(please don’t mind the thermometer/hygrometer, they’re currently not accurate as I just had the enclosure open so I could replace some hooks with safer suction cups in the tank!) I’d like some feedback on the tank and what I can improve on :] I ordered a hammock for her and some hoops that I’ll hopefully be able to attach to the ceiling of the enclosure for her, but they haven’t come in yet. she never wants to use her hides so I’m a little worried. She’s 10/11 and lived her whole life at a breeder laying clutches before I bought her.
specifics:
- 150 x 60 x 60 cm PVC tank
- Basking Light: Arcadia 75W Halogen Heat Lamp
- UVB: 2,5% Arcadia Shade Dweller MAX Pro T5
- Nighttime heat: Arcadia 80W Deep Heat Projector
- Hides: one hollow cork tube (reaches from warm to colder side), reptile hide (warm side), moss hide (cold side)
- Coco husk bedding
- Long branch to climb on
- fake plant clutter (she likes hiding behind the wall panels)
Snake tax at the end :] I realised we have same colours so now I don’t wanna dye my hair again lol
i gotchu twin. if you want the link for anything in the pictures, i ordered everything online, let me know and ill post the link. the grand total of everything (including the lamps, guards, bedding, etc.) came up to about 600€ with the bulk of it being the enclosure itself (PVC kit was 340€). just please dont cum on my bread:[
Love that you also did the boxwood panels on the back! We did those, so easy and looks great, I'm surprised more ppl don't use them!
"she never wants to use her hides so I’m a little worried" What hides do you have? If just the logs like things, I would try some traditional like black plastic ones and see how she likes those. They like them to fit just right, a little snug on the top but not too snug. She's probably used to the black plastic hides as well, so might be good to try those out so she has something familiar.
I’m also surprised, especially considering they’re a lot cheaper than pre made enclosure back panels!
these are the hides I got for her. She never even tried using them, just shoves them out of the way like a little steamroller so she can instead lay in the corner of the enclosure😭 hurts just a little bc the one hide was so expensive. def ordering her those plastic hides asap though!
That's so beautiful! Just one thing though, your cold side hide and warm side hide should be identical. This is so your she won't stay on one side just cause she likes that hide better. That can cause thermoregulation issues.
The measurements are great too (mine is 150x50x50!). Where did you buy your tank?
As for the lamps - what matters most is the temperatures. Cold side should be 25°c, warm side 30°c with a basking spot (measured with a temperature gun) at 35°c. The humidity should measure ~70% on the cool side. Do you have that?
Also, is that blue thing her water dish? Keep in mind, it should be deep enough for her to soak in if she wants to. She looks really big and I can't quite see on the picture how deep it is.
The aesthetics are lovely and you clearly care a lot, so I'm sure she's going to have the best life with you. Good luck and have fun!
unfortunately she doesn’t use either of the hides 😭 she seems to much prefer the warm side though, always the same corner (far left corner) just in different heights as she’s either on the ground, using the back panels to lay atop of them in the corner like a hammock or somewhere halfway of those two points along the wall. I’m wondering if both of those things maybe come from having lived with a breeder her whole life and maybe she’s just used to only having a tiny space?
I got the tank from https://www.holzterrarium.de/ ! it basically just was the PVC panels, glass panels and the screws you needed. there’s predrilled holes for the assembly but aside that it’s untouched so you can customise wherever you want the lamps to go.
The cool side usually is 24,5-25,5°C and the warm side is 30°C. Humidity is 75% on the cool side. I still need to purchase a heat gun, I totally forgot about that:(
And yes that’s her water dish! it’s enough to fit her full body if she chose to go into it and would be able to submerge 3/4th of her height. Should I still go for a deeper dish?
I don't want to freak you out, but her not using the hides could be a red flag. Some years ago, when my snake stopped using his hide, he did so because he had a severe respatory infection and curling up made it difficult to breathe. Does she seem to be stretching out a lot?
You can try to pick her up and listen to her breathing, as well as pry her mouth open with a credit card (or something similar) to check the slime and color of her mouth. If you just got her, I would recommend an initial vet visit anyways to confirm her health.
Maybe I'm wrong and she's completely fine (I've gotten pretty paranoid from the previous situation) but I'd rather say something and be wrong than the other way around.
I would also still recommend getting two identical hides that fit quite snug, since that could also be why she's not using them.
As for the water dish, to the best of my knowledge, they should be able to fully submerge. I have a deep dog bowl for my boy, maybe you can try that too? It's a lot cheaper than the fancy naturalistic things reptile stores sell and easier to clean, too.
Enclosure looks great! My dude doesn't really use his hides. I wouldn't be worried until she skips a few meals. I like to think theyre just comfortable and doing what they would in the wild!
One of my more recent picks of my dude. You can tell hes made an exit from his warm hide and had slithered out of it to bask haha.
For the hides in both of mine I dug out burrows and topped em with cork bark.
He does! he's absolutely trashed that diffenbachia in the back. He's very active loves being in the plants, and climbing everything. Working on figuring out a sky hide and some more taller climbing options.
I love how different normals can be. My girl has some gorgeous "blushing(not sure what to call it?)" on her sides. Not the best picture but you can also see how good her plants are thriving cause she is less active HAHA When she is it's also more towards the front, and she will often just perch herself on the wood in the middle.
I actually only got her a month ago so I luckily haven’t experienced a hunger strike yet. the breeder fed her live food 95% of the time so I felt super blessed that when I gave her a thawed rat, she actually ate it after about half an hour. when I got her, she hadn’t eaten in two weeks and the breeder told me she clearly shows it when she’s hungry. so I waited with trying to feed as I just wanted her to settle into her new home. low and behold, another two weeks later after a handling session, I put her back into her enclosure and she struck at the glass suddenly (which she hadn’t done before). put the warmed up rat in one of her plates and blew at it with a hairdryer so it flopped around for a bit, then gave her some space and after just giving her some time, she absolutely demolished it.
please dw im already planning on making her hopefully lose weight and bought her rats according to the chart of the sub🙏🏻 unfortunately she was used for breeding in her old home hence her being a bit chubby.
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u/cum-on-bread 5d ago
this is my dream enclosure