New enclosure

[blakehose]

Hey Guys,

Almost finished building my first enclosure so i thought i would post a picture of it, still needs the glass, substrate, logs and fake plants though !
This is going to be my first snake when i get the money so any tips and advice on heating etc I will need for this size would be appreciated. its a 5.5ft long 2.5ft high and 2ft deep. Will be housing either a coastal or murray darling carpet python whenever its big enough to make the transition
thanks

 

[SamNabz]

looks good mate, i like the colour, good job

 

[J-A-X]

is looking good I Don't think i'd be putting a coastal in there though, they are arboreal, (they like a bit of height,) A Murray Darling would probably love it though

 

[blakehose]

yeah murray darling is more the way im leaning ! any advice on heating for this enclosure( ceramics, wattages etc)? Cheers

 

[Goulburn_herper]

is looking good I Don't think i'd be putting a coastal in there though, they are arboreal, (they like a bit of height,) A Murray Darling would probably love it though

Mate i think you will find md's are just as, if not more arboreal then coastals

 

[J-A-X]

My personal preference is for ceramic,they are not cheap but i've spent a small fortune on 'traditional' heat lamps, but you can't see when ceramics blow but a good thermometer with a probe takes care of that, i'm not a believer in thermostats, would much rather know that the hot spot is as hot as its gonna get, i travel a fair bit and would rather come back to a cold snake than a cooked one because the thermostat failed, Just my opinion, (you'll hear the other side of the arguement shortly no doubt.)
Don't be concerned with getting the entire enclosure warm. get the basking site right and you snake will find where it needs to be.
As far as wattages go it depends on the distance the basking site will be from the light, Cheap option is to buy a couple of different wattage globe EG: 75w, 100w - just standard reflectors from the supermarket,- temporarily hook it into the tank with your basking site in place, give it a couple of hours then check the temp on the basking site, once you know what watt you need, put those globes in the cupboard for summer night parties and buy the ES (edison Screw) reptile lamp, or ceramic.

sorry for the long answer but i thought you'd like more than "get XYZ because its good"

 

[J-A-X]

Mate i think you will find md's are just as, if not more arboreal then coastals

That may be true, i don't own a MD so i wont argue the point, but i know of a couple of MD that rarely get 6" above the ground, maybe they are just lazy:lol:

 

[smacktart]

I went for ceramic at 1st but in the day time there just was not enough light so tossed it and went back to normal but if I was heating my snakes over night or wanted to keep a nice temperature over night ceramic for the win!!! my opinion and plus then you don't have to put in other globes for light

 

[blakehose]

thanks for the info guys! if i was to run a ceramic it will be roughly 1ft give or take away from the basking site, so what wattage would this run approx? Also what brands do some of you guys use and how much do they cost ?
cheers

 

[J-A-X]

1ft ??? i'm guessing your not 15 and i've just realised your original measurements were in feet and inches too, (I'm obviously having a seniors moment I currently have a 60w at a distance of 10" and she's been happy with that so far, she's in a 2ft all GLASS tank and about to be upgraded... for prices check some of the sponsers on here, they can range from $60 - $100, hence my suggestion of trying a $5 reflector globe from the supermarket to test it out.
as far as smacktarts "not enough light" problem, just run a small flouro, cheap to run, won't add much heat, just make sure you cage it or you'll find the sucker wrapped around it...

 

[blakehose]

thanks for the help. i will give the cheaper bulb a try and see how it goes. The enclosure is fairly big though so im anticipating maybe using a 100, I will have to try it out though.
thanks again

 

[Sock Puppet]

I have a 4' enclosure (currently housing blueys). I have a 75W ceramic at one end, about 300-350mm from the basking rock, & getting 31C on the rock. Because I have lizards, I am also running a NEC Blacklight flouro for UV, that's the only lighting (note, light & ceramic are caged to protect the animals). I'm getting mid 20s at the cool end. Use a ceramic fitting for the heat lamp too, plastic may melt.

 

[blakehose]

thanks tonksy, that sounds about for what i need. do you run thermometres at either end to make sure ?

 

[tenacres1100]

I use 2x 25w blue crompton party globes in my enclosures, they work well for me, they cost about $2 each at bunnings and you can have them on at night if you want, without disturbing the pythons

I'd go with the MD

good job with the enclosure

 

[diprotodon]

I use 2x 25w blue crompton party globes in my enclosures, they work well for me, they cost about $2 each at bunnings and you can have them on at night if you want, without disturbing the pythons

I'd go with the MD

good job with the enclosure

2nd that motion run the lights on seperate switches so you can shut one off or on

 

[blakehose]

cheers for the help people. Does anyone else have a different view or way of heating that is also effective?

 

[Sock Puppet]

thanks tonksy, that sounds about for what i need. do you run thermometres at either end to make sure ?

I have a thermostat in the middle of the enclosure, took a bit of fiddling before I was happy with the temp settings. I don't have thermometers in the enclosure, I use a non contact thermometer to check the temps. Use thermometer readings to set your thermostat, don't use the setting on thermostat itself.