2 Queries

[Julie]

Firstly i have had Cinder about a month now and she has refused her last 2 feedings Temps are 90 hot side and 80 cool side. I am misting 4 times daily to keep the humidity raised. I have boiled, blow dried with a hairdryer and brained the weaner rats but she is just sniffing them and then ignoring them. She is a yearling bp.


Secondly both she and my 2 year old corn are housed in wooden vivariums can i use UTH's with them and where should i put them. My corn is doing very well with a heat lamp but i am unsure if my bp would benefit from one.

[treeboa]

When I started in the hobby melamine coated wooden enclosures were common. I used Flexwatt heat tape under mine (similar to UTH). The problem is to penetrate the wood and get the desired temp in the enclosure you have to turn it up pretty high. It could be a fire hazard, though I never had a problem. If you could get a radiant heat panel (RHP) it could work. They bolt to the ceiling and heat the air and floor (unless it's a tall cage). The wooden enclosure manufacturers in the US recommend using them in their products. If you don't have them in the UK you may be able to get one shipped. They are not made of any glass or hazardous materials as fa as I know. Forgot one point the UTH or heat tape goes under one side of the bottom of the enclosure, no more than half way.

[Julie]

Thanks will have a look online and see if i can get one here first. About the eating though i am wondering if she is due to shed maybe that is why she is refusing food ?? My corn sheds every 8 weeks and she is 2yrs. Not sure how often a python sheds or when her last shed was.

[MrLang]

I have boiled

The meat needs to be raw, not cooked. Hot water from the tap should be plenty hot enough to warm an already thawed rodent. Don't use the dryer or the water to thaw or heat something that's still frozen.

[ARamos8]

Sometimes these guys tend to be a little picky, especially during season changes. Could be that it might be entering a shed stage, could be that the husbandry might be a little off. I see you're going to look for heating options. Once you get that sorted out, give it another pass (don't boil). As long as the BP has good weight you should be fine to go another day or so.

[treeboa]

The boiling and hairdryer change the smell of the rat. BP's are really scent driven, that's why it's often difficult to get them to eat more than one kind of rodent. Warm water's great for thawing. I don't even dry out the rats. The snakes don't seem to care if they are wet. Just keep trying. Once they get to 200 grams or so they can go pretty long periods without food.