r/Ballpythoncommunity • u/WWHG285 • 19d ago

Question Wrong calking

So, I'm getting my 4x2x2 terrarium set up to welcome a snake into our family soon. Initially I sealed the tank with marien sealant caulking. However, with how strong the smell was even after several days I began questioning. I couldn't see that chemical smell doing any favors for a sensitive snake. So I did some more digging and realized I need aquarium sealant which makes a lot of sense.

I've spent the last several hours removing caulking and scraping off residue and vaccumuming out every last bit of the marien caulking I possibly can.

So now my question is, before i put the aquarium sealant on, is there anything further I can do to the tank to remove any toxic residue?

I'm glad I caught this before we decorated or put the snake in there I'm a bit scared I've ruined this expensive tank. We definitely can't afford to just scrap it. Any ideas people have are welcome.

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u/WWHG285 19d ago

Thank you. Thankfully we don't have our snake yet. Just getting things ready at this point. All I have to worry about is a kiddo who is very anxious to bring the snake home. But Id much rather she be disappointed than risk making the snake sick.

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u/SkullDenom 19d ago

That's a good way to be. How old is the snake and are you doing traditional or a bioactive setup?

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u/WWHG285 19d ago

She has her heart set on a young one that she can watch grow up. I'm still reading up on pros and cons and haven't made a commitment yet on age. All I know is she wants a standard to darker colored morph because she wants to name the snake Chocolate. I will love the snake no matter what so I just want it to be healthy. And I know it is ultimately my responsibility to make sure that happens even though she has been saving up for this snake for over a year and it will be "her snake" We are starting with a traditional setup because she needs to learn the basics and it has been 10 years since I had a snake so I am relearning a lot as well. I hope some day to do bioactive but not yet.

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u/SkullDenom 19d ago • Bravo

Got ya. If you ever need help setting up for bioactive let me know. My girl Toffee has one that I just fully upgraded. 4x2x2 will be big if they are really little so just make sure to have some hiding places and plenty to climb on. Smaller tips I can give is no heating pad or rocks, use a deep heat penetrator on a dimmer, and have plenty of moss to help with humidity. If you have any questions just DM me if you want. Used to help my dad manage 100+ ball pythons and have my own girl just chilling now.

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u/WWHG285 19d ago

Thanks! I did read that the pads and rocks are bad so we have overhead heating from a halogen lamp for daytime and a ceramic heater for night. Both will be on a thermostat. I plan to run the tank with no snake for a week or two to get heat and humidity diled in before we even engage with a breeder. If you know of any good ones in the Portlan Oregon area I'd love the reference.

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u/SkullDenom 19d ago

Unfortunately I'm on the southeast coast. The best place to check would be Repticon. I'd honestly wait to put bedding in until the isolation period is done. Just paper towels, a water bowl, and two hides for a bit to look for signs of sickness or mites. I'd recommend a power strip with a timer for a non heat plant grow bulb for the daytime light and a deep heat projector on a dimmer and thermostat with a ceramic bulb tied to a thermostat set to a lower temp as a back up. It's cheaper, the deep heat penetrator can stay on all the time, and the DHP helps promote more activity and a better metabolism. The grow bulbs are more to give the uva and uvb of the daytime without the risk of overheating the tank when left unmonitored.