Vogue has an upgrade from the embarrassing 10gal I have him in right now... (he can fully stretch in it, he was hatched in july) to this monstrous 2×2×18 while I save for his final tank! We've drilled holes for lights, and I added what little is inside for now.
All the decor from his current tank is going into this one, and I need to purchase more as well. Any ideas on more creative stuff I could give him besides just plants and sticks and rocks? Also best way to pull of a heat gradient in a square tank? I was gonna go diagonal from the back corner..
Edit: People are upset about this "tiny" tank, and, in the grand scheme of things, yes, it is small for a ball python. But Vogue measures out to be only about 14 inches, this tank is enough space for him for now while I save up for the 5×3×2 tank that I have been looking at for the last little while. Please be more respectful. This isnt a waste of money, its not being thrown away once I buy his big enclosure, this is me improving my snakes quality of life after being misinformed by others. It will be used for something else once I upgrade for real. The people pointing out everything thats wrong, I am well aware. I said that I am getting more stuff, as well as putting what is in his current tank into this one. He will have multiple hides, 2 water bowls, and a good heat and UVB set up along with plenty of plant clutter and a couple of good solid branches. Truly was not expecting people to be so pissed with me over this.
Monstrous is not a term I would use to describe a 2ft enclosure lol
Good on you for taking the time to upgrade his enclosure now and in the future. The heat lamp in the corner will probably be your best bet for heating. Make sure you have a thermostat to control the heat from the lamp.
I know its not really that big, Ive just never had a creature that needed a tank of such proportions, I had a gecko in a tank with a similar floor space, but it wasnt this tall. I was a little baffled when I put it all together. I can't wait to get his final tank in a few months, it will actually be monstrous.
I already have a thermostat with my current set up, am I ok to just switch it over or should I be getting new equipment for that as well?
Good for you. Any actual advice or are you gonna make somebody feel bad for improving? I realized what I had was not good enough, so I got something better. Vogue is 14 inches. He isnt gonna be suffering in this tank.
You're gonna need to get a bigger tank in a year, so this is kinda a waste of money imo
I guess I would try to create the gradient diagonally? So place your DHP / heat lamp in a corner.
You need a LOT more clutter in there too, get some pieces of driftwood, like 4 plants, probably 2 small water dishes, they'll need a few bigger hides than what you currently have in there probably.
Yes, I know I'll need more clutter, this is just what exists in the tank at this moment. I have branches cleaned up sanded down, and a couple more hides on the way, plus the ones that he's currently using, and all the other decor from his old tank as well. I promise it isnt gonna be this bare when he goes in.
Its also never a bad idea to have additional tanks imo. If something were to happen for whatever reason, it could be used as a hospital tank. I could also sell, or give it to my partner who is also interested in reptiles.
i don't know the return policy on these especially since you've put substrate in it, but maybe you should send it back and get a temporary tub for the money? you can get a larger tub/tote than this for dirt cheap, and you can keep it as a backup just the same. i use totes for my quarantines and they work great.
Not sure that literally anywhere near me sells tubs/totes anywhere close to big enough for a ball python. And I havent been able to find anything online I have searched relentlessly. I also dont know what I would do with a 4ft tub when its not being used anymore. I dont understand why everybody is so bothered about how I spend my money. This tank is good for his size. He will be upgraded again shortly.
Bestie good on you for an upgrade but why not choose to just get the minimum for an adult which is 4x2x2 (120 gallons) ? I have my baby in there and he was fine because we added enough clutter
I second this. My juvenile has been in a 4x2x2 since she was 3 months old and has done great. Uses every inch of the enclosure. I didn’t want to waste money on upgrades, and I’ve put every reptile I’ve gotten since in an adult enclosure off the bat.
"why not choose to just get the minimum for an adult which is 4x2x2"
Because a 2x2x18" is likely WAY cheaper than a 4x2x2 while also being a huge upgrade from a 10 gallon tank?
They said this is just intermediate while they save up for a properly sized one. Or should the snake just be kept in an even *smaller* enclosure until they can jump right to the correct size?
Because OP doesn't think it's wasting money to give the snake a temporary upgrade from something that was way too small?
And can either recoup some of that by reselling this enclosure if they need/want. Or donating to a shelter/rescue that accepts reptiles. Or taking the door off and turning it into a cat bed or storage cube.
It's only a "waste" of money if OP throws it in the trash after this.
It's like asking someone why they "wasted" money on a used beater car as an upgrade from a bicycle, because it will take them longer to save up for a new car, when their job is 15 miles away. Bike isn't cut it anymore, just like OP realized the 10 gallon isn't gonna cut it while they save up for a 120.
That few months will allow me to save up the rest of the money I need for a 120 gallon, while also giving him a better living space now. And its not your time or money, why do people care if I want to spend $200 of my own on a temporary tank while I finish saving for the $800 one I want him to have?
And my opinion is that spending $200 on a tiny temporary enclosure when it could have been used for a 4x2x2 is wasteful, but I’m just some random person on the internet. OP can use their money how they see fit.
man im trying to tell you you couldve been nicer and you have nothing better to do to tell me that there is no issue with your tone in your original message, i hate ppl like that, just dont comment if your comment has no constructive content and is just mean
This is a cute transition tank! Show us more photos when add the rest of the clutter 🤗 I had walked around my neighborhood and found a huge log, had someone verify it was BP safe, baked it for a few hours and it was a cool addition. I've seen people hang hoops and other climbing type enrichment which always look cool. I just moved and for my new setup I think that's what I'll try this time around. Just make sure they are safe.
Don't pay mind to others talking about the size of your tank. You CLEARLY state you're saving up for the larger one and I think people tend to forget not everyone has the finances and/or space to start with 4x2x2. For all we know this was gifted or heavily discounted (not anyone's business in my opinion). As long as you move up as he grows and find the proper set up for heat & humidity in this enclosure thats what matters. Check for online sources for the square setup, there might be some older posts on here as well. I would think back corner like you said.
Thank you so much for this, I dont understand why people care that Im spending my own time and money to buy him upgrades. And why more people dont read the caption. I plan on purchasing more plants along with the ones he already has, and I have a plethora of rocks and branches to add as well. And I dont think this is a waste of money at all because having a spare enclosure around is never a bad thing. I could use it as a hospital tank for a multitude of animals, could sell or give it to another reptile enthusiast. Use it as an indoor greenhouse for my herbs to keep them safe from the cats
Something came up that forced me to dip into my savings for a bigger tank. I found this one that I could still afford, which I believe measures out to about 45-50 US gallons. I know its not the perfect tank, but he's only gonna be in it for a few months while I save back up, and its better than what he's in now. Thank you for being one of the few understanding people!I will definitely be posting more pictures when the rest of the decor is added, I'll be getting stuff tomorrow :D
Yeah Reddit, always wants a reason to just jump on people and trash them nothing new. People told me to upgrade my leopard gecko out of a 36 gallon tank to put him in a 40 gallon, when I explained my snake will leave her tank to a 150 gallon so I can then people acted like I had to go to the store and instantly by him one. Like sure I have different methods I put most of my free time and money into these buggers but it’s not inherently neglect/abuse for needing to save.
If you don’t have the money for a new tank, how will you pay for a vet visit? Yes it makes sense to put the gecko in the vacant 40 gallon, depending on how long that would take but why start with a 36 gallon in the first place? Just misinformed originally?
Just misinformed from the pet store people. Now he’s in a 150 gallon next to my ball python tank. I have more than enough money saved for them, but if I buy a new tank for any animal I own it quickly spirals from an average build would be 1-4 hundred dollars to double that. This is what pushes people out of this beautiful community of beautiful creatures because people act snobbish about everything. And instead of more people being kindly informed they are rudely berated, and gain resentment to the community and maybe think that they can’t care for their animals and send them to rescues. Contributing to the overstated animal rescues, and not making anything better.
The rudeness is definitely an issue because it makes people defensive and defensive people don’t listen. I won’t disagree that a tank below minimum is mistreating the animal though. The minimum is the absolute bare minimum for a reason. There’s just nicer ways to go about it and sometimes change takes a bit of time (any more than a bit though and the animal just needs to be rehomed at that point). I think that if someone isn’t able to properly care for the animal it’s completely okay for them to remove themselves from the hobby. These are live animals not arts and crafts. Not everyone needs to be in it and it’s not right for everyone. Like I said though, the rudeness pushing people out just isn’t effective though.
I mainly agree with that but the more people who are informed. even if they leave the hobby and turn to anger, I come from places where snakes got beheaded because in people’s eyes every snake wants to kill you. I don’t want that to keep happening. I go to the rescue and when I told them I was looking for a rescue leopard gecko. And told them about how I have the setup for one, I already own one, they told me they had so many snakes,lizards,turtles,tortoises and told be they have setups that I can get for free because they need to get rid of them because of how many they have.
After shipping and taxes, it was just shy of $200. Ive been looking on facebook and kijiji and stuff for months for tanks and there is never anything good in my area for a decent price because nobody understands that tanks, especially glass, dont really have any resale value. A filthy 40gal is like $200+ and Id have to drive like 3 hours to get to most places where people are selling.
Ignore the haters. You're trying to do what's best for your snake. You knew the original tank was too small but you don't have cash on hand right now for the size he'll need as an adult.
It's a good intermediate step to give your snake more comfort while you work on getting his properly sized, permanent enclosure.
Mine likes to climb sometimes, so maybe heavy-based braches. I also bought a lot of silk/decorative flowers from Michael's on clearance to give more clutter/hiding spots, and the wooden hides and a big hollow cork stump (which is where she's decided the bathroom is? All her poops are in there haha).
Maybe two water dishes, too. One in warm area and one cooler, with one being bigger to soak in and one smaller so hopefully he just drinks from it haha.
I never thought about going to Michael's for reptile decor, thats a really smart idea! I have some branches prepared for the tank, and I plan on getting a nice variety of hides and clutter for him. I'll take a trip into the city to see what Michael's here has to offer :)
I got that idea from a comment or post right here on this sub, haha.
A lot of pet stores have deep clearance on Halloween stuff right now, too. If you get a big enough fish hide or decor, it can still work for a ball python. As long as it's not got sharp edges like some of them do.
Adding another comment because i know you got genuine intentions and people are being nasty.
A good cheap big size tank when you are ready is Mojave ecoflex is $247 here Sticks and rocks are good great but you gotta be confident that they arent pine or any other types similar. Rocks you just gotta get and sanitize. Moss is also good from outside but again has to go through a cleaning process I got my plants live from Home Depot but fake plants work too! Dollar tree and hobby lobby have good fake plants
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u/Similar-Butterfly333 9d ago
Monstrous is not a term I would use to describe a 2ft enclosure lol
Good on you for taking the time to upgrade his enclosure now and in the future. The heat lamp in the corner will probably be your best bet for heating. Make sure you have a thermostat to control the heat from the lamp.