taking snakes outside...

[Kaorte]

Oh god...I am reading more of your threads. They are giving you a lot of crappy information. I would just disregard anything they have said to you so far and ask again here XD.

[mommanessy247]

ive been going back & forth double checking my responses on both forums, comparing the info ive gotten & the info ive gotten on both i've double checked with the breeder i plan to buy my snake from so...in a nutshell the info im getting here, is more legit the what ive received on ssnakess.com.
ive abandoned the idea for an outdoor pen due to all the negative feedback i've gotten about it. no biggie, it was just an idea.

[ballpythonluvr]

Wow! Kaorte is right! They sure are giving you some really bad advice! I just read all of the respones you got on the other forum and it is really bad! Just stick with listening to people from this forum and you will be just fine.

[mommanessy247]

what exactly are you guys seeing as specifically being the bad advice? ive asked q's about terrarium setup & q's about substrate.
i need to know what you guys are saying is the bad advice so i can change some of my info if needed.

[Kaorte]

what exactly are you guys seeing as specifically being the bad advice? ive asked q's about terrarium setup & q's about substrate.
i need to know what you guys are saying is the bad advice so i can change some of my info if needed.

Well, the probe placement is a big one. While that probe placement might work for lizards or something, it is definitely not where you want to put it for a ball python. You want to put your thermostat probe directly on the UTH on the bottom of the tank. Aluminum tape works well for adhering it.

For raising the tank, just use the little rubber feet that come with the UTH. I know for a fact that the zoomed UTHs come with them.

The best substrates for ball pythons are paper towels, newspaper, cypress mulch, or aspen. I wouldn't really go for any of that jungle bedding stuff. Its hard to spot defecation and pee just gets lost in it.

If you want to use a specific cleaner, I would go with chlorhexadine. www.reptilebasics.com carries it. Otherwise, a 10% bleach solution or plain old soap and water works well. I wouldn't buy any "reptile cleaner". Just sounds like a ripoff to me.

Tap water is just fine for your snake. You can give it bottled water if you want, but there is nothing wrong with the water straight from your tap

If you want to feed live, it is going to be a little more expensive. Especially since you can only get feeders from a pet store. I would try and find a local rat breeder whom you can get live prey from really cheap.

I know you said you don't want to keep frozen feeders in with the meat you eat but honestly, it is really not a big deal at all. I keep mine in ziploc bags and then put them in an opaque plastic bag so you can't see what is in them. Its not like you are putting a rat in the same bag as the meat you eat...There is nothing to worry about in terms of germs. www.reptilebasics.com has some feeding tongs I believe. Those people saying that feeding your snake live is risky are full of crap. There are plenty of people who only feed live to their large collections and have only had a handful of scratches and bites.

In all honesty, if you breed rats with only one snake, you are going to have way too many rats that are either too large or too small for your animal. There will be a point where you will have to kill them off when they are a certain age so that your snake can eat them. Now while you think it is more cost effective it probably won't be. A couple of mice from the pet store every month is about....maybe $10? Raising feeders means you need to get a seperate enclosure, do bedding changes twice a week, and feed and water these animals. In my opinion, it is not worth the cost if you only have one snake.



Thats just some of the stuff that stuck out to me from the other threads. Lol have fun reading that book! hahaha

[mommanessy247]

ok thanks so much for your input. all that was very helpful.

[Reptis]

If you do a search on taking your snakes outside, you will find a few good threads on the topic

I wouldn't keep the snake in direct sunlight for too long if you plan on going outside with your animal. The sun can get pretty hot and remember, these guys are nocturnal so they don't ever naturally lay out in the hot sun.

As long as the temperatures aren't too high or too low you should be fine for 30 minutes or so.

If you have a temp gun, that would be a great way to make sure your snake isn't getting too hot or too cold.

Goodness Girl do you always chase after your snakes with thermometers!

A bit of time outside is fine. Moderate temps in the shade for a moderate amount of time. I wouldn't let it run around on the ground. Mites you know.

[dr del]

Mites?

You mean the ones that are native to Asia not the US?

Consider the source people.


dr del

[mpkeelee]

sometimes mine like to be outside. they just wrap around my wrist or my neck and hang out. i dont really let them crawl around but they seem comfortable. i only bring them in the shade or outside for a lil while cuz they sun here is really strong in the summer.

[mykee]

Kaorte: since I was called out my Momma (I'm the "difficult" member on the site she mentioned, though not by name); I felt it my duty to correct some of the lies being spewed about a forum that, though fallen on some hard times over the last few years, am still a contributing member of.
I personally have been around this hobby/business for a while, and call me old-school, ( and I undertand that many people do not agree with me on this (usually the lazy ones)) but I have always found that while forums are a great place to socialize and ask the more obscure or hard-to-find questions, that the onus remains on the keeper to do even a tiny little bit of research on their own. This is quite easily achieved by buying a book or two, or using their public library and picking up a book on the captive husbandry of ball pythons or visiting some great hobbyist and breeder sites and reading.
There is no substitute for a good knowledge-base.

As for the "outdoor faisco":
What happened was, much like here, when she was explained by a few experienced members (myself included) that an outdoor enclosure should not be her priimary focus, as it clearly had become at the time, and explained why, telling here that she should focus her attention on her INDOOR husbandry issues, (which, from experience, will abound when you use a fish cage to house a ball python), before cavorting outside with her hatchling. She proceeded to snub her nose at our suggestions.

Maybe we're a more jaded bunch up north, but when someone comes to a forum, hat in hand, asking questions, and when she doesn't get the answers that she WANTS, to poo poo on the advice given is bad internet manners.
This type of behavior is not condsuive to harbouring friendly, open dialog and knowledge-sharing.

As for bad advice regarding the above question that was also asked here, she posted her question in the General Discussion forum, and nowhere within the bodies of her posts did she mention once that she was inquiring about a ball python setup.
That said, there were a few members who recalled that she was, infact, referring to her August-arriving ball python, and was answered both informatively and appropriately.
My post:

"Re: terrarium set up q's

Julian, thanks for hopping in here and clearing up some misinformation.
1. You ALWAYS place the probe directly ON the heat source, so that you know and can control the temperature of your animals heat source. If it's not ON the heat source, it is completely USELESS. Some animals will benefit from the other methods mentioned in this thread, NOT ball pythons.
2. When you are designing your enclosure, you need an air gap between your UTH and it's surroundings so as not to build up excessive heat thus eventually causing your trailer to become a smouldering pile of ash with some charred animal and human flesh mixed in. You want your UTH attached to the bottom of the enclosure, but the excess heat needs a way to dissipate. This cannot be achieved by raising the enclosure on a "trapped" riser; you need to allow for a bunch of airflow.
__________________
www.strictlyballs.ca "

Just wanted to clarify and clear up a few of the lies, misinformation and gossip that has infected this site.