Heating Questions

[Lexiethekitten]

I have a pied female, Aster, she's about 3-4 months of age... I got her on Christmas Eve from a pet store I usually go to (the pet store handles their animals, etc., it's an awesome place).

She hasn't had any source of belly heat since I took her in, as I am low on funds, etc.
I was able to feed her on 12/27/15 easily even though she hasn't been warm at all, she had a mouse hopper from Petco (they don't have rat fuzzies).
She's also currently in a 10 gallon tank for the time being, she's been crawling all over my girlfriend and doing so has warmed Aster up a bit.

Diablo, 6 years old, is fasting but has a UTH on. He's in a 30-40 gallon tank himself.

I was planning on building a rack system soon, hence why she's in a 10 gallon tank.

My questions are:
1. Should I remove Diablo's UTH and put it on Aster's? Would Diablo be okay?
2. Would Aster be okay without a heat source?
3. How long does it take a 3-4 month old to poop?

[Mephibosheth1]

Greetings

With regards to Aster, it really depends on what your ambient temperature is where you keep the snakes. As you probably are aware, the ambient temperature should be around 85 degrees or so. The UTH is used primarily to provide them with a temperature gradient so they can regulate their temperature easier. So if the general room temp is in the 80s, you can get by with or without the UTH (Still recommended that you get one though).

Snakes poop when they're ready to...too bad Archimedes isn't here (she's the snake poop expert). I've had my BP go 6 weeks between dumps.

[GoingPostal]

Borrow some money or sell something, a reptile must have heat to be healthy. Both snakes need heating so there's no use in taking from one to give to the other. You also should not feed if there's no proper heating as it won't be able to digest properly. I would bring this snake back to the pet store until you can setup a cage for it. Get your cages set up with proper heating on thermostats, then add snakes. Do you have a thermostat on the uth you do have? What are your temps and how are you checking them?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

A hot spot is not necessary if the room temp is kept in the mid 80's however if it is not you are asking for trouble.

If husbandry is not optimum you could face some health issue if if you are low on fund now imagine if you have to go to a vet.

Defecation happen when it happens there is no schedule regardless of the age of the animal.

[bcr229]

Why would you drop the coin paying pet-store retail for an expensive snake like a female pied, but not bother with getting a heat source for her? And now that she's eaten, if she's not warm enough to digest the feeder, at best she will regurgitate it, at worst you're looking at a vet bill.

If you can't get a UTH plus a lamp dimmer to keep it from burning her this weekend - total should run under $30 for both - then stick her tank in a bedroom with a space heater and keep her ambient at about 85*F.

I wouldn't remove the UTH from the other tank, as that's a good way to break it.

[PitOnTheProwl]

This is why we plan ahead plus I take it you did not quarantine the new snake??

[Lexiethekitten]

I actually just talked to my father on the phone and we're going to pick up a UTH this weekend, which is amazing news.
At first, I was worried that I'd be in the situation I was with Diablo, my dad had given him to me from his cousin, he had absolutely nothing until I came around (even though it took me 3 months... But he was okay!)
Vets aren't much of an issue surprisingly, we always manage to find a vet that isn't too expensive and that actually knows what they're doing, plus more.
She has no temperature gauges/humidity gauges... What would you recommend to use? I don't want to get a super pricey one that'll be useless to me when I make the rack, but I don't want to get a cheap one that'll break within a week. Any help?




But, to PitOnTheProwl, I did actually plan ahead, but it's not my fault why she didn't have her UTH, I didn't purchase her myself... :-) So no need to be cranky about her not having her UTH yet. It's not like she's going years without one, it was just a week without it. She's very healthy and active when she's out. I'm not some retard that buys snakes and doesn't give them what's needed, I've actually done more for my snakes than I could ever with myself if I were cold.

[Lexiethekitten]

To the replies about defecation:

Thanks! I was wondering because usually Diablo will poop 1-2 weeks from when he eats. I'm just curious as to when Aster would poop since this has been the first week with her.

[bcr229]

I hope you're also getting a thermostat with that UTH, or at the very least, a lamp dimmer. Otherwise it will burn your snake.