Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok someone said they use shoebox size storage containers for there rainbow boa, i am interested in seeing any pics of setups. also what would be a great size for a neonate. i am also told to get heat tape and not to use any lights are heat rope good too or no, i know i have to get a controler to any help. thank you

I don't have any pics handy.. but shoeboxes work great for rainbows. Rainbows (especially young animals) really need high humidity and a shoe box is an easy way to do that.

I keep mine 6.5qt rubbermaids for about the first 6 months or so.

The lights will dry the snake and air out, and they don't really need lights, so you can avoid them.

Heat tape and heat rope are both fine, but you will want to put a dimmer or tstat on it. You can also get a heat pad from the pharmacey (the ones intended for humans) and use it.

I am sure he will be happy to post it.. but get a copy of Dave's care sheet.. make sure to follow the temp and humidity requirements. From your questions, you seem to be new to rainbows.. so keep in mind they are a bit different in husbandry needs then other snakes.. but they are great fun to keep!!

>>ok someone said they use shoebox size storage containers for there rainbow boa, i am interested in seeing any pics of setups. also what would be a great size for a neonate. i am also told to get heat tape and not to use any lights are heat rope good too or no, i know i have to get a controler to any help. thank you
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photos.xtremecombatsports.com

yes i am very new with rainbows but i have emeralds so it shouldnt be too bad plus my friends all have rainbow so i think i can handle it so put me in coach hhaha. thanks a lot

the transition from ETB's to rainbows won't be hard at all. Instead of perches just give em a moss box and a big water bowl (large enough for them to completely submerge in - they tend to think they are fish from time to time)..

The other thing, I mist etbs early and let them dry over the course of the day.. with the rainbows, I keep em in high humidity all the time.

>>yes i am very new with rainbows but i have emeralds so it shouldnt be too bad plus my friends all have rainbow so i think i can handle it so put me in coach hhaha. thanks a lot
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photos.xtremecombatsports.com

ok so your saying a 6qt shoe box is enough for a hide box and a large water bowl? how is all that stuff suppose to fit. and how much heat tape would i need?and as always that i am a visual type of learning

My adult cages.....

Just scale that down for subadult.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
21.29 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

I will take some pics of my setups tonight or in the morning for you - I keep them in 3 sizes (0-6months, 6months to around 2 yrs and then adult size.. ) I will show you images of all of them and give you a few options.

>>ok so your saying a 6qt shoe box is enough for a hide box and a large water bowl? how is all that stuff suppose to fit. and how much heat tape would i need?and as always that i am a visual type of learning
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photos.xtremecombatsports.com

ok that would be great. i just want enough room for the snake to move around and feel comfortable. thanks dave those are some nice pics. thanks to all.

here are pics of my setups....

In these two pics you can see my hatchling racks, black plastic with shoebox size tubs and the next size up racks with two sweaterbox sized tubs per level.

Here's a smaller rack also based on the sweaterbox/blanket box configuration. For the pic I showed the three different options for this rack. Really only two for the main room as I have lots of shoebox tub racks.

These are some much larger racks based on the IRIS CB 110 tub. Large enough for adults.

And my breeding cages

Lastly, no good BRB setup is without a damp moss hide, they thrive with them!!

-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
21.29 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

do you put reflectix behind all the tubs? on racks you made or all racks? what made you start this?... one more... and does it really make a big enough difference?
sorry for the 20 (well 4) questions

I put that in the racks I made to keep the heat in the rack and radiating from the back to the front. Can't say for sure if it helps or not but it's not real expensive so....
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
21.29 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

the best tool that you can get is a temp gun. I spent about $55 from airizona tools for a raytek mt4.

this is by far the best tool i never realized i needed.

sorry about the lack of caps, but currently holding an agressive spotted python. at least the bites do not hurt and she is much better after a few weeks.
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Mike

2.4 BRB
1.2 Spotted Python
1.0 Cal. King

I just noticed that you have lights in your home built cages - do you use them? I have my cages in my dining room, and it gets decent indirect sunlight from windows. Thus, I have not used the lights that are in my cages. I had the lights installed beacuse when I get my basement finish they will move to a place with less light, and most of the current cages I have will be used for small pythons (that should have a light cycle).
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Mike

2.4 BRB
1.2 Spotted Python
1.0 Cal. King

yea i noticed that too!!!! what gives lol

I put the lights in there for cleaning but find I never use them. Shoulda saved my money!!
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
21.29 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Well it's still rack related but I was wondering how people set up their heating for rack setups.

I have looked at many thermostats but they all operate using a single probe. So do you just read from a single tub(if so which one within the rack? top center, middle center, etc..) or just use room temp? I assume you are not using a seperate thermostat for each tub/row.

Also how is the heat tape used? I've seen it before but never hooked it up or installed it and not sure what you'd need to do for it including whether you need to place anything under the tape, above it, or fire hazard issues.

Also as far as the heat cables, like those used in vision racks, does anyone know how much heat the different versions/wattages put off? I have a vision hatchling rack but am only going to be using about 1/3 of it until next year and was considering grabbing the 11.5ft 15watt or the 14.5ft 25watt (zoomed or exoterra I forget which) cable from a local store to just heat the levels I need heated but I am not sure if it is sufficient. The vision hatchling rack cable says 150watt but I am not sure if that is correct.

Any info or suggestions would be great.

Sean.

I'vde started switching my stacks over to multiple thermostats. Too much gradient to control the whole stack from a single point. The upper tubs are warmer than the lower ones. For my large Iris CB110 tub rack I've gone to a Herpstat PRO 4 channel stat for each rack. Have divided the rack into "zones" into 2,3,3,2 tubs each. Another HUGE advantage for me is I keep both BRB's and BCI's and can now keep them in the same racks.
(note, older pic still with one herpstat per rack)

For my smaller tub rack, I've gone to two helix units for each. OK, only have switched one over so far but do have the stat ready for the second rack. split into 5 shelves per stat.

I like to put the stat probe right on the heat tape. Then I set the stat low and adjust up until I get the temps I want in the tubs.

I use heat tape, under the tubs. One row per level, individually wired so I could turn off a row if not in use. Just tape it down securely. Oh yeah, I did route a shallow wide groove to set it into.

Don't know much about heat cable....
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
21.29 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

well unfortunately unless I pick up additional smaller heat cables I cannot do that kind if level by level turning on and off.

By the way, how much of a gradient were you noticing from top to bottom in your racks Dave? I'm curious also because the rack I'm currently getting ready is a 7 level hatchling rack so it may not be as much of an issue. Another possible influence (good or bad) is that since it is a vision rack it is open back and open sided which may affect heat buildup and heat transfer both.

If you haven't looked at it the heat cables are essentially a long rubber cable about as big in diameter as a computers mouse cable. The heat cable has a flexible heat source through it's core. Makes it handy for custom jobs as it can be bent in any configuration as long as you do not cross it over itself and keep a small distance between any two parts near each other(like 1/4 to 1/2 inch I believe).

I think I may order a couple cheep thermostats and try those shorter lengths of heat cable so I can run off those until baby season next year.

Thanks for the info as always.

Sean.

I was getting about a 3 to 5 degree gradient in a 6 foot tall rack. A 7 level hatchling rack would have much less variance.

I understand heat cable, just never dealt with it myself. Other than a used AP rack I have and have never used myself.

I really like the heat tape since you can cut to whatever length you want.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
21.29 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

How do you connect the plug/electrical wire to the tape?

Is it just a snap on end or do you have to splice wires or something?

Sorry for the questions but I've never used the tape before.

Also, are you using tape for your BRB breeders? I remember you saying you switched from bulb to something else but forget what you switched to.

If so how do you have that set up in there? I assume you would not want unprotected electrical connections/components is a high humidity enclosure.

Thanks again for all the info.

Sean.

hey Sean here is a link for flexwatt connections but either a crimp method that requires a special tool and connectors or solder method which Dave prefers and I believe he says the lower the wattage on the solder gun the better too here is a link
www.arbreptiles.com/cages/flexwire.shtml
and Dave switched from bulbs to RHP's (radiant heat panels) for his breeder cages
Bob

They make crimp on connectors but I just solder on wires after melting through the plastic.

how to solder flexwatt

For the BRB breeders I'm using Radient Heat Panels (RHP's) from pro-products.com

-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
21.29 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Great info, although I already have a crimping tool from doing telecom wiring so it's 6 or a half dozen as to which one i would do.

Interestingly though from that link you posted the company whose page those instructions were from is no longer going to carry the heat tape because of customer complaints and frequent price hikes from the supplier.

Also as far as the radiant panels, are those installed in the ceiling or floor of the enclosure? Didn't see them specify anywhere which it was.

Thanks for answering the questions.

Sean.

Wow, I've never had any problems with my heat tape. Then again, I did buy a bunch at once so maybe that was out of a good lot.

Plus I've been in electronics for decades and pretty handy with a soldering iron. I even have a setup at work for soldering on a micro scale.

The RHP's arew installed on the ceiling radiating down. A very soft heat. You can see them on the ceilings here:

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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
21.29 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

for the pics. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words( at least a good one lol).

Sean.