Update from Santa Cruz

Hi there everyone. I posted a few weeks ago with some alternative techniques that the guy I bought my BP from gave me. Most folks here thought his advice was terrible, so I am posting some updates that reflect my experience since then.

Heating

So as you know, I started off with a human heating pad by Sunbeam. Most people on here recommended against it because they thought it wasn't intended for continuous usage. Personally, the biggest issue I had was that the control wasn't a proper thermostat, and I had to fiddle with the controls too much. The heat tape was too complex to assemble with the electrical stuff, so I scratched that immediately. I already had a crappy ZooMed heater that I didn't like or trust, so I bought an Ultratherm online to see if it seemed higher quality. I'm still not sure if it's "higher quality" or not. The Ultratherm appears to be some heating elements strapped together by a laminator, with a plug attachment! Almost seemed even flimsier than the ZooMed! But after reading MANY reviews online, I guess the Ultratherm is the better product. I installed it with aluminum tape and hooked it up to a thermostat. I put the human pad on top of the tank, set to low-medium, for an extra layer of coziness. Both the Ultratherm and the human pad have been running solidly ever since, and temps are stable.

Substrate

Guys, this is one area where I really have to say that the Healthy Pet Pure Cellulose litter is a better solution than the "standard" Aspen shavings, at least here in Santa Cruz where humidity is not a concern. We were using the litter without incident until last weekend. We went to the shop to get our frozen rats and my son asked if we could use Aspen for a while because he liked the look of it. I figured what the heck, it's what everyone else uses so it must be ok. Well, I have to say it's worse than the litter for the following reasons:

• Aspen is messy. Every time we take her out, bits and pieces follow. No issues with the litter.
• Aspen hides waste product way more than the litter, making it harder to see if/when she has gone.
• Aspen gets piled up in the corner when she moves around normally, leaving bare spots on the bottom of the tank. With the same amount of litter as aspen in the tank, the litter stays in place much better.
• Aspen sticks to the rats and gets in her mouth way more than the litter. I am not sure if this is a problem, more on this topic later...
• My only possible concern for you people would be humidity. Litter is designed to absorb liquids, so I'm not sure if that's desirable or not. Living less than 1 mile from the beach, my house has 90%+ humidity almost all the time, so it's not really a concern for me.

Hide

We take her out daily. One day she was attracted to a small basket on the living room floor. We put it in the cage and she has enjoyed it ever since, so the basket hide stays.

Feeding

So I spoke to Steve again and this time he said "a large rat every couple of weeks". Last night she took down a 250g F/T rat no sweat, so we'll be doing one of those every couple of weeks for a total of about 500g/month.

I also have a little story from last night's feeding! This was the first time we've done a feeding in the Aspen. She was great with the rat, but got a ton of shavings on it, and by the time the rat was in her throat, she had 2 very large pieces of Aspen in her mouth. At this point my son was freaking out that she would swallow the shavings and die! He begged me to try to get the pieces out of her mouth. My rational brain said "don't do it!" And even as I was lowering my hand into the tank to try and remove the pieces, my brain kept telling me "DON'T DO IT!!!" But I did it, and yes, the inevitable happened. She bit me HARD on the finger, and held on. In a panic, I raised my hand out of the tank quickly, and she hung on until her head was about 1 foot out of the tank before she let go and plopped back down.

Her belly was full with a 250g rat, but she didn't seem to sustain any damage at all. Whoever said a BP bite doesn't hurt has either never been bit, or has only been bit by a baby. The bite of a full grown 2,000g female hurts! The strength of her jaws hurt more than her teeth, but those hurt plenty too! Definitely some bleeding and clear tooth tracks on both the top and bottom of my index finger. I'm over it now, but I think my son was more traumatized just watching the whole thing go down. I haven't seen the Aspen in her mouth since, and I will never do that again at feeding time. In fact, this whole experience has definitely turned me off of the Aspen, rational or not, and I will be going back to the litter as soon as she is done digesting last night's meal.

So anyway, just figured I'd post all of this and see what you all think.

Hi, I really think that alot of the choices that we make with regard to what equipment/substrate we use ends up being a personal preference - what ever you feel works best for your setup.

Glad to hear that the snake is doing well. Sorry to hear you got bit but always remember never to put your hand in the tank on feeding night - especially if you smell of rat - thats a recipe for a "bite"

Thanks for the update on your snake.

Glad everything is going good for you and your snake! Sorry to hear about the bite but at least you got your first one out of the way quick :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Smoked Oyster

Hi there everyone. I posted a few weeks ago with some alternative techniques that the guy I bought my BP from gave me. Most folks here thought his advice was terrible, so I am posting some updates that reflect my experience since then.

Heating

So as you know, I started off with a human heating pad by Sunbeam. Most people on here recommended against it because they thought it wasn't intended for continuous usage. Personally, the biggest issue I had was that the control wasn't a proper thermostat, and I had to fiddle with the controls too much. The heat tape was too complex to assemble with the electrical stuff, so I scratched that immediately. I already had a crappy ZooMed heater that I didn't like or trust, so I bought an Ultratherm online to see if it seemed higher quality. I'm still not sure if it's "higher quality" or not. The Ultratherm appears to be some heating elements strapped together by a laminator, with a plug attachment! Almost seemed even flimsier than the ZooMed! But after reading MANY reviews online, I guess the Ultratherm is the better product. I installed it with aluminum tape and hooked it up to a thermostat. I put the human pad on top of the tank, set to low-medium, for an extra layer of coziness. Both the Ultratherm and the human pad have been running solidly ever since, and temps are stable.

Substrate

Guys, this is one area where I really have to say that the Healthy Pet Pure Cellulose litter is a better solution than the "standard" Aspen shavings, at least here in Santa Cruz where humidity is not a concern. We were using the litter without incident until last weekend. We went to the shop to get our frozen rats and my son asked if we could use Aspen for a while because he liked the look of it. I figured what the heck, it's what everyone else uses so it must be ok. Well, I have to say it's worse than the litter for the following reasons:

• Aspen is messy. Every time we take her out, bits and pieces follow. No issues with the litter.
• Aspen hides waste product way more than the litter, making it harder to see if/when she has gone.
• Aspen gets piled up in the corner when she moves around normally, leaving bare spots on the bottom of the tank. With the same amount of litter as aspen in the tank, the litter stays in place much better.
• Aspen sticks to the rats and gets in her mouth way more than the litter. I am not sure if this is a problem, more on this topic later...
• My only possible concern for you people would be humidity. Litter is designed to absorb liquids, so I'm not sure if that's desirable or not. Living less than 1 mile from the beach, my house has 90%+ humidity almost all the time, so it's not really a concern for me.

Hide

We take her out daily. One day she was attracted to a small basket on the living room floor. We put it in the cage and she has enjoyed it ever since, so the basket hide stays.

Feeding

So I spoke to Steve again and this time he said "a large rat every couple of weeks". Last night she took down a 250g F/T rat no sweat, so we'll be doing one of those every couple of weeks for a total of about 500g/month.

I also have a little story from last night's feeding! This was the first time we've done a feeding in the Aspen. She was great with the rat, but got a ton of shavings on it, and by the time the rat was in her throat, she had 2 very large pieces of Aspen in her mouth. At this point my son was freaking out that she would swallow the shavings and die! He begged me to try to get the pieces out of her mouth. My rational brain said "don't do it!" And even as I was lowering my hand into the tank to try and remove the pieces, my brain kept telling me "DON'T DO IT!!!" But I did it, and yes, the inevitable happened. She bit me HARD on the finger, and held on. In a panic, I raised my hand out of the tank quickly, and she hung on until her head was about 1 foot out of the tank before she let go and plopped back down.

Her belly was full with a 250g rat, but she didn't seem to sustain any damage at all. Whoever said a BP bite doesn't hurt has either never been bit, or has only been bit by a baby. The bite of a full grown 2,000g female hurts! The strength of her jaws hurt more than her teeth, but those hurt plenty too! Definitely some bleeding and clear tooth tracks on both the top and bottom of my index finger. I'm over it now, but I think my son was more traumatized just watching the whole thing go down. I haven't seen the Aspen in her mouth since, and I will never do that again at feeding time. In fact, this whole experience has definitely turned me off of the Aspen, rational or not, and I will be going back to the litter as soon as she is done digesting last night's meal.

So anyway, just figured I'd post all of this and see what you all think.

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Thanks for the update. What people recommend on this site stems from two things: experience, and general practice. When it boils down to it, advice is just advice. If you have found an alternative to ANYTHING that works for you and your herp better than the recommendations of others than you should do what you have found that works best from YOUR Experience.

Cheers.

Am I the only one that feeds my BP out of the tank?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mastaxaph

Am I the only one that feeds my BP out of the tank?

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no. Its all about your personal preference. I don't bother, and I've never had a problem.