Hello all,
I really appreciate the help I get from this website and quick responses I received last time I made a post about my bps ambient temps. The issue I am having is that my bp continues to get under the newspaper and lay on the plastic at the bottom of her tub. The UTH is of course on the otherside of the plastic and not directly in her tub. This is concerning to me because it is set at 88 degrees and usually warms up the newspaper to around that 88-92 temp range. I have a space heater close to her cage which keeps the ambient temps in the low 80s. If she lays directly on the plastic the temps fluctuate much more and I fear get too warm for her 95 temp range or sometimes more. She is a 500gram bp in a 18 quart tub. I am planning on upgrading her to a new larger tub soon. Her cage has a plastic black hide box, a small hide, and a water dish.
My question is how do you prevent them from getting under the newspaper? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Also I had questions about thawing. She has been an extremely consistent feeder, and has now just recently started turning down rats. Last time she tried to eat she struck at the rat missed got scared and had no interest in eating after that.
My typical routine for heating her rats has been let the rat thaw next to her cage for 2-3 hours, and then put it in the hottest tap water I can get for 10-15 minutes and then dunk the head to get the temps up. She does not seem to take the rat if the entire thing is drenched, which I try to prevent happening but sometimes water still manages to get into the bag. Should I try double bagging? Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated for both of these questions.
Thank you!