dry skin?

My 5 mo old bp is experiencing a bit of skin flakiness. I hesitate to say it's a bad shed because she hasn't gone through the normal steps of shedding: no opaque eyes, no "blue" period. She seems to just be a little bit flaky, with a few scale flakes coming off here and there. I soaked her for fifteen minutes or so last night to see if anything bigger would come off and nothing happened. Her humidity and temps are all good. Anyone encounter anything similar to this?

what are her humidity and temps??

Humidity is 53%, ambient temp is 85 or so during the day, basking is 95-100 during the day. At night ambient temp is about 80-82, basking is around 90. The temp and humidity is checked with a digital thermometer/ hydrometer combo.

well the humidity sounds good but your basking area is dangerously hot. i would definitely lower it about 10 degrees. really a basking spot of 90-95 degrees would be my highest and i usually keep the basking area within the lower end of that.

It's hard for me to maintain a 90-95 basking temp when my apartment gets so hot. It's 87 in the apartment right now, its 85 in the snake's tank, and 91 in the basking area. Any tips for keeping a happy snake in such a hell hole?

haha sure! turn of the heating element during the hot summer months.:D

So its ok to not have a temp gradient?

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Originally Posted by srhcrawford

So its ok to not have a temp gradient?

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I've wondered that myself - my apartment is the same way.

I would also love to know this. My apartment is around 85 in the summer (not my choice...damned roommates...) and last week, it was up to 90 (our air conditioner won't go less than 20 degrees below outside, and it was 109 out there). My BP is fine, but I'm concerned about my BCC...who from what I understand like cooler temps than what my apartment has right now.

What are you using for heat? I'm sure there's a way to decrease the amount of heat.. ie: using a lower wattage bulb.

You could also get a thermostat so it will cycle and not get to hot. You can just set it for a temp and not have to worry. I don't have one but I have heard good things about them! Hope this helps-Ray

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Originally Posted by stormbourne

What are you using for heat? I'm sure there's a way to decrease the amount of heat.. ie: using a lower wattage bulb.

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Unfortunately I use an undertank heater... so my choice is on/off. I have lighting equipment from other herps that I've had in the past but I can't find a bulb that will only raise the temp five or so degrees.

Hi,

I'm not sure I understand.

What do you mean when you say your only choice is on/off?

I use a proportional thermostat with my flexwatt and it reduces the power to the element with no problems.


dr del

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Originally Posted by srhcrawford

Unfortunately I use an undertank heater... so my choice is on/off. I have lighting equipment from other herps that I've had in the past but I can't find a bulb that will only raise the temp five or so degrees.

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Buy a light dimmer for your light and lower the wattage.
You should use a thermostat or herpstat for any type of UTH as most of them get too hot. These you can control to be optimum temperatures.

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Originally Posted by srhcrawford

So its ok to not have a temp gradient?

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if the basking spot is reaching temperatures of 95-100 degrees, it is safer to turn it off. that is what would do if i were in your situation. a bp can potentially burn its belly or worse by sitting on a basking spot that hot. the bp will do fine with an ambient temp of 85 during the day and a drop of 80-82 at night.

you should invsest in a decent thermostat to control your UTH. this way you can accurately control a lower temp range for the basking spot.