Re: New BP Owner - Need Help
Quote:
Originally Posted by
55fingers
Although it is a normal bulb, it is still surrounded by the metal heat lamp, which gathers the heat and gives off a good amount of warmth. It still warms up the hot side of his tank to an extent when it's the only heat source.
Is it unnecessary, though? Will a ball python be okay with just a heat mat?
Can't answer this without knowing the temperatures IN your cage...also how cold is your house (ambient room temperatures outside the cage)?
In the winter, many ppl keep their house colder & that can make it so you need more cage heat to keep the temps up; likewise, if you use a lot of A/C in summer.
"Normal" light bulbs (aka incandescent bulbs) can give off a LOT of heat, depending on the wattage. They can over-heat the cage, especially in conjunction with UTH.
All this should have been tested before you moved a live snake into the cage, by the way...just so you know for "next time"? And I highly recommend that you buy
a lamp dimmer (aka rheostat) from the nearest hardware store A.S.A.P. Not only will you save electricity, but you will reduce your snake's stress & possible injury from
overheating. You can buy a lamp dimmer to install* on the cord of whatever lamp you are using, but easier* still is to buy an extension cord with the dimmer already
installed. These are NOT expensive, please don't wait. If you don't link the light to a thermostat, you STILL need to make sure it's not too hot...you need to know the
temps. IN the cage...ok? There is a huge difference between the heat output of a 25 watt bulb and the heat given off from a 60 or 100 watt+ bulb. Please check!
Re: New BP Owner - Need Help
Quote:
Originally Posted by
55fingers
... Would it be okay to move him to a different container while he eats, and leave him to digest while I put the thermostat and all this new stuff in? Or would that overwhelm him? Is it best to feed him in has tank, or in a separate feeding tank? I've heard that stops them from associating the tank opening with food, but if I move him after he eats, isn't there a chance he will regurgitate?
Handling a snake that is expecting food can do several bad things: it can stress the snake so it doesn't want to eat...it can get you bit (when the snake is over-eager and you are "warm & wiggling" your hands in what may seem like prey to a snake, "oops!"), and snakes that feed "enthusiastically" may stay in "food mode" (ready to bite) for hours or even a day+, so trying to put that snake back into it's cage can be problematic (& dangerous, with really large snakes!) So for all those reasons, please leave your snake in his own cage to feed...there are plenty of ways to cue your snake that you are handling them, not feeding. You need to remember to use your snakes best senses:scent & touch. By properly learning to use scent & touch cues, very few snakes bite by mistake. Many if not most snakes get alert when when we open their cage, hoping that maybe food is arriving. It's your job to anticipate this, & respond by giving them your scent &/or touch so they know what to expect.
Meanwhile, if a snake can associate you opening the cage with food (& therefore be ready to bite you by mistake), what's to stop them from learning to associate you handling them with food, & biting you anyway? See? So learn to communicate using touch (aka "hook training" etc) or scent (blow air across your hand thru screen in their direction so they get your scent & it's NOT a food scent; or if you have long hair or a shirt sleeve handy, lower that in so they can sniff it..."oops, not a rat! yuck, never mind"). You'll see they calm right down once they know it's not food heading their way.
