Reptile & Amphibian Forums

well after reading and re-reading articles and all the info i can find on black thjoats i have decided to get one. i have also sat down and talked it over with my parents and they said it is good.

for a cage in the begining i will have a 75 gallon tank for him/her and i will put around 8-12 inches of sifted soil in it. basking spots of 120-130 degrees and all of the right lighting. i am going to set it all up this weekend and get all the temps right. i had no problem getting the temps up for my tegu or my uromastyx. what kind of light do you suggest i have been using those heat lights from the pet stores but they are expensive and have a very limited life. and then over the winter me and my dad will start to construct its final inclosure with dimesions of 9 feet long 5 feet deep and i ahve not decided on the height.

for feeding i will order crickets by the thousands and also breed them like i used to do for my bearded dragon. and as he/she grows i will end up breeding my own mice/rats for food. all food will be dusted will calcium and other vitamins. he/she will be soaked once a week and will also have a large container of water in the cage at all times fr drinking and soaking.

i think i have covered everything but if i have forgotten something(in a hurry to get to work) please let me know if i ahve forgotten something.

Check out how SHvar heats his BT's basking spot. He runs it 24/7.

Its the post that was made on:
Sat Oct 11 21:28:50 2003

about 40 posts down.

http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=53&de=151751

The only thing hat concerns me is the huffing anf puffing thing. i dont want to gte an animal that turns out to be very mean. also is it better to go with a baby a yearling?

"...all of the right lighting."

What does that mean exactly?

"...i am going to set it all up this weekend and get all the temps right."

Whats "right?"

"...what kind of light do you suggest(?)"

What kind of lights do you like? The monitor isn't going to be picky about light. Heat is a different matter all together.

"i have been using those heat lights from the pet stores but they are expensive and have a very limited life."

Then why are you using them?

"...as he/she grows i will end up breeding my own mice/rats for food."

Have you run this part by your parents? Breeding rodents is smelly buisness.

"...he/she will be soaked once a week..."

Why?

Also, what will your ambient temps be?

What will you be using for cage furniture?

What vet will you use if you need one?

Just a few things to think about. There is nothing inherently wrong with your plan, but don't plan on setting things into stone.

Best of luck.

by the right ligting i mean all of the heat lights and the uv strip lights. as for the heat lights do you use special heat lights or are there other lights(light out side spot lights)

and my parents dont care about breeding rodents we have mice and rats as pets(if they bite me hey will be food... did that with my brothers mouse)

for cage furniture and substrate i am going to use eiher soil or cypress mulch not to sure yet and for cage furnititure i will probably have a log or something for him to climb on.

as for a vet i will prolly bring him to my old vet anout 45 min away.. that is where i brought my tegu.

I as well as many others use outdoor floodlight bulbs and very inexpensive ceramic assemblies. I go to lowes or home depot and get the assemblies for 1.19 each and use 2 or 3 to produce a basking spot that is at least the animals snout to vent length. Use a piece oc plywood or a log for a basking site (personal preference) (I prefer plywood, it heats evenly is lighter than rock and if they get under it it wont hurt them). I wire the assemblies on a piece of plywood with 16 gauge lamp cord with a plug on it, then hang the light assembly from the cage top with chains from all 4 corners to adjust the temp of the surface. This way I get 134-188 degree surface temps for my monitors from varying heights of 8 inches to over a foot. I also take advantage of the basking site being plywood to make a Retes stack and end up with an underground section under it (stays damp and cooler than the surrounding air, yet not too cool, still some heat gets throug). I can email pics of the assembly I made recently if you want it, email me so I can send it.

That light is over a foot away from her, and is still 134-160 degrees on the surface.

I use those too. Actually got the idea from one of your posts. My girl uses that spot alot in the mornings.
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"Feed um then heat um"
"The less you breed the more you read"

Thanks btw
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"Feed um then heat um"
"The less you breed the more you read"