Getting a Reptile? Here's some Money Saving Tips 

Best way to save money- dumpster dive for $200+ in savings.

When I realized Alex was swaying like a plant in the wind during most of the video, I could no longer concentrate on anything anymore

Another tip is to visit the home improvement store to get rocks/basking spots. My local pet store sells a small assortment of flat rocks for about $15. You can get small flat rocks or bricks at my local home improvement store for $0.86 a piece. I also use rubber mats ($2.50 a piece) as a floor cover for my bearded Dragon. He needs low humidity and the water repellent rubber works great and cleans up easy. Just in general, buy everything you can from NOT pet stores. They just cost you so much more.

2nd comment woo

I've been looking at the pottery at Goodwill. Alot of the clay flower pots can be used for hides. Just break a hole in the side and sand it down.

Very well rehearsed. Keep it up buddy!

For my bearded dragon i built a really good cage. Great heat isolation and it has cork walls, so he can climb on them. With 25W ceramic bulb, in basking spot, it goes to 38°C and the rest is 28-32°C. It cost me around 15 euro to build it. Room temperature is 20-25°C btw. Cage is 80x60 and 50 cm high.

You should mix some cement or concrete and dip the tupperware hides in it to create your own "rock hide" for cheap

Here in Canada a heat lamp would be about $30

Best way to save money - don't buy a crazy morph:) Get a normal.

Another cool tip for larger reptiles on hides. We got one of those half sized hampers for clothes cut a hole in the side, smothed it down and turn it upside down for our red tail. She loves to curl up inside or crawl on top and relax up there. I never added any weight to it because it has a big enough base to allow it to not tip over. Ocassionally she'll push it from one end to another but thats the most she does with it. That and dont forget to check craigslist/let go people will over up reptile supplies for cheap or even free. Yard sales are also great (I snagged a 55 gallon salt water tank and stand with some extras for $15 though Im currently using it for a lizard.)

Great video, Alex! Informative and encouraging to people who would like to start herping.

Thanks for the tips!

Hey I like your channel! . Its cool! I'm following every step in your in videos

your videos are really helpful

Your videos are amazing keep on making them

Very helpful thank you they worked just fine with my king snake

Another idea for hides is that at most Dollar Tree stores they sell party supplies you can buy a package of 8 opaque plastic bowls for $1 and cut a hole in them. This is great if you have a baby snake who likes a snug hide (like BP's), but will outgrow it quickly. Dollar tree usually has other larger bowls for $1 too you can just keep buying them as your snake sizes up.

Hey GoHerping i was just wondering what made you get into reptiles, also i watched the corn snake video you made 20 times before i got mine it was really helpful you should have way more that 5,000 subs keep it up.

so helpful! love ur vids!

Someone told me ceramic garden pots can be good hides amd they use them for their ball python. They also retain heat but mine doesn't get too hot with my heating set up. I also took some old branches from a bird cage we had in the basement but hot glued over the screws in the ends so they won't hurt my snake and they make perfect climbing branches. Dog/cat water bowls can also be good for retails as they are heavy so they're hard to knock over, come in a lot of different sizes, and usually cheap to find. You may even find some in a dollar store. I also bought black construction paper at the dollar store to cover up the back and sides of my tank, since I'm getting a ball python and they don't like to feel exposed

for the heat lamp alternative: you could use any lamp you have laying around your house. That's what I use and it works perfectly fine. and for a hide alternative: you could use any appropriate sized cardboard box, so you don't have to waste perfectly good tubbawear.

also you can glue rocks on to the tupowhere hides

great video and tips man.

They have the glass version of tupperware with the rubber lids. It's a good weight, cheap, and the edges are already rounded for a water bowl. I use the 5 cup size for my BOA

Got some big issues i would like to point out on your heat lamp advice . There is more to the reptile heat lamp in the ways of safety features , Reptile heat lamps create basking spots of 100-150 ( depending on the watt) and that is a area that is any were from 8-16 inches from the bulb its self , the heat where the bulb is screwed in is at least double that temp so 200-300 degrees So the top of the reptile heat lamp , is ceramic to help keep it from over heating and melting ,and preventing a fire hazard and is rated for a 150 watt reptile heat bulb . Now the cheap one you can get at any hard ware store , dose not have the ceramic top, and is only rated for a 100 watt normal light bulb not a reptile heat bulb . at most a normal heat bulb would maybe get 100 degrees at best so there is no risk of melting or fire if you use this cheap one for say , a UVB bulb. But if you used even a 50 watt reptile heat bulb in this cheap one from a hard ware store its only a matter of time be for it melts and could lead to a fire and making you lose more then just a animal maybe a home or your whole reptile collection . To be honest snakes do not need UVB or a heat lamp , only time you really need a heat lamp is if you own a reptile that needs 120+ degrees for basking . mostly Lizards and monitors call for this kind of heat but some others . i would suggest using under the tank heat matts of even heat tape if your know how to wire it or have wiring exp ( but you can buy clips to make heat tape plug and play for penny's . All so heat matts and flexx watt heat tape , only tend to pull 3 watts per foot so you could run a whole reptile room on felxx watt or heat matts , for the cost it would to run 1 75 watt heat lamp . Know you had your head in the right place and your heart in the right place . did not write this to put you down , only to advance your knowledge and love for reptiles . I would avoid using any heat lamp on nocturnal animals as well like geckos etc. ( all so avoid heat heat string/cord another big fire hazard, that is how Robin , the own/operator of Reptile magazine and Ship your reptiles lost his whole collection , over using the heat cord , and i still suggest to this day to not use heat rocks. And all under tank heat sources , should all be ran off a Re-stat to control how hot they get, the range in price from 30 bucks to 500+

nice ideas

This is a very helpful video

Awesome Alex

Awesome video the water bowl really helped! ;)

Early :) Getting a Ember Leopard Gecko on the weekend. Absolutely love them.

Omg I had the same bowl for my brooks king snake no-feet she always hid underneath the bowl even though she barely fit

hey @Goherping one of my favourite RU-vid channel love the channel if you get a corn snake does it have to have a heat lamp if it has a heat mat .

thank you so much

I have a good one-*get an ipower thermostat instead of a Jumpstart*

Great vid

My leopard gecko loves to climb and sit up high, so I made him a hammock out of a sock cut open and flattened. I used tacs to hold it in place, pointing outward, not inward, so the gecko won't ever come in contact with the sharp points. My gecko Riki loves it. I also made him a hide out of a big plastic lettuce container, and gave him a stainless steel cat water dish as a feed dish. He also has an antique china bowl (3x3 circular) for water.

Just a quick tip, when you were talking about the other video that focuses on the bedding please provide a link at least somewhere in the description if not a direct annotation in the video, it will help a lot.

ive always enjoyed snakes because my elementary use to have a ton of different kinds. its not until recently that i decided to gwt a snake of my own. the only problem is i would have to pay for all the items on my own and its rough when you Dont have a job but these videos help out a lot thanks 💓

Hey Alex great vid and I don't know if you remembered me in other comments.But sometime next year I will get my RU-vid channel!!!!

Not sure how well the cheaper dome light would be since the it doesn't have ceramic. Since some reptiles need 90ish degrees of heat I don't know if that plastic would melt...

Re. Heat lamps - The biggest difference is plastic vs. ceramic where the bulb screws in. The cheap ones are plastic (which will melt and be a greater fire hazard the higher the bulb wattage) whereas the better quality lamps are ceramic. For the few dollars difference, this is not a corner you want to cut. Get a ceramic one with a safety rating, not some untested Chinese knockoff. Also pay close attention to what bulb wattage the product is rated to safely handle. The Fluker's 27000 Repta Clamp Lamp with Switch, 8.5" is only $18CAD, $23CAD for Zilla's on Amazon and are both rated to handle up to 150W.

I want the enclosure to look good tho

is it save to 3d print a bowl? just from plastic?

This was extremely helpful thank you! I only have one question. You probably did a video on this, but where do I buy the snake? I watched your petco video so not there. Where I live there's never any reptile expos and any expos at that. I actually don't live in USA, do you happen to know any international shipper? I'm not looking for any really expensive or fancy type of snake. Just Andy ball python. If I want to honestly get fancy, a pied maybe.

Hi! I've been thinking about getting a corn snake as a pet.I was wondering if you had any suggestions on where to get a tank and what a good place to get the snake from would be. Thank you!

The plastic crates mushrooms come in make great hides for small snakes.

I have the same black lamp for my snake

Hi! I've been doing tons of research on Ball Pythons, as I'm super interested in getting one. The problem I'm having is finding an affordable one, with a morph that I like. Plus, I'm on a really tight budget. Anyone have a breeder recommendation, or a morph suggestion?

No plastic containers unless you run them through a scolding dishwasher. Beyond BPA, other chemicals can be found in various food storage containers. Containers made out of polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE, or plastic #1)-such as most soda bottles-are OK to use once, but can leach carcinogenic, hormone-disrupting phthalates when used over and over again. Also, many deli items come wrapped in plastic made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC, or plastic #3), which can leach cancer-causing dioxins. Ive seen people get sick from this, repties even worse.

Which animal do you recommend buying a leopard gecko or a bearded Dragon/Fancy Bearded Dragon

damn i already have 2 of those cheap heat lamps.. always wondered why they got so hot, just used them as clampable lamps

I used a clip on desk lamp with normal bulb, my dogs ceramic bowl, paper towels for substrate.

For a snakes or lizards bedding, can you use wood shavings? I thought maybe you could because it is bigger (not like sand), but I am not really sure.

I'm pretty sure you can use to go boxes aswell

Hey I found your channel and thanks to you I'm thinking about getting a ball python when I have my own flat. Do you have any tips for me? What is the right size for a tank when I just want to have one for years? Is newspaper good for a snake or because of the ink that can go on skin is it to dangerous? Where do you recomend getting a snake? (I live in Germany so there are not Things like peco) Is it okay to have just the heating lamp? How can I (not experienced with snakes) can see if it is male or female without hurting it? What do I have to do if it bites me? When it is tiny; can I feed alive Baby mices? Thank you for all your great and intresting Videos. Greetings from Germany and you have a new subsrciber c:

or for the substrate you can also use paper towel if your reptile doesn't need to burrow or dig, i prefer to use paper towel because I have it my house anyways and there is no ink that can rub off and possibly poison your reptile

cool vid

Sweet video! I never buy "reptile" lamps. I've found them for 5 bucks on Amazon before.

What about hemp bedding

There's a page on Facebook I joined for reptiles and somebody is selling a 3x2x2ft exo terra viv for £50 it sound pretty cheap tbh but was wondering how I'd go about disinfecting it for a ball python? Would use it in a year or so, after the ball python grows out of the rub I'm going to buy thanks 👍

I used a pencil box case for a water dish and a sports cone for a hide lol

You are awsome

Can i use water bowl i used for frog for my snake?

Could you possibly use a broken tree branch and carve it (either yourself or with the help of an adult who is good with woodworking) for the hide? You could definitely smooth it over with some sandpaper, especially if you have some wood and sandpaper left over from other projects?

great vids now I've heard your ball python vs corn snake should I get a corn for my first pet snake? and if so should I just get a heat lamp or just a heat pad if I live in florida

As far as snakes go, setting up a plastic bin with heat tape on a thermostat can be way cheaper than a glass tank with a heat mat, and it's generally a better choice regardless - humidity is easy to maintain, it's more comfortable for the animal, and cleaning/moving the enclosure is substantially easier.

Old video but - I've found that using ceramic heat emitters instead of heat bulbs has saved me a TON of headaches. They dont randomly break, which means I can more easily afford a high quality UVB spectrum bulb for my beardie :)

The only suggestion I would make when buying a heat lamp that isnt made for reptiles is making use that the heat lamp has a ceramic top because of fire safety some of those home depot have a plastic top which can only withstand a certain out of heat before it melts so for high wattage bulbs it could be dangerous

I just realized that my mom is an artist and she has clay And a kilm and a good assortment of glaze so I could just make a water dish and a hide for free I am so happy that my mom is an artist saving money yeah oh and by the way if you do do the Tupperware thingy would it work to just put it in the dishwasher

how often do you need to change the bedding?

I got na question goHerping

What my snake loves is toilet paper rolls. I just tape a couple together and he loves these hides way more then the ones I bought him XD. It really only works for smaller or younger snakes though 🐍❤️

Great videos my friend, what does the term 'herping' actually mean?

Great video Can you make a video and talk about salmonella too?! I want to get my first pet snake and this problem is so important for me

I bet you could put aquarium silicone on the outside of the plastic water bowl or hide then cover it in wood chips or coir. I don't like the look of the resin stuff. It's too much like fake plants. I have not completed our bioactive vivarium yet but I will be trying the plastic tubs. Ty.

Where do you get the mice you feed to the snakes

I got everything in my snakes tanks for $0, My corn has two hides, a large parsley bottle on the cool side & an old fish log hide on the warm side, his water "dish" is a round shot glass, my king has a fake tree from an old fish tank, he has one of those half circle hides & 3 inches of bedding since he likes to burrow and a piece of cloth belt attached to both sides of his lid so he can get to the top he also has a round shot glass.

Are there any cheaper alternatives to a terrarium?

hey im in nc too. is it true that if you live in nc you cant have a tortoise or turtle? im interested in buying one

Do you need a lamp if you already have a heat mat?

I'm planing to get a ball python and do they need a heat lamp because I watched snake bytes tv and they don't have any heat lamps ? And in there bad advice video they say ball pythons don't need one

The difference between the lamps is that the expensive one has a ceramic base, which prevents the base from melting or getting to hot.

i got a simple desk lamp and stick it on the packaging from the terrarium for my reptile and i bought the heat lamp from walmart, its the perfect temperature every time :D #RECYCLE

I thought of a way to make the edge smooth on a tupperware that you cut, put hot glue around the edge.

When getting fake foliage (leaves, plants, flowers, etc) go to craft stores or even dollar stores instead of the pet store!!!!

You can use a plant vase for the hide '-'

Will a corn snake need a heat lamp and pad or just one of them?

You didn't mention housing/enclosures. Otherwise, everything else was on point. Thanks!

just to let you know I watch you all the time you are great and very informative thank you for the 10% discount I am going to look for you on instatmgram

U can buy craft felt instead of reptile carpet for like 25cents

for the heat lamps: you can get pretty cheap ones at home depot

Hi

hey

I actually turned a butter bowl into a moist last cold hide for my leopard gecko

I mean educational

The reason the lamps are cheap is because where you put the bulb is ceramic, it's plastic and it's more prone to starting a fire.

1st comment.

I got that exact water dish for 2 dollars.

I use my old beer boxes for hides.