Reptile(s) setup?

Question

Ball Python Setup
Snake- 80
40 gallon- 105
Lid with secure locks- 20
Thermometer and Humidity gauges- 11
Aspen- 14
2 Medium Logs- 10
Large Water Dish- 18
Undertank Heater- 35
Basking bulb and holder- 20
Red Night Light and holder- 20
Incadescent Light- 20

Corn Snake setup
Corn Snake- 40
40 gallon- 105
Lid with secure clamps- 20
Thermometer and Humidity gauges- 11
Substrate- 14
2 Medium Logs- 10
Large Water Dish- 18
Undertank Heater- 35
Basking buld with holder- 20
Red Night Light with holder- 20
Incandescent Light with holder- 20

Bearded Dragon setup
Bearded Dragon- 60
55 gallon tank- 110
Lid with secure clamps- 22
Thermometer and Humidity gauges- 11
Vita-Sand- 17
2 Large logs- 20
Medium Water Dish- 12
Undertank heater- 35
Basking light with holder- 20
Red Night light with holder- 20
Incandescent light with holder- 20

Basking and incandescent light on for 14 hours and red night light for 10 hours?

Anything wrong with the above?

Answer 1

some stuff you dont need like the incandescent light for the corn snake and the red night light

beardie needs uva/uvb bulbs again no red light needed you should change up the vita sand to regular play sand to avoid the beardie from licking it and becoming impacted

dont know about the python

Answer 2

Pretty good, but you can save some money. Home Depot and Lowe's sell clamp lights, believe it or not. Also, you can get a bag of play sand for two bucks, which is better than Vita-sand. Vita-sand and Calci-sand can clump when wet, which could possibly cause an impaction. Home Depot, Lowe's and Walmart also sell full-spectrum lights (UVB) for just under $7, although they produce a lower amount of UVB than the expensive bulbs, but I know of a couple of bearded dragon breeders who use them and say they are sufficient. They are called "sunshine" by GE, and are in a white box with orange.

Bearded dragons are desert animals. Deserts get very hot at night, but also very cool at night, so no red light or under tank heater is necessary. They can safely handle night frops down into the 60's, as long as there is a very hot basking spot during the day. Also, beardies don't require water dishes. They get their water from their vegetables. I didn't know this, and for years had water bowls. They never drank, just kicked sand in them. A friend who breeds beardies saw my enclosures and said the bowls weren't necessary. I asked a bigger breeder who said the same thing. She said as long as you mist them once a day, and provide vegetables, they'll be fine. In the desert, water is scarce. Also, beardies can't climb glass or jump very high, so I don't think you need the lid clamps. And they prefer to bask rather than hide, so the logs are optional. I've just used a large rock for them to sit on, which you can find for free.

Also, aspen is great for corn snakes, but for ball pythons, I've always like cypess mulch. It holds water better than aspen, which will increase the humidity, which is important for ball pythons. I buy mine at Home Depot for $2 for a huge bag. One $2 bag can fill an 8 foot by 2 foot cage, so you can't beat the price. I've used it for years, although most of my snakes are on newspaper.

Incandescent lights are unnessecary for snakes.

Heat/humidity gauges can also be found for cheap at Wal-Mart. And you probably want a nice looking cage, so the logs will be good. But I know of a few breeders, myself included, who just use small boxes, even cereal boxes. They provide a dark hiding spot, and that's what is important.

I breed snakes, and have over 120 of them, and have found out the hard way that pet stores are over priced. I buy everything I need from the places above, and from a few reputable websites, which I'll include the links for.

http://www.beanfarm.com
http://www.lllreptile.com

Answer 3

Nothing necessarily wrong, but let me give several pointers that could help cost-wise:

If you get a regular ball python (no fancy morphs/colors) then you should be able to get it cheaper than 80. I've seen anywhere from 25-60 for norms with most breeders. A breeder that I go to when I need advice sells baby regular balls for $25. Rescue snakes are cheaper too. If you want to look into those, try petfinder.com There are TONS of ball pythons in need of homes.

For the large waterbowls, esp. for a ball python, don't bother getting those more "natural" ones that cost 18-28 bucks at the pet store. They're often not big enough anyway. What I did was go to the dog section and bought the largest plastic water dish I could find. It was nearly 2x the size of the largest "snake bowl" and was on sale for $7! ^.^

Ball pythons also don't tend to burrow at all. The aspen isn't necessary really unless you're going for a more "natural" look. I personally like to use newspaper. It isn't harmful to the snake. Not only is it easier to clean out, but it's also much easier to spot when the snake "goes".

Instead of investing in expensive bowls or bedding, you need to put that money towards at least two hiding places/caves/etc for the snake. Ball pythons are shy and like their privacy. There should be a place to hide on the warm side of the cage and on the cooler side of the cage so it doesn't have to choose between whether it wants to hide or be in a comfortable temperature. I also have some large "jungle gym" structures (connected logs sold at petstores that give the snakes something to climb on) that mine absolutely loves. Like you listed, logs are good. Ball pythons really enjoy climbing.

The water bowl thing goes for the corn snake too, but keep the aspen for it, because they LOVE to burrow. Corn snakes actually don't require any special lighting, provided that the undertank heater you're using is generating enough heat. They come from a cooler climate (North america) than the balls (Africa).

For the bearded dragon, you really don't need a water dish. Unless taught to use one, they don't know what to do with it. Bearded dragons in the wild don't drink anything, getting nearly all of their liquids from the bugs and greens they consume. Some people will lightly mist their dragon's head on occasion and it'll lick the water from its face (kind of like dew)

As for the basking hours, it really depends on which animal and what season. I usually leave my bp's red night light on longer just because he's nocturnal and comes out as soon as seven o'clock rolls around, regardless of the lighting.

Overall though, good research. I'm sure other people will have their own pointers as well, which is good.

Oh! Almost forgot: look at a website like cragislist.org for used tanks. It can save you SO much money. I bought a fifty gallon for $50 and am currently working out a deal for a thirty gal for & $20! The thing is to be patient and keep an eye open. ^.~

Answer 4

The snakes don't need incandescent light or night red light. UTH is fine. Get a good digital probe thermometer for accuracy. NO SAND for beardies--it's not worth the impaction risk, plus it holds in bacteria, parasites, and odor. Use ceramic tile, non-adhesive shelf liner, or reptile carpet. Use a SMALL water dish--many don't drink from a dish and a med/lg dish will cause too much humidity. Daily misting and weekly baths/soaks are better. Timers for the beardie lights. Beardies need a basking temp of 100F and the incandescent bulb will work fine in a dome reflector for this. They must have a UVB reptile bulb within 12 inches of basking spot. Forget the red lights--it will keep him up at night, and as long as the temp in your house doesn't go below 60F, he'll be fine. If you must use night heat, use a ceramic heat emitter because it doesn't give off light.

Never aspen for beardies and no light at night!