watter bowl

[beer12]

hey guys n gals matilda hasent left the atter bowl in like 4 days.. i take her out and cleaned it and i checked her den for poop but nothing and she just goes back into it, ps its right under the light in a heat spot.. this good or bad?? heres a pic

http://img259.imageshack.us/my.php?i...terbowlvz8.jpg

[Aric]

I would check her and see if she has mites, I know in my collection when one would soak for long periods of time then they would have mites.

[BigCeC43]

The most common thing I heard when dealing with your situation is mites also. If not maybe she's stressed by something else, or she wants you to bring her back to the shower.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Check for poppy seed looking bugs in the water dish (mites) double check everything else as well, tempertures make sure they are 80-84 and 90-94, make sure your humidity is between 50%-60% and make sure both your hides are tight and identicals (all side's touching it's body)

Healthy BP with proper husbandry that are not overfed rarely soak so you need to try to narrow it down and find out why your BP is soaking.

[BigCeC43]

I just saw the pic. I'm no expert, but some basic tips I've gained from this site are to...

1. Have a hot side and a cool side. For example, put your Heat Lamp on one end w/ an UTH, leaving the other side cooler. This is critical for them to self-regulate their body temp. Hotside 90-92/ Coolside 80-82/ Humidity50-60% (You may already have an UTH, but I can't tell)

2. Have 2 identical hides one on each end (hotside/cool side)

3. Don't use analog thermometers due to inaccuracy. (try to buy a digital Acu-Rite's Thermometer/Hydromemeter seems to be praised on this site for it's accuracy and price.

Since you already have a Thermostat it will be easy and cheap to alter your setup.
Hide= maybe $10
Digital Thermometer/Hdrometer= $15
Time= 10 minutes
Happier BP= Priceless

[Argentra]

Yup, I second those points with one addition: cover the back and sides with background, black paper, cork board...something so she doesn't feel so exposed. Also helps regulate temps better in a glass tank.

[beer12]

ok i have a digital its behin the watterbowl u can c ... and wtf is a mite how do i c it and wut does it look like???

[BigCeC43]

Here's a link to a thread about mites I started. Scroll down to check the link and pic.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ighlight=mites

I did see that behind the water bowl, I actually thought it was a Thermostat not a Thermometer. Anyway, if it's digital and has a probe it should be accurate.

[ron]

new to bp's and snakes in general but wondering if could be cause water bowl is right under heat light?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

new to bp's and snakes in general but wondering if could be cause water bowl is right under heat light?

Soaking is generally due to mites, security issues (hides not secure enough leading the BP to submerge himself in his water dish) or temps (temps are too high in the enclosure so he uses his water dish to cool down).

The most common being mite issue.