Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've decided that I am going to purchase a sterilite for my BP to live in since he's real close to outgrowing his current tank. I'm getting the sterilite because I can't afford to but a new 40 gallon breeder tank like I want to and haven't found any used ones for sale. A few questions though. First off, my BP is about 3 to 3.5 feet long at this point. Would a sterilite that is 44" long X 19" deep X 6 3/8" high be a good size for him? Second, someone on here told me to use a human heating pad to heat the one side underneath. Will that be safe on plastic and should I have some kind of heat source for the other side or will it be OK? Do I just sit the heating pad underneath or tape it too the underside somehow? Third, what about the lid? Do I just poke holes in the top and how many should I do so he gets enough ventilation and I can keep the humidity up in here at the same time? Sorry for all the questions but I want to make sure I do EVERYTHING right before moving him into his larger home. Any info on these questions and anything else you could think of would be much appreciated! Thank You again!

That's actually the same size sterilite I have for my adult male and he seems to be really happy in it. I wouldn't recommend a human heating pad under it. Many things could happen like overheating, shutting down and giving off no heat, etc.. But that could just be my view on using one. What I do to heat mine is this: I bought a small desk top heater and put it on a stool facing one end of his cage. I made sure to get a stool that was just high enough that when the heater is on it, it will blow the heat under his sterilite. His cage is on a stand with an open bottom.

Then I bought a stand and a larger heat lamp and put it over one side (nearest to the heater) for his hot spot. Please note though the lamp is NOT right on top of the sterilite, it is about 6 inches over it to keep the plastic top from heating up too much. I use Aspen bedding in the cage and put the water bowl closer to the heated side to regulate the humidity. I also spray the aspen once a day with a mist sprayer. This keep the overall humidity around 50%. I drilled air vent holes on the end with the heater near it, in the lid, and a few holes around the sides.

I use clamps to hold the lid down and he seems very happy in his sterilite. With the way I set up the heater and lamp, it keeps on side of the cage at about 88 degrees and the other side at about 79 degrees.

I hope this helps.

Circusfan

That helped a lot, thanks! One more thing. You said that you have it on a stand with an open bottom, right? What kind of stand is it exactly and where did you get it? That's one more thing I have to get because my current tank is sitting on a table that won't be big enough for the sterilite. Thanks

I just bought a fish tank stand from my local Walmart. I made sure to get one large enough for the sterilite. I hope this helps.

Circusfan