

This one: ID#: MN37763.
Morph: Normal
Father: Pinstripe
Mother: Normal