Re: Help needed - Newbie trying to figure out environment, thawing food
Seems like everyone is pointing you in the right direction for feeding and heating, so I'll add my bit for humidity.
My snake was in a glass aquarium (40 gal) for over a year before I made the switch to a AP T11 cage. I ended up doing two things:
1. I keep damp sphagnum moss on both sides of the enclosure (during shed and in winder I usually have one in each corner). I put the moss in these small plastic containers that my snake can't tip. The plastic keeps the wet moss from sitting in his bedding and causing mildew. They are similar to these from amazon "Melamine Plastic White Soy Sauce Dish - Pack of 10"
2. When in shed or when I'm really having a hard time with humidity (like right now - my apt's ambient in 26%) I give him a moist hide. I use a large Terra Cotta pot that I have drilled the drainage hole in the bottom to be wide enough for him to fit, then sanded all the sharp edges off. I soak it in warm water for about an hour. It absorbs a ton of water and releases it as it dries out. Soaking it and the moss in warm water (about 85*F) helps bump the temp up and prevent too much cooling.
I set the pot up side down with the new larger hole facing up and the pot rim sitting in a slightly larger terra cotta drip pan. then shove some damp moss in that too. The drip pan also prevents the bedding from getting wet.
3. I use cypress mulch for bedding as it is mildew resistant and helps with humidity
Below is a pic of his old pot from when he was about 800 grams - It is an 8 inch pot. It looks a bit jagged but that is just uneven coloring from when I drilled it out
[IMG]https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...2700_thumb.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...2701_thumb.jpg[/IMG]
Re: Help needed - Newbie trying to figure out environment, thawing food
Quote:
Originally Posted by
67King
Well, I *think* we are making progress. Sorted through my rat pups until I found a 20g one. Heated, got good and warm, hit wiht hair dryer. Had around his cage, didn't come out of his hide. When I removed the hide, he slowly was interested, adn then just struck at it before I could move it over where I wanted to. At any rate, he took it, and was wrapped around it for a good 2 minutes. Then just kind of guarded it for a few minutes. I eventually walked away (lights were all out, was seeing by red light). Came back a few minutes later, and he was trying to eat it from the middle. A few minutes later and he had moved to one end of it. He keeps moving it around, which just seems to make the substrate problem worse. I've seen him try to get his jaws around it three times, but he keeps backing off. It is not bigger than he is, but it is on the bigger end of the range to feed (he's 140g, so about 15%).
Should I move it and try to clean it, and put it on a card so it'll be clean?
Do they ever strike, try to eat, then give up? If so, should I try a new one tomorrow, or wait another week?
As long as he is still working on it in some fashion let him be. If he full on abandons it then try next week. Babies can be awkward feeders and in my expirance the more you fiddle around with the rat after the strike they more likely they are to leave it. If the rat isn't soggy only a minimal amount of substrate should stick and a little eco earth isn't going to be an issue. I also would dangle the rat in front to the hide opening rather than remove the hide. Generally BPs like to strike from the hide and feel more secure feeding in secret.
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