Can a BP drown itself?

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Originally Posted by desertpirate

I'm in New Mexico.

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Humidity is 35% today

http://www.wunderground.com/US/NM/Albuquerque.html

I think it is pretty similar to the humidity we have here, ours goes lower but average is 25-30% here. I can understand having some shedding problems after moving to a different climate, but the humidity is no where near 5%. Glad to hear the shedding has cleared up.

Yeah, I don't think that they would suffocate, they have a survival instinct just like other animals, fight or flight, and if they can't breathe, they'll adjust.

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Originally Posted by desertpirate

Do not make assumptions about my husbandry. When I posted about putting the snake in the aquarium I was well aware that some people wouldn't think it was okay. I think it is. I leave the lid open and he can climb out when he's done. I usually have to pull him out when I'm done watching. He holds onto the plants and pulls them out with him. It hasn't happened recently, anyway. Most of his shedding issues occurred when we moved to the desert, where there's only about 5% humidity. It took some time to adjust their enclosures to a new environment. Two days ago he had a perfect shed.

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if someone says their snake is partially shedding then its probably safe to assume certain things about their husbandry.

i think that by putting your snake in an aquarium with fish living in it, you are exposing the snake and the fish to unecessary and possibly harmful bacteria and/or conditions.

why not set up a tank without fish for your snake to swim in?;)

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Originally Posted by desertpirate

Do not make assumptions about my husbandry. When I posted about putting the snake in the aquarium I was well aware that some people wouldn't think it was okay. I think it is. I leave the lid open and he can climb out when he's done. I usually have to pull him out when I'm done watching. He holds onto the plants and pulls them out with him. It hasn't happened recently, anyway. Most of his shedding issues occurred when we moved to the desert, where there's only about 5% humidity. It took some time to adjust their enclosures to a new environment. Two days ago he had a perfect shed.

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I'm really curious to know why you think it's ok to put your snake in a fish aquarium?

And I'd also like to point out that this is NOT something that this site endorses to anyone wondering how to deal with a stuck shed to try. We have a sticky for the proper way to soak a ball python with stuck shed here:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=43403

It sounds to me like there may be some anthromorphizing going on in thinking the snake enjoys it.

The 5% was an exaggeration, but only a slight one. Here's why: When we moved here last year there were about 8 months of drought. I was running a humidifier 24/7 just to get the house to 20-25%. We didn't even have the yearly monsoon season (our 1 month of precip.)- it just didn't happen. There were days when the sun wasn't up yet and the humidity was already as low as 12% out there. The current humidity (31%) reflects the fact that our monsoon season was last month, the river is full, and a thunderstorm passed through last night.

Also, the snake did not swim with fish... just a breeding colony of tiny shrimp.

tweets- I apologize that my attempt to alleviate your fears resulted in a hostile takeover of your thread, however, you can rest assured that your snake will not drown in its water bowl!

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Originally Posted by desertpirate

Do not make assumptions about my husbandry. When I posted about putting the snake in the aquarium I was well aware that some people wouldn't think it was okay. I think it is. I leave the lid open and he can climb out when he's done. I usually have to pull him out when I'm done watching. He holds onto the plants and pulls them out with him. It hasn't happened recently, anyway. Most of his shedding issues occurred when we moved to the desert, where there's only about 5% humidity. It took some time to adjust their enclosures to a new environment. Two days ago he had a perfect shed.

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Instead of using a fish tank, you can use a deep sterilite tub (66 or 70 qt). Sometimes blood owners "swim" their animal to help them pass along poo, but not so much for getting off stuck shed.

I have personally just put some water into their tub, and put it back in the rack. It's warm, clean, and it gets the shed off without the potential risk.

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Originally Posted by edie

What desert do you live in? I live in AZ (near Phoenix) and its usually around 30% here

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weird....Humidity in YOUR desert brought up twice inless that 24 hours............(begin twilight zone music)

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I'm really curious to know why you think it's ok to put your snake in a fish aquarium?

And I'd also like to point out that this is NOT something that this site endorses to anyone wondering how to deal with a stuck shed to try. We have a sticky for the proper way to soak a ball python with stuck shed here:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=43403

It sounds to me like there may be some anthromorphizing going on in thinking the snake enjoys it.

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I would like to know why it's not okay. I think the water in my aquarium is not any more dangerous than the grass , porches and driveways people bring their snakes out to slither around in, and certainly not as dangerous as bringing a snake to a pet store so it can be exposed to diseases such as IBD. (By the way, I have never done any of those things- have you?) It's probably also less harmful than swimming in chlorine, chloramines, fluoride, and whatever else your city puts in your tap water.

The snake had a choice. I held my hand over the water. It could have stayed on my hand, left my hand and climbed down the outside of the tank, or left my hand and entered the water. It entered the water of its own free will. And stayed there. He came up for air, could have climbed out but didn't, and went back under the water. No anthroPOmorphizing, just observing the choices the snake made.

As for where I got the crazy idea to soak a snake with a stuck shed? Back in 2005 when I got into snakes I did tons of research, and that was the most up-to-date information available. Where, you ask? Why, here, on this very forum, of course! I stopped reading the forum when I got sick of how mean everyone was to one another. Only recently did I return to reading it, and was impressed that it wasn't so offensive anymore. I also learned how quickly and easily people forget that the techniques they view as so horrible today were practically "state of the art" quite recently. Take a look through some old posts and be grateful that others were in the trenches trying new things so that you don't have to today.

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I would like to know why it's not okay. I think the water in my aquarium is not any more dangerous than the grass , porches and driveways people bring their snakes out to slither around in, and certainly not as dangerous as bringing a snake to a pet store so it can be exposed to diseases such as IBD. (By the way, I have never done any of those things- have you?)

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Nope, my collection has never been in the grass, the porch, driveway or even pet store. They are kept in my home, only taken out to the vet when first coming into my collection.

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As for where I got the crazy idea to soak a snake with a stuck shed? Back in 2005 when I got into snakes I did tons of research, and that was the most up-to-date information available. Where, you ask? Why, here, on this very forum, of course!

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And we still recommend soaking for a stuck shed - just not in your aquarium.

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Take a look through some old posts and be grateful that others were in the trenches trying new things so that you don't have to today.

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Surely you're not suggesting that swimming in an aquarium is a new ball python husbandry technique? :weirdface

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I would like to know why it's not okay. I think the water in my aquarium is not any more dangerous than the grass , porches and driveways people bring their snakes out to slither around in, and certainly not as dangerous as bringing a snake to a pet store so it can be exposed to diseases such as IBD. (By the way, I have never done any of those things- have you?) It's probably also less harmful than swimming in chlorine, chloramines, fluoride, and whatever else your city puts in your tap water.

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If that was all that was in your water in the aquarium then it would be fine. However there is fish waste dissolved in the water along with old uneaten food, urine and many many more nasty things. There's bacteria that live on your fish that they require to live. How these things will affect your snake is unknown. It might be fine then again it might get a bacteria that is harmless to fish but when introduce under reptile scales grow unknown to you that then kill it for no known reason. or even worse think if any of that gets in his mouth or nose and introduce into mucus membrane God I can only imagine the things that could happen. If you wouldn't drink the water your putting your snake in why should he be exposed to it.

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The snake had a choice. I held my hand over the water. It could have stayed on my hand, left my hand and climbed down the outside of the tank, or left my hand and entered the water. It entered the water of its own free will. And stayed there. He came up for air, could have climbed out but didn't, and went back under the water. No anthroPOmorphizing, just observing the choices the snake made.

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Ever had a snake get burned? They stay over a malfunctioning piece of heat tape till they cook. They had the "choice" to move but didn't why they didn't know they were in danger. As a pet keeper it your job to only allow your pet to be exposed to things that are not harmful to it. You fill a Hotdog with razor blades and give it to a dog guess what he'll still try and eat it. It your job to keep them from things like that.

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As for where I got the crazy idea to soak a snake with a stuck shed? Back in 2005 when I got into snakes I did tons of research, and that was the most up-to-date information available. Where, you ask? Why, here, on this very forum, of course! I stopped reading the forum when I got sick of how mean everyone was to one another. Only recently did I return to reading it, and was impressed that it wasn't so offensive anymore. I also learned how quickly and easily people forget that the techniques they view as so horrible today were practically "state of the art" quite recently. Take a look through some old posts and be grateful that others were in the trenches trying new things so that you don't have to today.

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I have been here since before 2004 and NEVER! have I seen anyone suggest that to remove stuck shed that you let them swim in a fish tank and have the suggestion be met with approval.

Please stop exposing your pet to unknown danger and heed our suggestions of how to properly care for your pet.