Soaking dish?

Hey guys. Y'all may have seen my thread from last week about the strange mark on my BP's head, and wondering whether it could be stuck shed or some sort of fungal thing. Anyways, I took her to the vet just to be safe, and while I don't have a solid answer yet on the mark, they did tell me she should have a bowl large enough to soak in. I read for five months before pulling the trigger on my first pet snake, and I swear I always read that BP's typically don't soak, and if they try it can often (but not always) indicate an issue? Anyways, I have no problem at all with increasing her water dish size, it may even help with humidity, but I'm curious if this is standard husbandry? It was an exotic vet btw (not our normal one, he was booked) so she should know what she's talking about, and I didn't go through vet school but so I can't say but I mean I want to know your thoughts. Thanks!

Unfortunately, that vet has no idea what he/she is talking about. They don't require a bowl to soak in, as long as you keep humidity within the proper range. Make sure you measure humidity with a digital hygrometer, and not those cheap circle kinds that are inaccurate.

If a BP who doesn't normally soak is soaking, generally it means it is either too hot, too dry, or it is infested with mites.

It's not "bad" of course to provide them with a large bowl, but it's definitely not a requirement for a healthy snake.

I agree with redshepherd, I have to wonder how many snakes your "exotic vet" has actually kept? (did you ask?) Unfortunately vets are like everyone else,
they have their favorite animals as pets & while they mean well & want to treat the others, they often haven't kept them & only "know" the husbandry from
old out-dated sources. What they focus on in their training is the medical treatments (surgery, meds & procedures). When you take a snake to the vet, be
prepared to talk about what you have observed & what you suspect is an issue- snakes (& other pets) often don't present many clues & to get the best care,
you should be ready to speak for your snake. In a large cage, it probably wouldn't hurt to put in a large water bowl -it helps the humidity if nothing else. :rolleyes:
(I've heard some strange things from vets too, over the years...)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

Unfortunately, that vet has no idea what he/she is talking about. They don't require a bowl to soak in, as long as you keep humidity within the proper range. Make sure you measure humidity with a digital hygrometer, and not those cheap circle kinds that are inaccurate.

If a BP who doesn't normally soak is soaking, generally it means it is either too hot, too dry, or it is infested with mites.

It's not "bad" of course to provide them with a large bowl, but it's definitely not a requirement for a healthy snake.

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Agreed .

I simply spray the vivs whenever I remember but as soon as they go into shed mode I spray daily until their eyes clear and colour returns then I spray two to three times daily . Perfect shed everytime .
Simple


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You guys are awesome, thanks for the replies! The reason I say it could "help" is that since I moved to a larger tub, the humidity has been on the lower side of normal, and her last shed was a bit rough even with misting. It all came off, just in a few pieces, so I'll probably try giving a bigger bowl a shot for those reasons. Thanks for confirming though, I was hoping I wasn't going crazy!

*also I'm noticing a bunch of typos from my original post, so I apologize for that

With the exception of Duncan, my 7’ Bci, everyone else has a bowl big enough to soak in. Do they need it, not really, but I have had snakes in the past that would get in for a soak during shed. Currently only my Solomon Island ground boa soaks, but that is common for this soecies.

I simply spray all my vivs regularly to keep the humidity up .

Then when a snake goes into shed mode ( Royals just disappear for days lol ) ... I give the viv a real good spray each day .. the key is to watch out for their eyes going clear and their colour returning ( harder with albinos ) and then up the spraying to morning and evening .
They all shed perfectly every single time ...


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