traveling question???????????

[cydneyx3]

so next week i'm going out of town for 4 days and i didn't know if i should bring my BP with me. i just got him about 3 weeks ago so i hate to stress him by traveling but i'm also a bit nervous about leaving him in my apartment because the room temp. is very cold. his viv stays warm enough but not without lots of lights and heating pads. basically if something happens i wont be there and a something catching fire is always a hazard.

i'm also worried about traveling with him because he hasnt eaten yet. when we first brought him home he was in the "milky eye" stage of shedding so we figured it was normal. his skin came off about a week after we had him but two weeks later he still wont eat. according to his feeding chart it's been about a month since he's eaten but he also doesnt look like he's lost any weight since coming home. at the pet store they offered him food every 4 days (he didnt always eat, but it was offered) could he just not be hungry or is something wrong? his temps and humidity are right and we feed him in a separate cage that we warm up a little and put halfway on a heating pad..

thanks!

[j_h_smith]

How cold does your room get? Send a picture of your setup. If it has a screen top, maybe cover it to seal in the heat.

Jim Smith

[Trey Yeoman]

How cold does your room get? Send a picture of your setup. If it has a screen top, maybe cover it to seal in the heat.

Jim Smith

Ditto.

[cydneyx3]

basically my viv has a screen top and i covered half with cardboard wrapped in aluminum foil (it really helps to keep the temps up). the light sits on the other half (i switch out the day and night lights) and there is a heating pad under the lighted side. his hide sits half on the hot side and half on the cool side. the temps stay pretty stable but the humidity isn't great (i've heard lights will do that but there's really no other way to keep my temps up as much as they need to be.. i put a nontoxic sponge with water on the screen and i soak it once a day and it works) i also have a towel wrapped around the back of the tank to keep the glass from getting too cold. (my apartment is probably somewhere between 60-68 degrees. my landlord won't set the thermostat over 70, we have big windows, and we're on the top floor which already sets us up for an unstable temp).

he had a really good shed about a week ago so i'm not too worried about the humidity because it's 4 days. i'm more worried about the lights or something catching on fire from being on constantly (i wont be able to switch the lights) and the fact that he hasn't eaten. his behavior doesnt seem odd.. he stays hidden most of the day, basks sometimes, goes to his water bowl sometimes, comes out almost every night to explore, but he refuses to eat. they fed him f/t at the pet store and that's what we feed him (same brand and everything). will he starve himself? or eat when he's hungry?

thanks! i'm just really worried.. i REALLY dont want to come home to a sick or dead bp. i'd rather bring him with me in his carrying case (medium? size critter tote) but is that safe or will it stress him? the drive is only 2 hours and that way i could definitely monitor his humidity and temps. or would the critter tote not be big enough for him for a lengthy amount of time (i could fit his hide and a little thing of water and bring my UTH, he's only about a foot and a half at the most)? or would it be better to leave him here to adjust and hopefully he'll eat when i get back? (he won't starve while i'm gone, right?)

[ChadOwens]

The best way to fix your problem may be to put him in a tub set up if possible with a heat pad on a thermostat. The heat pad will give him a basking spot and heat the cool end to an acceptable temperature even in a cooler room. You can adjust your cool side temp in a tub with the amount of holes you put in it. Traveling with him would not be advised. If you want to keep him in a display think about getting a new cage that is enclosed - no screen top. An enclosed cage will make heating easier.

[Vypyrz]

You could either set him up in a temporary tub, as was mentioned, or, if you choose not to do that, I would suggest going to Wal-Mart and picking up a digital light timer. Then you can program it to switch the heat lamps on/off at various times throughout the day/night. I would also suggest adding a second water bowl so plenty of water would be available...

[darkbloodwyvern]

Plenty of people can pet sit a snake. All it means is checking on the temps and they don't need to take him out. Do you have any friends or family in the area you trust coming into the apartment to check on him? I just trade pet sitting with friends or roommates when I don't have money. Some LISCENCED and INSURED petsitting businesses will come check up on exotic pets, have you looked into anything like that? Sometimes it's an extra expense, but it feel it is HIGHLY worth the money to have a trustworthy person checking on my snakes. They should also be ok with you calling in to check in, or calling you in an emergency.

[Evenstar]

Plenty of people can pet sit a snake. All it means is checking on the temps and they don't need to take him out. Do you have any friends or family in the area you trust coming into the apartment to check on him? I just trade pet sitting with friends or roommates when I don't have money. Some LISCENCED and INSURED petsitting businesses will come check up on exotic pets, have you looked into anything like that? Sometimes it's an extra expense, but it feel it is HIGHLY worth the money to have a trustworthy person checking on my snakes. They should also be ok with you calling in to check in, or calling you in an emergency.

This is what I would do. A friend doesn't have to (or should they since you won't be home) take the snake out or feed him or do anything else at all with him - all they'd have to do is check the temps and make sure the uth and lighting is ok for the day. Someone coming once a day should be more than fine.

If you're worried about leaving those things plugged in while you're gone, if your uth is run by a rheostat or thermostat, you should be safe. Good uth's and rheostats are pretty reliable and don't draw much power. If the wiring in your apartment is safe and up to code (and it certainly should be or you've got other issues to deal with your landlord about immediately) then the uth ought to be fine for 4 days. It should be plugged in and running off the rheostat 24/7 anyway.

Also, the uth should be enough of a heat source without using the lamp too. BP's don't really need a lamp. If you cover the screen top to your viv properly then not only will it help with humidity, it'll help seal in some heat too. Here's the link to a sticky on how to properly cover a terrarium screen. I recommend you do this. As a side note, the ventilation "window" should be over the cool side to help lock in the heat. http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t=cover+screen

As far as eating goes, if he looks like he's holding his weight pretty well at the moment and seems to be otherwise healthy, he won't starve over the course of 4 days. Many snakes go much longer than 1 month without food. I would do what someone else suggested and make sure there's an extra water dish for him. And I would attempt to feed a couple of days before you go and if he refuses that meal, try again as soon as you come home. You might have to eventually offer live prey....

Don't try to take him with you - traveling is very stressful and may only compound his feeding issues and will only put undue stress on his system. He's better off staying put and he'll do fine. You're only going to be gone 4 days - not 4 weeks!