update on everything...

[mommanessy247]

i was finally able to get some stable temps going in the terrarium by running a small space heater aimed at the terrarium. this is only a temporary fix until i can get my hands on a new, better u.t.h.
humidity is stil an issue but i contribute that to me not having a u.t.h thats powerful enough to create the heat needed to create the humidity by warming up the moist mulch. hopefully the new u.t.h fixes that issue.
now for the good part...
i was gonna feed my girl monday dec. 13 but i realized that tonight was day 6 and they can be fed anywhere between 5-7 days. i put the rat in the terrarium, closed it up and stepped back. within 30 seconds she had the rat. i was worried she wouldn't be able to swallow it though cuz the rat had to have been at least 2-3 x's the size of her neck or more...not sure, but she did it. thank goodness.
so now i gotta leave her alone til wednesday/thursday.
man, i'm exhausted. this day was too long.
good night everyone.

[DZ Reptiles]

That's good to hear!

[FatBoy]

Don't think you will have any feeding problems with that girl...just don't put anything in the tank with her you don't want her to eat!!!

[Vypyrz]

this is only a temporary fix until i can get my hands on a new, better u.t.h.
humidity is stil an issue but i contribute that to me not having a u.t.h thats powerful enough to create the heat needed to create the humidity by warming up the moist mulch. hopefully the new u.t.h fixes that issue.
now for the good part...

What type of enclosure are you using? What are the dimensions? And what type/size of UTH have you tried?

[mommanessy247]

fatboy...i know right?!

vypyrz - um type of enclosure is glass sliding front doors, glass sides and back & plastic top/bottom. to be exact its a visionarium from creativepet.com. i do have a paper background covering 3 of the sides though and am aware that i should probly invest in some corkboard or something like that to insulate the sides better. i'm trying to work that into my budget. i also have a wet hand towel covering the small amount of screen on top. i think the pics of the terrarium might still be in my gallery on my profile. they'll give you a good idea of what the terrarium looks like.
dimensions - 30" long x 12" deep x 12" tall.
the u.t.h is a hagen heat wave (rainforest) from reptilesupply.com. size is medium (10" x 11") running on 8 watts.
the new u.t.h i'm looking into getting is the ultratherm undertank heater from reptilebasics.com. size of that one is 11" x 11" and it runs on 15 watts.

[MitsuMike]

i was worried she wouldn't be able to swallow it though cuz the rat had to have been at least 2-3 x's the size of her neck or more...not sure, but she did it.

No need to look at the neck. Look more at the biggest part of the body. Feedings should be measured by this part. Alittle bigger is ok, just give them alittle more time to digest.
My normal boy switched to rats a little while ago (only eats 1 prey item and was on mice) and now I give him a nice med rat and he looks like a sausage. haha

[TomC]

I remember my first feeding it was a hopper mouse and I looked at the size of the mouse then the size of the snakes head and neck and I really thought it was too big.

After the snake ate it the bump in her belly was barely visible so in actuality it was probably a little small.

You get used to it and get better at judging sizes pretty quickly.