I need your opinions please

[Ladybugzcrunch]

Some of you may have seen the killer deal I got off of Craigslist last night. Now I need to make some decisions. Honestly, I am not set up for so many snakes at the moment. I just completed a snake rack which was designed to hold 6 bins (2 28q and 4 15q). It is very nice with flexwatt belly heat and all. While I was making the rack my original two bps lived in a divided 30g breeder with a heat pad. I have a herpstat ND which I was using for that heat pad. Last night I unexpectedly picked up a group of 7 snakes! I put the two large ones in the 28q bins and the two smallest in one 15q bin. I did not give them belly heat because I have only one thermostat and did not want to risk burns. My house stays around 80 F so I thought this would be no big deal. Here are my plans for today. I am going to rewire the flexwatt in the rack to accommodate 8 15q tubs instead of the 6 tubs. This will hold my 7 small snakes. Then the whole rack can be regulated with my herpstat so those 7 snakes are good. I plan to keep all 7 of those snakes as well. The two adults, however, I am unsure if I would like to keep them or trade them for a baby. I am not really set up to accommodate the large adults yet speaking in terms of both space and their food type and preference (they will only eat live adult rats I am told which scares me a little). Here is where I need your help. The female is +/-1400g and the male is +/-975g. I am thinking about taking this pair to a reptile show next month and trading them for a baby or two and need to house them until then (unless I change my mind before them and can not part with them. I was thinking about putting them in the divided 30g breeder which is tight but I think okay for a month. I could use the heat pad and hook a dimmer up to it or I could just leave the belly heat off all together. Like I said, the ambient in my house is 80 or more at all times. Would you use heat or not? Also, the previous owner said he fed them live medium rats weekly. Do they really need that much food? I hate the idea of live rats. They are so dangerous for the snake. The female has quite a few scares already and I do not want to add to them. Should I offer them F/T until they take it and not worry if they go a month without or should I stick to what was being done? What do you think of my plan?

[dr del]

Hi,

Your probably not going to like it.

80f is fine for a cool end but is in no way acceptable as the only heat level they have.

They need a warm end of around 92f. Otherwise you are going to have serious problems as they might not be able to digest their food properly which will lead to regurges as the rat rots inside them faster than they can digest it.

So I would say try the dimmer if your house temps are relatively stable - but if they fluctuate a lot then dimmers will very quickly drive you nuts.

I only feed small rats to even my adults on a 7 day cycle.

How are you quarantining the new snakes from your existing ones - because it looks to me as if you have forgotten that step in your plan and I'm not really a fan of that.


dr del

[ubecrew610]

i agree with the above said..... but if you can afford to spend 60 bucks call around to local plumbing and heating warehouse's for a cheap ranco t-stat. the one by my house keeps them in stock. or try calling a large HVAC company and see if they have one. it worth a shot, just cause the dimmer can be a PITA.

and im sure at some point in the future you will use it again.

[blushingball419]

I definitely agree with dr. del that you really need to quarantine all of these new snakes away from the snakes you already had (if you're not doing so already). It's always the safest thing to do, even if the snakes seem healthy.

And you also really should provide them with a warmer spot of ~90, so I would suggest using the heat pad and dimmer for the divided 30 gal. Yeah, it would be pretty tight for two big adults, but I'm sure they would be fine temporarily.

As far as the feeding goes, if you're really uncomfortable feeding live, then I don't think switching to f/t would be a problem for them. I would feed them live for the first few weeks while they're settling in since that's what they're used to, but after that you could try switching. Missing a few meals shouldn't hurt them if they're both a good weight.

It sounds like you've got everything else pretty well figured out considering. I know if I acquired that many bps at once I'd be freaking out! haha Just make sure they all have a basking spot of 90, and move your original 2 bps into another room asap, and hopefully it will be smooth sailing from there!

[Ladybugzcrunch]

Thank you for your opinions. I stopped and picked up the dimmer on the way home from work today and am screwing with it now. I already hate it BTW but it will have to do. I started out with the idea of quarantine and think it is a good practice but it is impossible in my situation if I want to keep everyone heated. I have good reason to assume that the snakes are in good health as they were someone’s pets and look well cared for. I went to the guy’s house and asked lots of questions. He told me all about each snake; good and bad. I am going to take this chance this time, as I am sure most of you have, and ask you not to crucify me for it please. As for the adults, the previous owner said he had been trying to switch them to F/T for 3 months with no success so I am doubtful it will be so simple. The female is still very angry and struck at me today. I do not think I will be keeping these two. Not only am I very timid about feeding live rats, but I am moving to a very small town very soon and I would have to drive 1.5 hours to get a live rat. I just do not think it is best for me. I am going to try and trade them for a baby that I can switch over to F/T if not eating already easily than an adult set in their ways.