WHERE TO GET STUFF CHEAPER
•dollar store
12in pie pans make for good water dishes
they also have plastic saucers for under pots but those are very disposable and dont clean well, id rather use the metal pie pans.
anti fungal foot cream! great for shell fungus and works just as good as anything else. a must have! (brought to my attention by @ZEROPILOT )
an obvious one, toothbrushes. good for cleaning all sorts of things!
they also have spray bottles but theyre not very good quality, id rather spend the extra couple bucks for a good one.
•bedding
I always use this company for my coco coir, shipping can be a bit pricey but including shipping if you break it down its still cheaper than any place ive found: https://www.earthscapeusa.com/onlin...on-p51658828?gclid=CKbQ4tSWxdICFUc6gQod8HUMLg
THINGS IVE LEARNED
•lighting
ive used these on multiple occasions now for lights as they cost all together $3 and some change. they work great for CHEs and basking bulbs of the sorts
(will post links to this in the next post)
•sliding door tracks
when i was building my bearded dragon tank i spent a solid hour at home depot staring at plexiglass trying to figure out what to use as a track, then i came across this stuff called “J channel” its really meant to hang up mirrors but if you sandwich plexi in between two channels it works perfectly as a track. (will post a link for this in next post aswell)
•Hides for a redfoot
this was something i always had trouble with just because of how tall a redfoots shell is. i ended up coming across i think its a hamster hide? it costs i think $10 at petsmart/petco
heres a pic of it! (also including the pie pan i mentioned earlier) sorry its a crappy pic, lights just went out!
•temp controllers
this one i learned after getting a snake, also a personal preference too, but i personally dont like the analog zilla temp controllers. i 100% recommend going with the Jumpstart digital temp controller! it is way more accurate and easy to use. its only $35 on amazon and everyone i know who uses it loves it.
•timers
also another personal preference, but having a power center thats a timer for your lights makes life a lot easier in my opinion. lights go on and off at consistent times and creates a better day/night cycle for your animal.
•prices when it comes to building enclosures
this is a simple one, ALWAYS go Home Depot if you can. every enclosure ive built ive compared prices for the same exact build between Home Depot and Lowes and Home Depot is always cheaper by $10-$20
•tempguns
when you own any reptile that needs specific temps its an essential to have a temp gun to make sure your temps are right and to adjust your temp controller/dimmer accordingly
•checking CHEs
ALWAYS check your CHEs every day or two to make sure theyre still working, thats the only downfall to them not producing light.
•dont cheap out on everything
i know its natural to want the deals, but theres certain things you dont go cheap with. some stuff: Temp controllers, Lamps (ive found that the cheap ones the on/off switch breaks constantly), any type of bulb, UVB, waterproofing, and most importantly your tortoises health.
•temperature gauges
never get the analog stick on glass junk. you can always go on amazon, to walmart, and to any hardware store and pick up an acurite digital hygrometer and thermometer combo. the analog ones can sometimes be off by 20+ in some cases. another reason why an IR temp reader is important.
•glass enclosures
theres pretty much no reason to buy a glass enclosure, its a waste of time and money when you can spend $150 or less and build a giant dream enclosure yourself. its a lot less daunting once you get started, i promise.
•UVB
TUBE UVBs ARE EVERYTHING!!! never EVER waste your money on a coil UVB.
thats all i can think of for now, ill post more if i learn more (were always learning) i know most of you know a lot of this stuff but this post isnt aimed towards the veterans, its more towards the beginners. but hey! if you learned something too, im glad!
anyone feel free to add onto this aswell! im always excited to learn.
•dollar store
12in pie pans make for good water dishes
they also have plastic saucers for under pots but those are very disposable and dont clean well, id rather use the metal pie pans.
anti fungal foot cream! great for shell fungus and works just as good as anything else. a must have! (brought to my attention by @ZEROPILOT )
an obvious one, toothbrushes. good for cleaning all sorts of things!
they also have spray bottles but theyre not very good quality, id rather spend the extra couple bucks for a good one.
•bedding
I always use this company for my coco coir, shipping can be a bit pricey but including shipping if you break it down its still cheaper than any place ive found: https://www.earthscapeusa.com/onlin...on-p51658828?gclid=CKbQ4tSWxdICFUc6gQod8HUMLg
THINGS IVE LEARNED
•lighting
ive used these on multiple occasions now for lights as they cost all together $3 and some change. they work great for CHEs and basking bulbs of the sorts
(will post links to this in the next post)
•sliding door tracks
when i was building my bearded dragon tank i spent a solid hour at home depot staring at plexiglass trying to figure out what to use as a track, then i came across this stuff called “J channel” its really meant to hang up mirrors but if you sandwich plexi in between two channels it works perfectly as a track. (will post a link for this in next post aswell)
•Hides for a redfoot
this was something i always had trouble with just because of how tall a redfoots shell is. i ended up coming across i think its a hamster hide? it costs i think $10 at petsmart/petco
heres a pic of it! (also including the pie pan i mentioned earlier) sorry its a crappy pic, lights just went out!
•temp controllers
this one i learned after getting a snake, also a personal preference too, but i personally dont like the analog zilla temp controllers. i 100% recommend going with the Jumpstart digital temp controller! it is way more accurate and easy to use. its only $35 on amazon and everyone i know who uses it loves it.
•timers
also another personal preference, but having a power center thats a timer for your lights makes life a lot easier in my opinion. lights go on and off at consistent times and creates a better day/night cycle for your animal.
•prices when it comes to building enclosures
this is a simple one, ALWAYS go Home Depot if you can. every enclosure ive built ive compared prices for the same exact build between Home Depot and Lowes and Home Depot is always cheaper by $10-$20
•tempguns
when you own any reptile that needs specific temps its an essential to have a temp gun to make sure your temps are right and to adjust your temp controller/dimmer accordingly
•checking CHEs
ALWAYS check your CHEs every day or two to make sure theyre still working, thats the only downfall to them not producing light.
•dont cheap out on everything
i know its natural to want the deals, but theres certain things you dont go cheap with. some stuff: Temp controllers, Lamps (ive found that the cheap ones the on/off switch breaks constantly), any type of bulb, UVB, waterproofing, and most importantly your tortoises health.
•temperature gauges
never get the analog stick on glass junk. you can always go on amazon, to walmart, and to any hardware store and pick up an acurite digital hygrometer and thermometer combo. the analog ones can sometimes be off by 20+ in some cases. another reason why an IR temp reader is important.
•glass enclosures
theres pretty much no reason to buy a glass enclosure, its a waste of time and money when you can spend $150 or less and build a giant dream enclosure yourself. its a lot less daunting once you get started, i promise.
•UVB
TUBE UVBs ARE EVERYTHING!!! never EVER waste your money on a coil UVB.
thats all i can think of for now, ill post more if i learn more (were always learning) i know most of you know a lot of this stuff but this post isnt aimed towards the veterans, its more towards the beginners. but hey! if you learned something too, im glad!
anyone feel free to add onto this aswell! im always excited to learn.
