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ddm10
Yearling
United Kingdom
189 Posts |
 Posted - 14/02/2009 : 22:19:03
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Hi everyone I'm setting up a viv for a royal around (18months) at the minute and have been since christmas I'm just getting the last of the equipment and thought i'd see what you think of my set-up plans. This is the first snake i've kept so of course i have done tonnes of research and read just about every caresheet online!
housing: 36" vx36 vivarium on stand sealed with 'silirub' aquarium sealant.
heating: for day- habistat reptile radiator 75w screwed to roof of viv set to 31c with a habistat pulse thermostat. this is set via a timer to come on at 8:00am and of at 8.00pm. cool side 26c.
for night- 17" habistat heatmat 20w stuck to the bottom of the viv (same side as radiator) with ducktape. connected to a habistat mat-stat and set to 28c on hot side.To prevent direct contact with the mat there is a thin layer of lino the exact size of the base sealed along the edge. the mat is on constant.
substrate: a shallow layer of aspen shavings.
decor: an exo terra snake cave large and snake hide medium, one on warm one at cool end.Quite a large ceramic dog water bowl. I want to get a low branch but don't know what to get or where, I might get one from the outside and treat it. And i will get some silk plants but they are really expensive. i'll put some damp moss in the cave when he/she is shedding and spray a couple of times.
I'll just keep the lighting natural but i'm thinking of getting a cable light to attatch to the roof to enhance the daytime look. I monitor the tmp with a digi thermometer that has two probes on for cool and one for hot. I've got dial back up ones stuck to the back but there quite rubbish.
I dont know if i've forgotten anything and sorry for being so long winded i just am obsessed with getting this spot on, I've always wanted a royal and finally its happening i want it to be happy and if i can get it to feed first time i'll be happy. so what do you think? All opinions and critism welcome
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ROYAL PYTHON 1.0.0 |
Edited by - ddm10 on 15/02/2009 01:13:25 |
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Blackecho
Royal Python Admin
United Kingdom
11327 Posts |
Posted - 14/02/2009 : 22:33:14
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| Sounds excellent, when its all set up you'll have to post some pics. |
 
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ddm10
Yearling
United Kingdom
189 Posts |
Posted - 14/02/2009 : 22:56:11
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| cheers for the speedy reply i cant wait now! I'll definately post some pics when its finished. |
ROYAL PYTHON 1.0.0 |
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Blackecho
Royal Python Admin
United Kingdom
11327 Posts |
Posted - 14/02/2009 : 23:19:19
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| And for branches its much cheaper to find your own and treat/bake them. |
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ddm10
Yearling
United Kingdom
189 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2009 : 01:15:40
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| Yeah i will do, i'll go on a hunt tomorrow, what shall i do to it to prepare it for the viv? |
ROYAL PYTHON 1.0.0 |
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bikesfred54
Hatchling
United Kingdom
77 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2009 : 07:09:00
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i use a habistat rad in my king snakes viv which works well.but in my young royals viv i now use a ceramic bulb.which are on 24/7 i dont use heat mats. |
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Blackecho
Royal Python Admin
United Kingdom
11327 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2009 : 08:09:44
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quote:
Originally posted by ddm10
Yeah i will do, i'll go on a hunt tomorrow, what shall i do to it to prepare it for the viv?
When I've done it, I'll give it a clean, take the bark off, sand any sharp edges and then bake it in the oven at say 150C for an hour. If its too big for the oven you can soak it in 10% bleach in the bath and then rinse thoroughly and dry against a radiator.
Avoid Pine and Cedar, they are toxic.
Here are a couple I found and bleached last year:
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Danny Action1
Yearling
United Kingdom
322 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2009 : 09:57:44
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| Make sure your royal can't get to the duck-tape as it is a nightmare to get off if the royal was to get attached (so I'm told) |
0.1.0 Lemmon Pastel
0.1.0 Albino
1.0.0 Spider
1.0.0 Pastel
1.1.0 Mojave
1.0.0 Het Pied
0.1.0 Pied
0.1.0 Pinstripe
1.0.0 Double het Caramel Glow
0.1.0 Het Orange Ghost
0.1.0 Het Caramel |
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matty18714
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2016 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2009 : 11:34:45
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| Your viv sounds top notch mate, i've collected my own branches too, it also means you can cut them to whatever length you like. |
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ddm10
Yearling
United Kingdom
189 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2009 : 13:06:30
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thanks for the replies!those branches look great I'm off to find some branches myself in a mo.
As for the duck tape I definately don't want that stuck to the royal! So i'm going to put some thin lino down the exact size of the bottom of the viv above the mat below the aspen.I thought that if i seal the lino around the edge it will keep the lino down so that the snake cant get underneath and it will also waterproof the base so that no moisture can get to the mat and the royal wont be able to sit directly on the mat or get to the tape. I't sounds like a brilliant idea in theory. |
ROYAL PYTHON 1.0.0 |
Edited by - ddm10 on 15/02/2009 13:07:58 |
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Blackecho
Royal Python Admin
United Kingdom
11327 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2009 : 14:25:32
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| Yep, silicon sealant would be a better choice. |
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I-M
Hatchling
United Kingdom
68 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2009 : 18:09:58
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| There are some reasonably priced silk plants on E-bay. Prices and postage varies a lot. |
Aka "The Old Bat" |
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ddm10
Yearling
United Kingdom
189 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2009 : 19:01:03
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Thanks I-Mi'll check it out. As for the wood, went out earlier and found a nice bit of birch and just like wolfspirit's its sitting naked in the bath with some bleach i'll leave it there over night then soak it in some clean water dry it out and smooth it down. Can you varnish them? |
ROYAL PYTHON 1.0.0 |
Edited by - ddm10 on 15/02/2009 19:02:08 |
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matty18714
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2016 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2009 : 19:39:18
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| You could varnish it, but if you leave it as it is it will help the snake to shed. |
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Gingerpony
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2663 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2009 : 19:56:29
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| i've found that pieces of wood i've found, prepared and installed in vivs still distort over time as they continue to dry out with the heat in the viv. it's just something to bear in mind if you're fixing it to the side of the viv, it made one of mine a bit difficult to open and close the sliding glass doors. varnishing might eliminate this problem? |
Dumerils boas, BCO hybrids, Sinder Hypo boas, cornsnakes, ratsnakes, Day Geckos
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ddm10
Yearling
United Kingdom
189 Posts |
Posted - 20/02/2009 : 22:06:19
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| how would you attatch th wood to the viv? Am off to pick my royal tomorrow!!! |
ROYAL PYTHON 1.0.0 |
Edited by - ddm10 on 20/02/2009 22:06:37 |
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anatess
Sub Adult
USA
669 Posts |
Posted - 20/02/2009 : 22:39:58
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I normally don't attach the wood to the viv - I have glass tanks. I just wedge it up real good between the hide/water bowl/other decor. It has to be real stable though so as not to fall if a 900gram snake slithers over it.
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Snake owner since Oct 2008, so yeah, I'm no expert.
0.1.0 pastel royal
1.0.0 spider royal
0.1.0 albino royal
1.0.0 bumblebee royal
1.0.0 yellowbelly royal
0.0.1 wild-type royal
1.0.0 normal western hognose |
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Blackecho
Royal Python Admin
United Kingdom
11327 Posts |
Posted - 20/02/2009 : 23:02:47
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| I don't fix mine either, but if its a wooden viv you could just screw through it an into the branch. |
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