Tools of the trade

[speakeasy_serpents]

Hey all, so I was curious what are some tools around your snake room and how do you go about using them. A 10 second search on YouTube and you will find any number of “10 essential tools for reptiles”…um not interested in them.

What are some tools which are not technically essential but once you started using them there’s no going back ill get the ball rolling

This is a webber coal rake found in the BBQ Section at home depot. I use it as a tub tool, to open an close tubs on feeding night. I also use it as a bit of a shield with my hatchlings when I change out their water dish. They don’t get stressed when this big hot hand comes in to their tub and I don’t get bit.

Next is a super cheap paint brushes. I use it to dust out both rodent and snake tubs before I F-10 them. Saves a bundle on paper towels. Once I’m finished with tubs I give the brush a quick rinse and a 20min soak in F-10 then let air dry.

I encourage you to post any tool you use to help you in your hobby. In all likelihood your post will help others with their hobby.

Ps. I have more tools to come

[nathan_e]

I would definitely have to say feeding tongs for me. While definitely not a absolute must when working with non venomous I definitely prefer using it when feeding some of my food aggressive females because let’s be honest, while a ball python bite does not necessarily hurt as bad as some other reptiles it definitely is not fun when a 5.5 foot female bp latches on and wraps you up. This is why feeding tongs have been my best friend when dealing with these situations. My second tool would have to be a paint scraper which comes in handy when you have to scrape poop and pee from the tub as it makes cleaning days go by much quicker.

Well that’s all I got as far as tools so I’m curious as to what others use on here.

[trnreptiles]

I honestly need a longer set of feeding tongs, a lot of my ball pythons are food aggressive and it’s a bit nerve wracking feeding them

I also use a paint scraper, but I use it for my rat tubs for the most part to scrape the nasty stuff out that gets stuck in the bottom. Will have to consider using it to scrape up stubborn urates in my snake tubs

[westridge]

I have two different pairs of hemostats, one 24" that I use for large constrictors and one 18" for everything else. I have three snake hooks, one heavy-duty, one medium sized and a tiny telescopic one for very small, very angry snakes. I have a plastic chopstick for pushing/pulling small snakes around or rearranging a prey item. I have a paint scraper. I have a watering can to make bowl-filling easier.

[speakeasy_serpents]

So yeah @westridge got my next one. Watering cans

Makes topping off water bowls easy. Also i can not matain humidity in that room. Tried misting tubs, tried a room humidifier. Nope and nope. But a thick layer of coco substrate works. The water can lets me pour water in soaking the lower level of bedding while keeping the top layer dry preventing scale rot issues

[speakeasy_serpents]

For waste water i have a bucket system

The bucket is on wheels so its easier to get around the room. The purple lid doubles as a seat. Sitting a rolling around the room makes feeding time easier on my back
The mesh lid I found on Amazon its used for prospecting gold but great at pulling bedding out of the water I dump into the bucket. Bedding goes in the trash, water goes down the drain…no clogs

[eaglereptiles]

This is a quality thread.

A watering can is something I really need to pick up. I’m using a jug at the moment and it’s not too bad, but add a few more additions and it’ll become a -ache.

My snake hook is probably the most important thing to me right now, I broke the remote to my projector and that’s the easier way to turn it on without ladders

I really like this waste water bin as well

[speakeasy_serpents]

Next up…quality trash can with lid and wheels. $80 for a trash can really?..worth it, for sure also the wheels turns it into a mini utility cart.

And a 10 dollar add on i got from home depot, the big mouth trash can scope

Why is this thing absolute gold? Glad you asked. Have ever dumped a tub to fast or some bedding sticks to the top of the tub and you end up over shooting the can and dump a pile of dirty bedding on the ground or the bedding slides into the can and puff of shoots out and over the top of the other side…not any more.

Also guaranteed to up your paper towel 3 pointer game over night

[speakeasy_serpents]

This is the last I got…for now

I sous vide my rodents…yeah what?
So when I order rodents I order in bulk when they come i break them all down into usable quantities (like 5 or 10) then vacume seal them to keep em fresh as possible.

The night before feeding day i pull out what I need and let it thaw out in the fridge overnight
Before feeding time I fill a container with cold tap water set an emerson cooker in it and bring the water up to temp. 107 degrees seems to be perfect.

The emerson cooker cost about $130 the container was a gift and cost $80 (not worth it) but the cooker can be used with a bucket, pot, any container that will hold water. Admittedly before I was given the container I use to use a spare fb20 tub.
The cooker heats and circulates the water. Thoroughly heating the rodents to the perfect temp and keeps them there. No more guessing if its warm enough, no more rodents going cold as you feed, no more chaging water in buckets because it got cold, no more rodent pop. No more over heating small rodents while trying to heat up larger ones.
Very high acceptance rates, especially when switching hatchlings over to frozen

This really has taken a ton of the pain out of feeding frozen thawed rodents

[hthompson23]

Two things I can’t live without are a soldering iron, and a rotary tool.

[lumpy]

One thing I can’t live without is my tongs mostly for the part that I have a target trained Kai. So that when it’s feeding time I have to do is just show them the tongs and he knows it’s time.

Also I would say a dollar store misting bottle is definitely one of my keys to maintaining humidity.

[westridge]

Ditto on the dollar store misting bottle.

[erie-herps]

I also agree with the mister. Another use I have for it is that I use bottle caps for some of my leopard gecko tubs and it’s easier to spray the caps a few times rather than taking them out and taking a big bottle and trying not to make a big mess.

This idea comes from @snaketech and I feel like this is a good place to share the idea.

Well I’m very confused!

That’s almost exactly what it is however this Netting expands like no ones business making sure all the moss is captured very well. Once the moss is packed I just tie it off with the excess so I can re-use the netting once I change out the moss. I’ll try to find the link on amazon again later today, it’s helped out immensely for me.

Using vegetable storage nets to keep moss in to raise the humidity of the enclosure.

[speakeasy_serpents]

Not a tool so much as a tip, I found filter media bags are a little easier to work with over vegetable storage bags…but a thick layer of coco works best for me…pending on where you live, there’s no shortage of hydroponic shops croping up…and coco chips are a soiless grow media…if you have a hydro shop local to you you can probably get coco for a little as $11 a block

[sonjakreptiles]

A digital laser infrared temp gun!

[dlhirst]

What Sonya says! I’d just add one word - good - to that laser thermometer description. I’ve seen some cr*ppy ones. Love my Fluke 62.

[melissa45]

I love the tip on saving paper towels!

[melissa45]

Puppy pads for under my female ball pythons water dish during breeding and shedding, she loves a spa day and a full soak, which fully can saturate her enclosure if I don’t catch all the water!

[joelrmerritt]

One of the better purchases I have made is a pump sprayer. I used those little 99 cent spray bottles, but one you get more than 4 or 5, those are the biggest pain. This thing is great for spraying down the coco and actually getting it to soak the substrate. A good spray down when in shed or when pairing. Also great for spraying tubs down when cleaning.

Amazon.com : Ohuhu Pump Sprayer, 1.3 Gallon/5L Multi-Purpose Lawn & Garden...

[tigenraam]

I would second this, pump sprayers are great once you get past a dozen animals that get misted regularly