A little worried

For the past 2 night she's come out and roamed every night after 11. I went to check when I fixed myself another martini and still no Opera. I hope she is okay.


What if she got to hot? What if something is wrong?


But if I check what if she gets upset and regurgitates.



Man I just dunno what to do!! I am so nervous.:tears:

They become more active at night, I doubt it's anything abnormal.
If you fear your temps are too hot, just use a tempgun to make sure.

Well the UTH creating ambient temps it in 80-84. turned off the rheotstat side because under the substrate us was over 100*. But on top it was only 90-95*


Still I was worried the temps hurt her so I shut it off on the rheostat till rich sends me my new thermostat.


Poor opera, She suffers because of me. Poor dear I hope she's okay.

Dont worry too much that dimmer is on its way to you to help you out a little bit more.

If your using aspen or any type of wood bedding thin it out so the heating pad isnt smothered so much and can breath better.

The cypress is hell on my temps, very insulating. Even though it's only a quarter to half and inch. If it wasn't for the humidity I'd switch to newspaper.


Acclimation is hard dude. I keep wanting to check in on her but I can't.


that zoo med I bought is crap.

Yea I am yet to find a zoo med product that I have been happy with. Don't worry...you will get your stuff and all will be well. If you want you can use paper towels or newspapers...and then create a humid hide inside with spagnum moss to help with humidity. Then when they go blue ...take a wet wash cloth and put it over the warm hide. That seems to work here. ;)

By the way...hope that was a Pomegranit Martini...;)

I may try that thanks liz!

It was actually a gin martini. I like poms but I had vodka and no juice about. But lots of olives.


Sorry for this worry filled thread guys I was just really scared when I didn't see her come out last night.

Hi,

You just fed the snake - that generally makes them hide and digest their meal in peace.

It is also not the time to turn off all the heat as they need heat to digest their meals.

What are the hottest temps the snake can get to at the moment?

And why couldn't you simply turn the rheostat down instead of turning it off??

Is it as low as it will go already? Have you made sure it is adjusted the right way - some of them work the opposite way than you would expect (but those tend to be light dimmers).

Test it on a lamp so you can see which way is up and which down if you are unsure.


dr del

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

You just fed the snake - that generally makes them hide and digest their meal in peace.

It is also not the time to turn off all the heat as they need heat to digest their meals.

What are the hottest temps the snake can get to at the moment?

And why couldn't you simply turn the rheostat down instead of turning it off??

Is it as low as it will go already? Have you made sure it is adjusted the right way - some of them work the opposite way than you would expect (but those tend to be light dimmers).

Test it on a lamp so you can see which way is up and which down if you are unsure.


dr del

---

This rheostat is a zoo med model. with the writing that denotes low high etc. I was recommended against buying them, but they were all that was available and I was afraid. I had already checked 4 stores for a lamp dimmer. If you go as absolutely low as it will go. it still reeds 100-110 below the substrate and about 95 atop it after awhile.


Right now half her cage is on a thermostat that keeps it at 82-83 atop the substrate and about 90 should she clear it all off as she is very good at doing inside her hide.

So she doe sstill have access to heat and she's in her hide on the warm spot. I didn't check but She's not in the other 2. So deduction says thats where she is.


I keep getting told different things about measuring temps.

Should you rely on scanning the top of the substrate or the bottom of the plastic cage. And I dunno what to do? Someone says one thing and the next person I talk to says the other.


I forgot they stay dormant awhile after a meal.

Thanks doc.

Hi,

A lot of time the seemingly conflicting advice is because of the fact you want to monitor quite a few areas. :)

Here's the list of ( approximate ) temps and locations adjusted to compensate for the fact you are heating both ends ( most people aren't needing to ).

Warm end

Inside hide under substrate: 93-95f
Inside hide on top of substrate: 90-94f

Cool end

Inside hide under substrate: 80- 82f
Inside hide on top of substrate: 78-82f

Once you have adjusted the type/ depth of substrate to get the top of the substrate to the right temp without going over the desired temps under the substrate then you only really need to monitor for changes.

I generally keep the probe inside the hot end hide on top of the substrate at that point just so I can see if there are any worrying changes. :)

And since you turned off the rheostat the hot end is now probably her cold end. :P


dr del

I try to turn the rheostat on for two hours and then off for two when I can be at home.


Regardless my thermostat comes tomorrow.


I swear to you doc my substrate is half an inch thick at max! But there is a 4 degree difference in places between the top of the cypress and the bottom. I am nearly ready to switch everyone to newspaper But I really want that humidity.

EDIT: Also I have been placing my gun gently inside her hides to test surface temps but have not tested the floor as she is acclimating and I don't wan to keep distrubing her by ripping away her hides.

Who doesn't need to heat both ends? Who keeps there house at 80? :P


I can't fathom

Heh,

Quite a few people with lots of snakes have a dedicated snake room and heat that to 80f. :)

Half an inch of wood is quite an effective insulator really under the right circumstances - I'd be tempted to try either an eighth or quarter of an inch to see how that works in your shoes.

As to the humidity many people have got that working fine with newspaper substrates by covering the whole of the screen top with taped down tinfoil with only a small area open for ventilation.

But I'm not sure what their advice would be with a neodesha type cage though - I've never had to set one up so cannot give you any specific advice I'm afraid aside from covering any vents. It might help if I knew more about the cages in terms of gaps around the glass etc. :oops:


dr del

The vents on my neodesha are quite small. I might try newspaper once I can get some hygrometer thermometer's friday. I already have a humid hide set up for when she sheds. Maybe I just switch out and throw it in there permanatly giving it a daily mist.

A snake room heated to 80 would be horrible for me. I like BP's but Colubrids are also great loves of mine, and asian rats need much cooler temps. 80 is right out.


IS there a guide or tip on how to set up those hygro/thermo's? Where to place the unit and probe. I assume the probe on the floor of the hot side and the unit on the floor of the cool?

Oh and the one glass part is sliding with soft gaps. I could probably cover the vents and it would be okay, but I am shy to. I also have 6mm insulation under the heat pads as well.

Oh and doc how can you tell they are drinking. I never put her in the water bowl. What if she doesn't know it's there?

Hi,

I know the colubrid problem - I have a few myself. :)

The hydro-thermometers are fairly easy to use. The base unit is where it reads the humidity and is normally placed at ground level on the cool end of the enclosure.

The probe only reads temps and is moved from place to place during the setup to get the temps at the 4 points mentioned in my previous post and then permanently kept inside the hot end hide to monitor for changes. Or wherever you decide to monitor it. :)

I'm sure she knows where the water is. ;)


dr del

She's out and about again :) Exploring her habitat.


I turned her rheostat back on on the other side. Could that be why?


Or simply because it's night and she digested...I might need to go in tomorrow and spot clean for poop and other waste.