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Rox1e6
Snake Mite
44 Posts |
 Posted - 05/05/2011 : 17:39:54
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...For all the info I've gathered so far!!
I have been reading this forum constantly for the last 2 weeks lol. My son is getting a young spider morph Royal in a week or so once the vivarium he's building is finished and up to temperature.
Unfortunately I never found this forum til after he'd started building so we have a 4x2x2 viv half finished which I've now read is rather large for a young Royal so I've been frantically collecting lots of hides, wood, bark, foliage and making fake caves...its been like Blue Peter in our house!, so hopefully we will have plenty of stuff to pack it out!
We have a habistat thermostat and a 250w ceramic heater to go in but I was wondering if there was anything else we'll need and what substrate we should get..I've read about aspen or bark so does anyone have advice or is it just personal preference?
My only other question is can we put some sort of 15w lighting bulb in the tank without upsetting the snake and ambient temperature? Thats purely for our benefit I do understand!
He had a blotched king snake for 15yrs and he died 6mths ago at the age of 18, he was so upset and has really wanted another snake ever since so I just want to make sure everythings perfect for her health and wellbeing.
Thanks for taking time to read my ramblings 
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blackskull
Fully Grown Royal
United Kingdom
1278 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2011 : 17:50:44
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what time of stat do u have? ideally you want a pp or dimmer stat for a ceramic, if its an on off stat it will shorten the life span of the builb. do u have builb guards? for a viewing builb i use the energy saving builbs, the ones you use in your house and it doesn't affect my temps. as for aspen or bark its down to personal choice, i use aspen. but if u feed in the viv make sure u put the food on something to prevent the snake ingesting it
it might be an idea to put a partition in the viv to make it shorter so the snake doesn't feel stressed. how long is the snake you are getting?
and welcome |
1.1 normal royal, sully, silver
0.1 pinstripe royal, penny
1.1 pastel royal, lars, clover
0.1 lesser royal, serenity
0.1 black pastel royal, betty
0.1 mojave royal, mavis
0.1 normal het clown
1.0 pastel het clown
1.0 nuclear, ned
1.0 super phantom
1.0 childrens python, myles
0.1 hog island boa
0.1 sonoran x boa, grace
0.0.1 mack snow leopard gecko, munchkin
4.1 cats, stan, dave, marble, binx, daisy
4.1 rabbits, mol, ted, bill, spud, alice
0.1 crazy cat/bunny lady of bridgwater, lucy |
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Kelfezond
The bearded one
United Kingdom
4803 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2011 : 17:53:00
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Welcome to the forum!
Substrate is personal preference mostly, I use paper for ease of cleaning but bark or aspen does look very pretty, i'll be changing one of mine to bark soon as my female royal has learnt how to get under the paper no matter how flat I lay it.
As for the lights as long as they don't overheat the viv it's fine but i'd recommend it being infa-red as this won't effect the snakes vision, they cannot see infared but obviously we can, that way it can stll get a nice dark corner to hide in.
It sounds like you've got everything you need sorted so goodluck and my apologies if I missed anything out.
Edit- overlapped with blackskull and he said everything much better than me lol, must be having one of those days |
\v/ Click me for Kelfezond Reptiles Facebook Page! \v/
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Edited by - Kelfezond on 05/05/2011 17:54:18 |
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n/a
deleted
7384 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2011 : 18:04:39
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| Hi, and welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your son's king snake; it's awful when an animal dies, even when old age is the cause, but believe me, a royal will be a worthy successor. |
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STICKS
Yearling
United Kingdom
408 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2011 : 18:45:37
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| Hi there Rox1e6 and welcome ref the size of your viv you can always put the little snake in a plastic rub and put it into the new viv as shown in kelfezonds new vid on handling.also you could get one shoe box size and put a hole in the top and then he/she will come out and explore in its own time.Good luck on your new addition.D. |
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Kelfezond
The bearded one
United Kingdom
4803 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2011 : 18:57:25
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| Indeed sticks forgot about that, although don't be an idiot like me and put the rub in the highest possible viv lol |
\v/ Click me for Kelfezond Reptiles Facebook Page! \v/
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Robert
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
957 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2011 : 19:13:52
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| Hi and welcome, ceramic or infra red bulbs are both fine with the correct thermostat, as for substrate aspen is my prefence but bark is ok too so long as it is not damp and creating too much humidity unless the snake is about to shed when a slightly higher humidity is beneficial, make sure you have a digital thermometer and keep the temperature faily constant in the warm end, and try to ensure a temperature gradient so that the snake can regulate its temperature. and always always fit bulb guards. Enjoy your Spider morph :) |
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Rox1e6
Snake Mite
44 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2011 : 20:26:47
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| Thanks for the advice. We have a normal thermostat so I will change it for a PP one before we set everything up. I was wondering how long the ceramic bulbs last on average as the protector and viv don't have a trap door on them so that means it'll have to be unscrewed to change the bulb! Is this a design fault of ours!? :) |
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blackskull
Fully Grown Royal
United Kingdom
1278 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2011 : 20:31:44
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| i have heard that ceramic builbs can last for 5yrs, i have only been using ceramics for the past yr so only time will tell. but a ceramic i had on an on off stat only lasted about 6 months. my guards are the same as yours, i will have to un screw from roof of viv when they need changing |
1.1 normal royal, sully, silver
0.1 pinstripe royal, penny
1.1 pastel royal, lars, clover
0.1 lesser royal, serenity
0.1 black pastel royal, betty
0.1 mojave royal, mavis
0.1 normal het clown
1.0 pastel het clown
1.0 nuclear, ned
1.0 super phantom
1.0 childrens python, myles
0.1 hog island boa
0.1 sonoran x boa, grace
0.0.1 mack snow leopard gecko, munchkin
4.1 cats, stan, dave, marble, binx, daisy
4.1 rabbits, mol, ted, bill, spud, alice
0.1 crazy cat/bunny lady of bridgwater, lucy |
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n/a
deleted
7384 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2011 : 20:38:29
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By 'protector' do you mean a bulb guard? Every heater, whether IR or ceramic bulb, must have a guard, but anyway, whatever, if something has to be unscrewed, whether it's a fitting or guard, in order to change a bulb, I really recommend those things called 'screw eyes'. They come in several sizes and look like the kind of thing you find on the back of picture frames - a small metal circle with screw attached. I use them to attach guards to the viv ceilings as, once the screw holes are made, the eyes can be undone and redone without having to fiddle about with small screws and screwdrivers (you can't actually SEE what you're doing, screwing into the average viv ceiling ... )
This paid off for me at 2am this morning when, on my usual early morning insomniac worry bucket prowl, I found that Saada's bulb had blown ...Changed within minutes, thank goodness.
Oh yes - another tip - always keep spare bulbs. |
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markmifsud
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
534 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2011 : 20:55:45
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| I use a 150w ceramic in my 4foot viv and it keeps a good temperature. I too am a bit worried about wearing out the screw holes if and when I need to remove the guard. What I have planend to do is drill a hole to just below the surface of the top of the viv, and araldite a washer and a nut in place, then I can just use some nice stainless steel bolts going through the guard holes and into the nuts. |
1.1.0 Pastal Ball
1.0.0 Normal Ball aged 7(ish)
0.1.0 Normal Ball aged 7(ish)
Bromley. SE London |
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markmifsud
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
534 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2011 : 21:01:24
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| As for spares, I have a spare Dimming Stat, ceramic and infra red heat bulb |
1.1.0 Pastal Ball
1.0.0 Normal Ball aged 7(ish)
0.1.0 Normal Ball aged 7(ish)
Bromley. SE London |
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stevethornley
Hatchling
United Kingdom
69 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2011 : 10:43:59
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How exciting! This thread is of particular interest to me as we started our son off with his dream Royal python on his 8th birthday a couple of month's ago. Sorry for the loss of your snake.
A couple of other options to throw in the pot, hopefully without also throwing a spanner in the works:
I was worried about the whole unscrewing the guard off the roof of the viv to change a bulb (althoughs BATS's idea of using eyelets is a cunning plan) so went instead for the 'deluxe' guard, I think from ProRep, which has a metal base that stays on the roof and you unscrew the mesh bit from the base. No danger of wearing those screw holes out. I understand there's even a bulb guard on the market with a trap door which swings open to allow even easier access to the bulb.
Also, re: bulb, if you use IR rather than ceramic, you get the advanatage of knowing when the bulb has blown (it goes out!) Also, the glow provides light which doesn't bother the snake like white does.
Good luck!
Steve |
0.1.0 Royal Python - Kate
0.1.0 Beagle - Poppy
0.0.11 tiny tropical fish - not named |
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Robert
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
957 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2011 : 11:02:48
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| All my guards sre the trapdoor type and bulb changing is really easy they are worth the extra cost, I do however like Bats solution too :) |
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Rox1e6
Snake Mite
44 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2011 : 16:01:36
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Thanks for all the help so far, we're going to use the screw eye system suggested with our guard! I have ordered a dimmer thermostat so if we decide to change from ceramic heater to infra red light we'll be able to use the thermostat for both as I think I've read right and the PP ones cant be used with bulbs!
A question tho....Blackskull said its ok to use a low wattage household bulb for viewing but most people say to use infra red? Is there a specific infra red viewing bulb I could get that wont upset the ceramic heater temps or is a 10w household bulb ok (and do these need their own guards?? or should I just shelve the idea of being able to see inside the viv! :) |
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blackskull
Fully Grown Royal
United Kingdom
1278 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2011 : 16:11:06
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i use a low wattage energy bulb to give the day night cycle as my snakes are in our bedroom and i need it dark so i can sleep, i know there is a chance that whight light can stress the snakes but mine are fine with it. and yes if you do use a viewing light then it needs to be guarded too.
if you do use an ir bulb theres no need to to run a ceramic at the same time, ir bulbs can be on 24/7 |
1.1 normal royal, sully, silver
0.1 pinstripe royal, penny
1.1 pastel royal, lars, clover
0.1 lesser royal, serenity
0.1 black pastel royal, betty
0.1 mojave royal, mavis
0.1 normal het clown
1.0 pastel het clown
1.0 nuclear, ned
1.0 super phantom
1.0 childrens python, myles
0.1 hog island boa
0.1 sonoran x boa, grace
0.0.1 mack snow leopard gecko, munchkin
4.1 cats, stan, dave, marble, binx, daisy
4.1 rabbits, mol, ted, bill, spud, alice
0.1 crazy cat/bunny lady of bridgwater, lucy |
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Hello and Thank You....
