New cage for my RTB

[ryanc]

Ok guys this is my first post on this site so i dont know if this is ight but i have a few questions about m cage. I just switched my RTB into a 75 gallon tank he is about 3 ft long right now. I am wondering first and formost whats the best way to heat a 75 gallon tank? Also i want to add a mister somehow. Last but not least I have been feeding him pre kills since he was a baby but now i am running into a problem the biggest pre kills i can find are small mice. Does anyone now where i can find bigger pre kills? I also wanted to try building a natural enviroment with real plants and stuff. Has anyone tried this or know of a site that could help gve me some ideas or po and cons about this idea?

[haroldo359]

okay, as far as feeding, the best thing you can do is first getting it eating frozen/thawed, and then switch it to rats. you can find any size feeder at rodentpro.com. what kind of substrate do you plan to use? i like cypress mulch, just spray it for mites first. i don't know much about live plants, so someone else will come along to help with that. as far as heating, start with a undertank heating pad and then add a basking light and fiddle with that to get the temp right (you can use reptile heating pads, but people on here generally agree that the human ones work as good and are cheaper). anyway, welcome to the site, and more people will post with more info.

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[thetupak]

welcome to the site you came to the right place for help I'v never used a 75 gallon tank before but you could use a ceramic heat emiter and a rheostat make sure you have a good digital thermometer for both the cool side and the warm side and you should have a hide on both sides too dont know much about finding live plants that your boa wont tear up and about the food they have frozen rats and about everything else you'll need here
http://www.bigappleherp.com/

[Drax]

hi and welcome to RTB!

i personally like and dislike aquariums. for one they are cheep, but they are incredibly heavy when you reach sized over 40gal. second heating is a breeze. just like Thetupak said a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) or a regular incandecent bulb and a human heating pad (found at wal-mart for $10) set to low work great on aquariums. you may have to play around with the watzage of the bulb to have the temps correct.

i wouldn't use a mister. i just don't think you'll need it for a redtail. i don't use one or even mist very often with my redtails. i usually mist occasionally when they go opaque until they shed. unless your house is increadibly dry, just get a spray bottle.

as for food, mice aren't as nutritious as rats are. switch your guy/girl over to frozen/thawed or prekilled rats as soon as possible. i have a yearling redtail that's just about 2 feet that takes small rats weekly and a 6' three year old girl that takes large rats weekly. rodentpro.com is probably a good bet for frozen rats.

if you really want to put live plants in the enclosure, leave them in the pot so you can take it out if you need to. you can use reptibark, coconut bark, but cypress mulch is my favorite. cypress hold humidity well, doesn't get stuck in the snake's mouth, and is really cheep, you can buy a huge bag at Lowes or Home Depot for about $10 (i think, it's been a while since i bought a bag). and believe me it will last a while if you just have one snake.

i'm sure someone else will come along and talk about the vivarium issue.

	Ceramic Heat Emitter Ceramic Heat Emitter: A porcelain heating device that screws into a standard porcelain incandescent socket

[morti]

Hi there and welcome! Most advice that I could give you is pretty well summed up in This Caresheet. Knock yourself out.

-Your Sick Uncle Morti

[pathfinder36]

As far as a mist generator, you can buy them at most pet stores. If you get one, you might want to get a humidistat so you don't over\under humidify. Check out the controllers at www.greenfire.com
They will cost about $300.00! Expensive, but then you will have control of your humidity levels +\- 3-7%

(a 75 gal tank is alot to spray)

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[ryanc]

Hey guys thanks for all the help i am in the process of setting up the tank now that i got all the great ideas from you all. I think i am definatlty gonna go with a mister only because my RTB which is named nemo ::lol my 3 year old son named him:: has had trouble with sheds in the past and because of work restraints misting is the only thing i lack the time to properly monitor only thing is does anyone have any reconmdations? I seen a mister at bigapple.com that created a rainforest look but is that too much humidity for my red tail?

[haroldo359]

lol... my daughter named my RTB nemo, too. (there is a post about it somewhere). good luck with it and feel free to ask any more questions. i don't know what to tell you about the mister, i have never used one (except for a spray bottle )

[toker]

Just get a lawn sprayer, you know the kind that you fill with herbacide and pump up. Just get a clean, new one of those and go nuts daily

Oh yea! I used to have a little pump sprayer, always had to fill it 3 times when misting my cages. Now I got a little 1gal from wal-mart and it takes me half the time and it does a much better job.

[pathfinder36]

I don't think you need a mister. You can pick up a terrarium humidifier for like $15 & a pump for about the $30 (for a 75gal tank). It pumps in humid air as opposed to a mist. I just got mine set up! After hooking it up to the humidistat, it keeps the cage @ a constant 55% humidity.... no spraying! And yes, that is probably to much. Should be about 50-60% depending on where you live.