New Cages Accessories; any obvious errors here?

[Sonya610]

Anyone see any errors in these cage accessories? Plan to order most/all from Amazon today for the new cages that will arrive next week. Am I forgetting anything important? Will likely buy little digital thermometers from the wal-mart.

Cages are wood sided 36"x14"x18", screen top and polyurithaned interior, floor set up to accept flex watt.
http://www.grayanimalrescue.org/cage.jpg

Plan to order the following:

1) 6 feet of 11" wide Flex Watt with dimmers, will cut into hot/cool sides for each cage (question can I use one thermostat to monitor the hot side of both stacked cages? Cages are stacked with a spacer, lower level has the Ball Python, higher level the garter, and the BP's like slightly higher temps).

2) Two x-large Exo Terra waterdishes 9"x11"x3"
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/3120MATC96L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

3) Carefresh bedding for the Garter (Eco-Earth for the Ball Python).

4) Medium reptile hide for the Garter (probably an adult) 11" x 8" x 3.8" (plus a couple of log hides that my BP does not use)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ymiLF5PBL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[guidofatherof5]

I stopped buying hides long ago.
The more I spent the more they disliked then.
Cardboard boxes and styro. meat trays seem to be more to their liking.:D

[Sonya610]

I stopped buying hides long ago.
The more I spent the more they disliked then.
Cardboard boxes and styro. meat trays seem to be more to their liking.:D

Yeah, hear that. Thing is they may like the styrofoam but I don't! I want a very pretty natural looking setting (enclosure will be 3 feet away from me most of the day and I am making this investment for a PRETTY snake and setup!)

Perhaps I should hunt around the yard and find interesting things then after they are baked in the oven whip out the hot glue gun and make some nice hides!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I learned a cool recipe to make fake rock snake hides from your every day kitchen materials... flour, salt, vegetable oil, blend it into a dough, mold it and bake it in the oven... they take a while to bake, and then when you are sure they are completely dry/hardened you spraypaint it with krylon waterproofing spray, then a granitey spray paint, then another coating of waterproofing. So far, mine are holding up... they are surprisingly tough and they look pretty because I can choose exactly how I want them to look! If anyone's interested, I will dig up the recipe and post it.

[infernalis]

Always so creative Shannon.. ;)

[Sonya610]

I learned a cool recipe to make fake rock snake hides from your every day kitchen materials... flour, salt, vegetable oil, blend it into a dough, mold it and bake it in the oven... they take a while to bake, and then when you are sure they are completely dry/hardened you spraypaint it with krylon waterproofing spray, then a granitey spray paint, then another coating of waterproofing. So far, mine are holding up... they are surprisingly tough and they look pretty because I can choose exactly how I want them to look! If anyone's interested, I will dig up the recipe and post it.


Thanks! Sounds like a fun complicated 10 hour project. Would rather just buy a hide or hot glue some pretty rocks together (non-toxic glue of course) :)


If you like the home-made projects you may like this video (plus it uses styro-foam!)


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[ConcinusMan]

Ball pythons may be perfectly happy in such a setup but it is not what I would use for garter snakes. They do better in a brightly lit enclosure with basking lights in my opinion. They aren't the kind of snake that is content to hide in a dark box warmed only by surface heat. I would think about LED or florescent light and maybe a small watt basking spot light. If the top screens are heat resistant then it should be easy to implement.

[Mommy2many]

Shannon, I would love that recipe. I could put my kids to work for new snakie hides! Please PM me with it, if/when you get a chance. Thanks!

[guidofatherof5]

http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/enclosures/8343-homemade-hides.html

[Mommy2many]

Thank You! I caught up on it when I read down on later posts!

[Sonya610]

I would think about LED or florescent light and maybe a small watt basking spot light. If the top screens are heat resistant then it should be easy to implement.

Yeah the top screen is heat resistant. A low watt basking bulb like a 50 watt with UVA? Any suggestions on the best bulbs would be appreciated, apparently some of these bulbs burn out quick.

Other than the basking bulb I can use whatever secondary light source I like?

[ConcinusMan]

I use an 18 inch florescent tube(reptisun 2.0) in combination with a basking bulb. You just want to light things up like things outside are lit on a cloudy day. The basking bulb wattage depends on what it's going to take to create a sunny spot around 88 degrees. Always use a dome light fixture and a downward reflecting bulb. I use household floodlamps I get at the dollar store. No need for UV with these guys. It's more about creating an isolated sunny spot and balancing the light spectrum with a florescent.

This video kind of explains what I'm talking about. It's just that I see people treat garters like they would boas or pythons and they just get where they seem depressed and not acting like garters should act. In every case, when you put them in a well lit setup like I suggest, they become more active, eat better, and act like garter snakes should. You could probably get away without using a basking bulb if you have bottom heat but you should at least use a florescent or LED's in a box like that. It's just that garters are alert, diurnal, sun loving basking snakes. Not snakes that hide a dark box or corner most of their lives like pythons and boas.
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[Sonya610]

I use an 18 inch florescent tube(reptisun 2.0) in combination with a basking bulb.

Cool. Thanks. I looked up some articles and after much lengthy confusing reading on various types of lighting I found the "recommendations" which include the Repti-Sun lamp (could have just bought what you said but had to do it the hard way).

Interesting article on lighting (well interesting for a rookie like me). Talked about various things including how true full spectrum light changes how the animals see their world and each other which makes them happier and more active. Lighting and heating for reptiles: They are not the same thing (http://www.anapsid.org/liteheat.html)

Also thanks for that youtube link, I watched that the other day and was impressed with his setups.

[ConcinusMan]

Cool. Thanks. I looked up some articles and after much lengthy confusing reading on various types of lighting I found the "recommendations" which include the Repti-Sun lamp (could have just bought what you said but had to do it the hard way).

Interesting article on lighting (well interesting for a rookie like me). Talked about various things including how true full spectrum light changes how the animals see their world and each other which makes them happier and more active. Lighting and heating for reptiles: They are not the same thing (http://www.anapsid.org/liteheat.html)

Also thanks for that youtube link, I watched that the other day and was impressed with his setups.

Thanks, those are my setups.;) The link to all my youtube channel and all videos I upload, is in my signature. It is very true in my opinion, that light and balance of spectrum is important for garter snakes. However, they do not require UV. It's more about the visible spectrum for them. They do not require UV because they get D3 from their food. Many lizards need UV because it is required to synthesize D3 in their skin but not so for snakes. A simple "natural" spectrum of visible light in a garter snake enclosure is enough. No need to spend a lot of money on special reptile bulbs. I was only trying to suggest that you're going to need some "daylight" in your enclosure.;)

[Sonya610]

Thanks, those are my setups.;) The link to all my youtube channel and all videos I upload, is in my signature.

Ahhhh...small world. I was searching for terrarium setup videos on youtube and found that one before I found this site. Not sure if they require UV but the bulb you recommended is supposedly one of the best for full spectrum lighting. If it makes their world, eachother, and their food look "normal" to them it has to be a good thing, I remember reading about guys on a submarine using black lights (or something like that) and how it made the food look horribly strange so many of them had no appetite. We do not know that much about how our snakes perceive the world so better safe than sorry!

[ConcinusMan]

Cool. Glad it came up on the search. That was my intention. Several of my videos, including that one, have been featured on kingsnake.com as well.