Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My obsoleta/us shed last night! I guess all my hovering and misting and peering into his hide to make sure he was still alive paid off.

But that's not what I'm posting about. I'm just excited because this is the first time he's shed since I got him, and I was worried that it wouldn't go well.

Anyway, the real reason for the post is that I've gotten hooked on these animals, but I don't have the space for 50 aquariums. I've seen pictures of the way that some people store their snakes, in those plastic boxes with the holes drilled into the top. It looks like that's the way I'll have to go with my next corn, which will be either a ghost or an anerythristic, plus I want a spilotes, though I'll probably never find one. So, my question is how do you heat one of those plastic boxes? Do you just get an UTH and/or basking lamp? The reason I ask is that it seems like maybe it could melt, and the holes don't look like they'd allow for much ventilation. Any and all advice on this subject is appreciated. Thanks.

Congrats on your snake shedding successfully…although I don’t know why you would have been worried in the first place… I probably missed a previous message you posted?
I would love to see a post-shed pic!

It is VERY easy to get hooked on snakes in general. I have a TON of critter cages that are collecting dust simply because I converted all my snakes into Sterilite containers. It was only supposed to be temporary but its SO much easier to clean my animals in those types of enclosures.

I remember my first several experiences with drilling plastic storage containers….ah the memories.lol….DON’T DO IT!!!!!!! Go to Home Depot and by a soddering tool that is in the shape of a pen. They are very cheap and will melt the holes in the container with much more ease than drilling. It took me 5 minutes to put ample holes in 3 containers. You can creat about 100 holes in a matter minutes….plenty of ventilation. If the tank gets too humid…you can usually see by the condensation building on the inside….then simply add more holes…its that easy.

For Heating…. I use heat pads made for humans and I buy them at Walmart…they have 3 settings (be carefully NOT to buy the 14.99 ones that have an auto-shutoff). The ones I get are $9.99 and have worked great for me for over 10 years. I use these in combination with obsessive-compulsive use of my TempGun from ProExotics. I chose to use this because of my paranoia with fire hazard and heat tape or other methods out there that would require me to do some actual electrical wiring.lol. I don’t use any heat lamps….they probably would melt the plastic.

I actually just did some shopping at Home Depot for power tools I’ll need when custom building my own cages this summer. I plan to design something similar to Greg Maxwell’s GTP enclosures that are in his book, The Complete Chondro (and I think he has something on his website about constructing them too). I can’t wait b/c I plan to build cages that will allow my snakes to actually climb and exercise more than I’m sure they’re able to now in the plastic containers. However, Racks will always be used for any non-adult snakes that I own.

Oh, one more thing...it is so easy to get caught up in buying new herps BUT try to limit yourself to only purchasing a certain number every year. My current collection has been an ongoing project going on 10 years now and it can be overwhelming if you jump in too much too soon. I'm 28 and I figure I have many many years ahead of me to bred and buy what I like so I'm taking my time and having fun with it!

Good Luck and let us know what you get next….a few people on here may actually remember when I said I was stopping at 30 er…40…er…50….uhm….(clears throat) 75 plus snakes. The fun never
stops!
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Sincerely, Jason
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My Website: www.members.aol.com/northeastsnakes
My collection...
BOAS: 0.1 Solomon Island Ground Boa, 1.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boas, 1.1 Argentine Boas, 2.2 Nicaraguans, 1.1 Sonoran Desert Boas, 1.1 Cay Caulkers, 1.0 Columbian Boa 100% het Kahl Albino, 0.1 Anery Col boa, 1.1 Hog Island Boas, 0.1 Hog Island Boa poss het patternless.
PYTHONS: 1.2 Green Tree Pythons, 2.2 Bismarck Ringed Pythons, 2.8 Normal Ball Pythons, 1.0 Ball Python 100% het Piebald, 1.1 Spotted Pythons.
COLUBRIDS: 1.1 Black Pines, 1.1 Northern Pines, 2.2 Bairds Ratsnakes, 1.2 White-sided Black Ratsnakes.
CORNS: 1.0 Blizzard, 1.2 Bloodreds, 1.2 Butters, 1.0 Ghost, 0.1 Sunglow, 1.0 Hypo het Amber, 1.1 Lavenders, 1.1 Miami Phases, 1.2 Reverse Okeetee, 0.1 Snow, 0.1 Striped Amel, 3.2 Okeetees.
OTHER: 0.0.3 N. Diamondback Terrapins.

It's difficult sometimes to decide what it is you are going to do with all those snakes. I have diverse plans on how to handle the critters...

The first thing I'm doing is renovating my "mouse house"... I've had the mouse house for a year and a half, but when we first bought it (and the people house that came with it) I was converting my mouse room in the rental house into the mouse house. I went from a 20 foot by 10 foot room to an 8 foot by 12 foot self-contained building. I have a guy who's going to convert it from it's eclectic collection of 7 rat cages and one wooden rack that holds 20 mouse cages into a mouse rack with 36 cages, and a rat rack with 12 cages... this will take up one side of the building, and the other side I hope to convert into rack housing for my colubrids. This will increase the room for animals and the production of food for the snakes....

My second plan is that after this coming breeding season I plan on taking a long hard look at the different snakes I have and figure out what I really really want to do.... I am likely to try to sell nearly half of my snakes so that I can concentrate on the few species that I really like... which will give me more room too.

Third plan is my most nefarious one... I bring some of the snakes in to school as I have additional space there. Put them in my and my husband's classrooms... get the kids interested in the snakes, and with their parents' permission, sell some to the kids at high enough prices to get them to value their pets, but low enough prices that they can afford the animals. (generally a bit below the normal going rate for these animals). So I make more space, make some changes in the collection, expand into the classroom, and increase the demand in the area by helping kids to know that snakes can be cool too!
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~Sasheena

Won't you drive the snakes crazy having the mice and snakes in the same area??

For the snakes, but they seem to be coping fine with being in the same building as the mice and rats. I've never had any problems with non-feeders amongst the snakes kept in the same building as the furry critters. Perhaps it hones their appetite.
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~Sasheena

I would think the snake would get nippy (feeding response) from being within the same area as the food...that's all. Let us know how it goes ok?
Congrats on your new building!!

One thing about having some of my snakes in my "mouse house" (I've had them there over a year)... when two of them escaped (luckily at different times) they had no motivation to leave the actual building or if they left they had motive to return... Both were found on the mouse cages, wanting a nice snakey snack. I don't handle my snakes that much, and they are a bit nippy... smelling the dinner around them all the time, but it's usually quite fine... like I said, improved feeding response!
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~Sasheena

Insofar as pics, I took some about a week ago, had them developed (don't have a digital camera) and put on CD, and all of them but one came out blurry. Then when I tried to upload that one to the site it said that it was too big. I resized it, and then the site told me the file was corrupted. I'll have to work out another way to get pics. But he didn't get much darker, which is odd. (He's a W/C juvenile sold from a pet store.) The silver parts on his back actually got brighter, and the silver on the sides turned a dark gray. Wish I could show you.

Right now I only have two snakes, and though I really want another, prices are prohibitive. I live in an area where there just isn't much interest in colubrids, so when I can find them, they're ridiculously high - I paid $60 for my normal corn because the only other place I could find that had a corn was selling a normal for $69.99. I've since seen amelanistics at Petco for $59.99. Point being I'm not all that worried about getting millions of them because I literally can't afford them. The only reason I managed to get my obsoleta (which I was dying for because my girl had one and I was jealous) was that it was $15 at this horrible little hole in the wall shop because they couldn't get rid of it. The space problem is because I live in a tiny place that doesn't allow pets, and maintenance can come in when I'm not here, so I have to keep them in my closet (which is kind of funny now that I think about it). But it's getting a little bit crowded for another ten gallon aquarium, which is how I have the other two.

Anyway, thanks for the long post - if I can find a ghost, anerythristic or (the longshot) spilotes, I'll definitely use your instructions.

always a couple hundred here at all times I think........now?....uummm........rough guess......240?........

.......and I drill my plastic boxes...I don't need the toxic fumes from a soldering iron .......

both holes created are rough and can get the snakes' tongue stuck in it......(happened one time with a baby corn in a hole "punched" into a deli-cup with a paper punch.......yes it lost half the fork and yes it died then)......
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>>always a couple hundred here at all times I think........now?....uummm........rough guess......240?........
>>
>>.......and I drill my plastic boxes...I don't need the toxic fumes from a soldering iron .......
>>
>>both holes created are rough and can get the snakes' tongue stuck in it......(happened one time with a baby corn in a hole "punched" into a deli-cup with a paper punch.......yes it lost half the fork and yes it died then)......
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>>.................

Only 37 at this time but come spring I could have between 100 to 150 hatchlings.
I also drill all the holes in my Sterilite boxes.
I drill 1/8 holes in the hatchling 6 quart boxes and 3/16 holes in the larger boxes.
Sure the edges may be a little rough but so is the ground and so are the rocks and branches..etc in the wild.
Just drill from the inside out to keep the ineer edges a little better and if there seems to be an edge a little too sharp just smooth it out with sand paper or a file or knife or whatever. no biggie.

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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

.

From the looks of that new little snow you just got, I think it will turn out even more white then her.
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

>>For Heating…. I use heat pads made for humans and I buy them at Walmart…they have 3 settings (be carefully NOT to buy the 14.99 ones that have an auto-shutoff). The ones I get are $9.99 and have worked great for me for over 10 years.

I thought I was the only one who did this!!! The last time I moved I had an entire box of just heating pads. The movers must have thought I was strange.

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Joe

"Life is a banquet and most poor fools are starving to death"

1.2 Amel Motleys het Snow
0.1 Snow Motley
1.1 Emory Rats het Albino
0.1 Albino Emory Rat
1.1 Taiwan Beauties
0.0.3 Yellow Ackies
and a Partridge in a pear tree
actually he's a Blue & Gold Macaw

buying more than 3 heat pads at a time.. OR more than 4 dog (water) bowls.lol...the cashier always gives me strange looks.

I moved last month and had my movers move everything BUT the snakes and supplies. It took me an entire day. The movers moved about 20 old 20-40 gallon critter cages for me and took such an interest that I ended spending some time showing off my collection. It was fun for about 20-30 minutes then we went back to work moving.lol
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Sincerely, Jason
-----
My Website: www.members.aol.com/northeastsnakes
My collection...
BOAS: 0.1 Solomon Island Ground Boa, 1.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boas, 1.1 Argentine Boas, 2.2 Nicaraguans, 1.1 Sonoran Desert Boas, 1.1 Cay Caulkers, 1.0 Columbian Boa 100% het Kahl Albino, 0.1 Anery Col boa, 1.1 Hog Island Boas, 0.1 Hog Island Boa poss het patternless.
PYTHONS: 1.2 Green Tree Pythons, 2.2 Bismarck Ringed Pythons, 2.8 Normal Ball Pythons, 1.0 Ball Python 100% het Piebald, 1.1 Spotted Pythons.
COLUBRIDS: 1.1 Black Pines, 1.1 Northern Pines, 2.2 Bairds Ratsnakes, 1.2 White-sided Black Ratsnakes.
CORNS: 1.0 Blizzard, 1.2 Bloodreds, 1.2 Butters, 1.0 Ghost, 0.1 Sunglow, 1.0 Hypo het Amber, 1.1 Lavenders, 1.1 Miami Phases, 1.2 Reverse Okeetee, 0.1 Snow, 0.1 Striped Amel, 3.2 Okeetees.
OTHER: 0.0.3 N. Diamondback Terrapins.

>>buying more than 3 heat pads at a time.. OR more than 4 dog (water) bowls.lol...the cashier always gives me strange looks.
>>
>>I moved last month and had my movers move everything BUT the snakes and supplies. It took me an entire day. The movers moved about 20 old 20-40 gallon critter cages for me and took such an interest that I ended spending some time showing off my collection. It was fun for about 20-30 minutes then we went back to work moving.lol
>>-----

I had forgotten about moving with them. I had over 100 herps at the time of my last move and I was moving into a "NO PETS" apartment. So the night before the actual move I moved all of the herps into the apartment and put them in the spare bedroom walk in closet(in boxes and bags, I had some really big snakes). Well the next day, moving day, was a fiasco. So much so that by the time I got ready to put all the kids back in their enclosures that night, I was so tired I didn't even realize I was missing about 10-15 snakes. About 2 days later when I was really looking at all the kids did I realize some were missing. I panicked, I called my old apartment to see if the new tenants had found them, no. I finally found them about 3 hours later in the very back of the walk in closet still in the bags in the box I had packed them in. I found out later that one of my friends that was helping me move thought she would help get rid of some of the clutter by packing my spare closet with the extra stuff that was just lying around. That same Macklott's python was in that box, he was forever causing trouble.
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Joe

"Life is a banquet and most poor fools are starving to death"

1.2 Amel Motleys het Snow
0.1 Snow Motley
1.1 Emory Rats het Albino
0.1 Albino Emory Rat
1.1 Taiwan Beauties
0.0.3 Yellow Ackies
and a Partridge in a pear tree
actually he's a Blue & Gold Macaw

when I go and buy ten or twenty cat litter pans at a time.

When hubby and I adopted a couple of kittens, we didn't have to worry about cat litter pans... we have more than a hundred, the mice and rats don't mind giving one or two up.
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~Sasheena

I'm about to get my 6th snake...a chondro...and I swear thats the last one!!! For now at least. I just gotta stop looking at the classifieds - every time i find a new snake i cant live without! lol.
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Claudius)... coming soon

thats my 21st b'day present to myself. lol. (coming up on tuesday, yay!)
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Claudius)... coming soon

its worse than drugs or smoking there is no stopping..trust me I tried stopping at 6 and than 10 now at 15 my wife has stopped me till I build a rep building..now as soon as thats built...lol
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1.0 Uromastyx
0.0.1 Sulcatta totoise
0.1 Leos
2.2 Corn snakes
0.0.1 Childrens python
1.1 Brazilian Rainbow boa
1.0 Rat (as pet not food)
2.2 Ball pythons (1pastel 2 normals)
2.1.1 crested geckos

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signature file edited. [phw 10/23/04]