new Sinaloan Milksnake setup help

Discussion in 'Other Colubrids' started by hottielover14, Sep 17, 2007.

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Which snake is your favorite to keep?

  1. Ball Python

    0 vote(s)
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  2. *

    Burmese Python

    1 vote(s)
    100.0%
  3. Green Tree Python

    0 vote(s)
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  4. Colombian Boa

    0 vote(s)
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    Red Tailed Boa

    1 vote(s)
    100.0%
  6. Cornsnakes(in general)

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  7. *

    Cali Kingsnake

    1 vote(s)
    100.0%
  8. Nelsons Milksnake

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  9. *

    Honduran Milksnake

    1 vote(s)
    100.0%
  1. hottielover14

    hottielover14 Embryo

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    Hi My girlfriend doesn't like snakes and ive been trying to work at her to let me have one under certain circumstances which is that it wont get out. Ive had almost any other pet you can think of except for a snake so its my first and need some help.I was thinking about getting a 20 gallon long aquarium with a typical screen top with like 10 clips to make sure its secure and i read that they dont need any fancy lights or UVB lighting, but what kind of lighting is reccommended to get? Also I read to just use a undertank heater and not a light because thats all you need and it heats the terrarium up nicely. is that true?

    what else am I missing? anybody have any ideas of a terrarium set up or any more info about it that they could give me? thanks
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. Bunny_Too

    Bunny_Too New Member

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    My Sinaloan is about 1 year old, about two feet. I keep him in a 20L with aspen substrate, UTH, no artificial light, A hide on each side, a water dish and some fake plants. I used to have him in a 29 with a built in sliding screen top and he somehow escaped and I found him ten days later. His new tank has a hinged screen top and I use four clips and he has been fine. He has never nipped at me but is skittish and spends a lot of time in his warm hide and will return to his hide if there is anyone watching him. He eats two Fuzzy's every five days but I have to put them resting on the edge of his hide and he pulls them in and eats them in solitude. I will switch him to adult mice in about another six months. Beautiful snake, good temperment but shy.
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. hottielover14

    hottielover14 Embryo

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    thats awesome. do you have a pic of him? what wattage and brand is your UTH? how do you see him during the day? is he by a window or something? what brand and size is your water dish? is it a XL one? do you ever hold him? is your aquarium acrylic or glass? how much did it cost you if you dont mind me asking? did you buy him as a baby? and where did you get him at? how long have you had him?
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. sb1127

    sb1127 New Member

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    I don't like UTHs. I have never had good luck with them. I use heat lamps in all my setups. Since milksnakes are nocturnal, you could use a red lamp as a 24 hour heat source that would give you visability at night. By placing branches, cork bark, rock, or similar heat absorbing surface below the lamp, you will encourage your snake to bask when it wants to warm up, therefore providing a great display. My everglades ratsnake, gophersnake and childrens python bask. When my ratsnake wants an extra blast of heat, she will spend time coiled in braches right under the lamp. My python hangs out on a high branch after a meal.
    Whichever heat source you choose, make sure you connect it to a rheostat or thermostat. If you do use an UTH, I would elevate the cage a little to alow airflow and keep the glass from overheating and cracking.It's fun to experiment and find the ideal setup for you and your snake.
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. hottielover14

    hottielover14 Embryo

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    sb, what kind of bad luck did you have with them? I was thinking of using a exo terra UTH because there usually used for milksnakes and have seemed to work good for other people. Im also planning on using a red light to use to see my snake during the night. Im gonna get a Combo Hood and get a flourescent light for the day and im gonna use the red incadescent for viewing at night. Wouldn't the branches or cork and so on also absorb heat from the UTH? You dont have any milksnakes though right? yeah im planning on getting a thermostat from Big Apple Herp, the one that they make, it looks like a good one. has anybody used it or anything from them? if so can you tell me how they worked out for you? what would be the best way to elevate the cage? im also going to order the 20L acrylic terrarium from Big Apple Herps? so would I need to get a different UTH or anything since its acrylic and not glass?
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. sb1127

    sb1127 New Member

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    195
    The first time I tried I UTH, was with my gophersnake. I could never get a consistant temperature because he digs, burrows and moves the substrate around. The more substrate that was piled over the UTH, the lower the temperature. If the area had a light covering of substrate, it would be to hot, even with a rehostat. Thermometers are usless with UTHs. I tried a thermometer with a probe, but it kept getting moved and pooped on. I got fed up and switched to a lamp. With a heatlamp, I was able to get more consistant temps, and a wider range of temps. I also found that he spent less lime hiding.
    A heat conducting surface like cork or wood will absorb heat best from above, just like natural sunlight, to answer your question. To elevate the cage you need to put something underneath the cage in each corner. I used cork coasters to raise it just enough to alow airflow.
    I have one acrylic cage from Big Apple Herp. The tank style, not the one with sliding doors. It comes unasembled with a special glue. Be carefull with the glue, though. If you screw up, and get it on the sides of the cage, you will never get it off. Yes, I messed up. It holds heat well and is very light and easy to move. I am assuming that it can be used with an UTH. I don't see why it couldn't be.
    Like I said before, try one and see how it works for you. Oh yea, the best way to check the temps is with an infared temp gun, especially with a UTH. I got one for $20 at Pep Boys, and it turned out to be the best investment so far.
     
  12. hottielover14

    hottielover14 Embryo

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    ok i see. milksnakes like to dig too ive read but i think im going to try an UTH and see how it works out but if it doesn't work that good i'll be using a heat lamp too. Im going to use both. I was thinking about getting the Flukers therm/hygro for each side. and it doesn't have a probe so it might be better to use. do you think it would?i wonder why he spent less time hiding with a heat lamp over a UTH.that does make sense about the heat conducting surfaces.oh ok where did you get the coasters at? oh really i thought it came assembled? i would be getting the tank style too. oh really? that kind of sucks because what if the sides aren't perfectly balanced or straight. is it hard to put together? i just thought that most UTH's are probably made for glass surfaces. ok but with the infared temp gun, what would you do to check the humidity? would you use a hygro in your tank and then just use the temp gun for the temp? is it pretty accurate?
     
  13. sb1127

    sb1127 New Member

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    Putting it together is easy. All you have to do is glue the frame together and then the acrylic pannels. I still have thermometers in my cages to give me a general idea of what the temperature is. But for an acurate reading, I use the temp gun. I can know what the tmperature is directly under the lamp, in the hides, or off to the sides. A standard hydrometer is fine to gauge the humidity.
     
  14. hottielover14

    hottielover14 Embryo

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    ok but what if the sides or frame isn't straight after glued? what kind of thermometers do you use in your cages? are they digital? have you ever used the Flukers combo temp/hygro? ok I think I saw a temp gun on petco. com or petsmart too, i wonder if its the same?
     
  15. hottielover14

    hottielover14 Embryo

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    what is the best secure and lockable screen top for my 20 gallon long acrylic tank?
     

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