New Snake Owner ^_^

[Starlitrain]

So I bought a RTB (Colombian/Common...not quite sure) from the House of Reptiles in Oregon (I live in WA though)...apparently the only reptile store in the NW. Either way I volunteered with them during a yearly reptile expo sort of thing so I figured since I new them, I'd buy from them instead of a Petco (only other place to find a snake). Anyways, I wanted some input on what I have set up for her since I am new to the hobby. (^_^)

Here's some info about her:
Female
DOB November 2011
Roughly 24" in length
Maybe an inch thick

I did get feed/shed notes from the store and I do keep a record for myself.
She was successfully switched from live mouse fuzzies to F/T mouse fuzzies and is now on F/T rat pinkies (will switch to fuzzies in a month or two I think). She is on a weekly feed schedule. I feed her every Monday during late PM. She ate for me during her first feed with me. She did not eat a few days ago due to being slightly ill I believe (I found two mites in her enclosure, which I have successfully treated I hope). She has not shed yet while I have had her. Her first shed was December 10th 2011.

As for the mites I completely cleaned her enclosure with a water/bleach solution and have sprayed Provent-A-Mite and have aired it out for at least 24hrs (just in case I sprayed too much). I threw away the substrate which was aspen shavings and I am leaving her on newspaper like substrate for now. I have soaked the decorations in a water/bleach solution as well, dried them out again and sprayed with Provent-A-Mite as well. I am still letting those dry/air out.

Her setup is a 40 gallon breeder tank with a sliding/locking screen top. I have a undertank heat pad as well as a CHE for a basking spot. Her usual substrate is aspen shavings. There is a large water dish that is large enough for her to soak in. Decorations include a half log hid and a climbing branch w/artificial plants on both. There is also a large rock that I have disinfected several times with water/bleach solution and Provent-A-Mite (just in case) for her use during sheds. Temperatures are 75-80F on the cool end, 80-85F on the warm end and around 90F near the basking area. I am still trying to figure out how to make the cool side a bit cooler, but she seems to enjoy the staying on the warm side. I also have a regular fluorescent bulb I have clamped high up over the enclosure to help with a day/night cycle. Oh, and humidity is between 60-70.

She seems to be quite active normally and seems to enjoy hanging out with me. After she's done exploring she just sits wrapped up around my hand and hangs out.

Please let me know if everything sounds about right or if there's anything I can change or do better.

Oh, one last thing I will be building her a larger enclosure once she grows a bit so I am aware of her potential size. While volunteering at the reptile show, I got to work with a full grown male RTB who was very personable which is why I chose this snake as my first....I just fell in love with them.

BTW, my avatar is her picture...it's the best I have right now, but I'll upload new ones later.

~ Sorry for the long essay :/

[TammyJamaica]

Everythings sounds just about OK to me!!! Not an expert, but have a bit of experience.

Congrats, and welcome!

[Starlitrain]

Great! Thank you!

[HERPHAPPY]

Welcome & congrats on your new pal! Sounds like you did your homework pretty well. Do make sure there is no smell of bleach remaining as it's quite irritating to their lungs etc. but other than that, I hope she does well for you! (& I sure hope the mites are gone, they can be very annoying to get rid of!)

[TheWinWizard]

How are you keeping those temps? What are you measuring them with? How are you maintaining the humidity? Welcome to the family.

[Starlitrain]

Originally Posted by TheWinWizard

How are you keeping those temps? What are you measuring them with? How are you maintaining the humidity? Welcome to the family.

I have an UTH under about one half of the tank that keeps the lower half of that side around 80*F by itself. I added a CHE on the same side as the UTH to keep the basking spot around 90*F. For now I just have the basic stick on thermometers (I'm watching her closely because I know these can be inaccurate) but I will be buying a point and shoot thermometer (not sure what they're called), as well as a proportional thermostat when I have a bit more money to spend. As for the humidity it seems to do well (stable) with just the large soaking bowl in the enclosure. I can/will mist if I need to raise the humidity. When she goes into shed I'll probably add something to the lid to help keep the high humidity. Any Ideas on what works best for this? I've come across a lot of mixed results during my research.

Thanks!

[Starlitrain]

Originally Posted by HERPHAPPY

Welcome & congrats on your new pal! Sounds like you did your homework pretty well. Do make sure there is no smell of bleach remaining as it's quite irritating to their lungs etc. but other than that, I hope she does well for you! (& I sure hope the mites are gone, they can be very annoying to get rid of!)

Thanks! And I hope the mites are gone as well. I thought I might have seen her with one stuck under a scale, so I'm going to soak her a couple more times periodically before I put the enclosure completely back together. Hopefully that will help get any left under the scales because I am too worried about doing damage to her to take them out manually.

[TheWinWizard]

I use plexiglass on the ones that I have to keep the humidity in. You really need a thermostat. One of these will work well. Amazon.com: Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat For Heat Mats: Patio, Lawn & Garden

[Starlitrain]

Originally Posted by TheWinWizard

I use plexiglass on the ones that I have to keep the humidity in. You really need a thermostat. One of these will work well. Amazon.com: Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat For Heat Mats: Patio, Lawn & Garden

I'll go ahead and take a look at that thermostat. Thanks so much for the info!

[TheWinWizard]

Any time. Glad to help.

[bbb13]

Originally Posted by TheWinWizard

I use plexiglass on the ones that I have to keep the humidity in. You really need a thermostat. One of these will work well. Amazon.com: Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat For Heat Mats: Patio, Lawn & Garden

I agree with TheWinWizard, I've been using this product for a month now and it's great for the price, and it's ready out of the box.

[Starlitrain]

But can I use a CHE with it as well as a UTH? or can I only plug one thing in it at a time?

[konikitty]

Starlit, I think that this is determined by the wattage capability of the thermostat itself. You can buy a multi outlet connector thing and plug that into the thermostat's single 3 prong outlet. If the thermostat says it can handle, say, 1500 watts, and you have 3 things plugged in to the connector thing and each of them is 200 watts, then you have 600 watts total, and the thermostat will turn on/off all of them as a bundle to keep the temps at however you set it.

At least, I think that's how it works. That's how I understand it thus far.

One of the reviewers said:
"These thermostats are very heavy duty and can handle a large electrical load (1000 watts). Since most undertank heaters are 24 watts or less, you can definitely use this stat with multiple tank heaters. It has a three-prong connector on it and heavy-duty power cords/connectors."

Just check the wattage on your UTH and on the CHE and if they're less than what the stat can handle, then you're good.

[Starlitrain]

Originally Posted by konikitty

Starlit, I think that this is determined by the wattage capability of the thermostat itself. You can buy a multi outlet connector thing and plug that into the thermostat's single 3 prong outlet. If the thermostat says it can handle, say, 1500 watts, and you have 3 things plugged in to the connector thing and each of them is 200 watts, then you have 600 watts total, and the thermostat will turn on/off all of them as a bundle to keep the temps at however you set it.

At least, I think that's how it works. That's how I understand it thus far.

One of the reviewers said:
"These thermostats are very heavy duty and can handle a large electrical load (1000 watts). Since most undertank heaters are 24 watts or less, you can definitely use this stat with multiple tank heaters. It has a three-prong connector on it and heavy-duty power cords/connectors."

Just check the wattage on your UTH and on the CHE and if they're less than what the stat can handle, then you're good.

That makes sense...thank you!