Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was talking to somebody recently and mentioned some water bowls i picked up and he was amazed. I got 10 for 10 dollars and they are all glazed ceramic style. anyway i thought i would put up some cheap alternatives to paying out your nose.

So...

Water bowls from Dollar Tree. They have different sizes but guess what they are all one dollar. The dog bowls are better for what i use them for and they are heavy so they don't get tipped.

Light Bulbs from anywhere as long as they are the Reveal from G.E. they will have the Neodyium or what ever it is that is supposed to be good somehow. I don't know what it is supposed to do but these bulbs have it on or in them and they are about $4 for 4 instead of $6 for one. I use them because it makes the animals look better by bringing out their color more.

Bedding Well this is a loaded topic but I like cypress mulch myself and it is cheaper than the "reptile" mulch in stores and if you put it on a tarp in the yard for about half an hour it gets the bugs out.

There are some other things but i got to go. maybe some of you guys can give some other tips for good products that are cheaper but just as good.

later Jason

Good thread, this can save a lot of $... I like the cheap plastic molded water/food bowls for dogs, roughly a couple $ at big retailers. The best have a wide base, roughly square shape, hard to tip, and they have a space underneath that snakes like to take shelter under. Dirt cheap compared to the effective but expensive combination hide/water bowls marketed for herps. I also like odds and ends of PVC pipe for shelters, humidors etc. Anyone else solve problems/fill needs cheaply and effectively? Let us hear it.

Cypress mulch five 2.2 cu.ft bags for $10.00.

I usually nuke mine - first moisten, then 3 minutes for a whole microwave full gets it steaming hot, kills everything.

later

One of the early lessons that I learned in my two months of snake ownership is that the adhesive-backed, liquid crystal thermometers that they sell to stick on the sides of aquariums or cages really don't give useful information about the conditions inside the cage where the snake lives. If you correlate the temperature reading on one of these with temperature readings taken in the cage by other means and your correlation accounts for different room temperatures, then these "thermometers" might help you understand a little of what the snake is seeing. However, the main point is that these thermometers aren't that good.

I found one way to make these thermometers better. Take a piece of inch-and-a-quarter to maybe two-inch PVC piping and cut it just longer than the thermometer. Then, cut the piece lengthwise to make two little half-pipes. A thermometer can be put on the outer diameter of each of them. These pieces can then be put on the cage floor.

Because the pipe was sectioned lengthwise, there's no longer any "inside" in which a snake could get caught. A very little snake could even use one as a half-log hide. The PVC will eventually come to the same temperature as the bedding on which it sits, and the thermometer will read a pretty stable value that represents the PVC and maybe the air temperature above the PVC to some extent. The accuracy of the thermometer still won't be great, but the measured temperature won't be greatly affected by the temperature of the room.

Admittedly, this idea won't save a great deal of money. These thermomters are still about a dollar each and the low-end digitals are only five to ten dollars. On the other hand, the low-end digitals may not be quite as accurate as some people like to claim. They read to tenths of a degree, but that doesn't mean that any of the numbers that they show are correct. The digitals are also sensitive to probe placement. I've seen the temperature drop from 90 to 80 in half an hour. When I started investigating, I realized that my snake had bumped the probe so that instead of reading the bedding temperature it was reading air temperature just above a damp spot. A PVC pipe with a liquid crystal thermometer wouldn't be as subject to this kind of variation.

Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

...they also have the 3 packs and four packs for a buck.All ceramic. They are in graduated "nesting" sizes (one fits inside the other) so you get 3 or 4 different sizes for hatchling to adult.
I get 'em all the time.
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

..paper towel tubes for hides. Tunneling snakes like pines etc. love 'em as babies and you just toss in the recycle bin when they get dirty.
Although I do use cypress mulch for some snakes like mandaarin rats, I really dislike the idea of cutting our cypress trees for this product.
ANYTHING recycled for herp use or thereafter gets the nod from me.
Plastic butter/cool-whip dishes become hides,glass candle holders or ramekins can make water bowls for hatchlings.
Napkins from recycled paper can make "substrate" for deli-cup sized boxes, etc.
Sky and your imagination are the limits.
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

Another good buy are the plastic containers. I use them for hatchlings for the fist 6 months or so. I know many use deli cups but damn those are too small for my conscience.

Keith
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right...i use those for feeding enclosures/temp. holding boxes while changing newspaper substrate,etc...

all good ideas...but i ultimately came to using newspaper.i also use those butter tubs/etc. filled with moist sphagnum moss,with a hole in the top for 'humidors'-my kings/milks like that...as well as paper towel tubes,i also use frozen dinner boxes for disposable hide boxes-they like the low profile,probably helps them feel secure/secluded,to feel the box on all sides,incl. their back...

I forgot one of my favorite cheap items. That is the mite spray that I use instead of PAM. It is the Wal Mart brand Equate Bedding Spray. It is described for use on beds and pillows for lice but it has the same active ingredient as PAM and is only $4.00 vs/ $20. I don't want to get into a debate about the stuff and if it is as safe for the animals as PAM. I have used it for years and I know a lot of people who also use this stuff including at least one store owner who sells PAM but thinks it is too expensive even at wholesale. He is the one who told me and he has used it for a very long time. Since i quit dealing with wholesale animals and cut back on my collection I could maybe afford PAm but now i know i have a safe cheaper alternative why would I?

Later Jason

I use pvc pipe and plastic water bowls...

For hatchlings, I buy clear Solo cups in bulk from a restaurant supply company. These are what you use when you get ketchup at Wendys, etc. I then buy a long piece of pvc pipe from Home Depot (it's either 1" or 1.5", and dice it up into pieces about 1.5" long. Then you just pop the Solo cups into the pvc pipe. You can throw them out if they get crapped in, etc, plus the snakes can't knock them over.

For adults I use the same setup, only it's 4" pvc pipe and 16oz cups from Superior Enterprises.

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Paul Weaver
Carolina Herps

great system ! but only for shredded substrate i use napkins on top of 6" paper plate in a 6" pie tray and an apple sauce cup the apple sauce cup rarely get tipped the ketchup cups always get tipped when not anchored. btw the paper plate clean up is nice and easy .i pre make up a stack of pie tray b4 feeding and dispose of soiled napkin/plate and air dry ,rarely need water to clean.C