New BP soon, did I clean enough to keep this one alive?

[sho220]

bark, rock, plastic tree, and half log. I plan on getting another bp next week. so if there were any bacteria its gone

That's the crap I was referring to...and the bacteria won't be gone for long. Bark just harbors bad stuff...the rock is unnecessary, the tree is unnecessary, the half log, in addition to harboring yet more bad stuff, will probably be outgrown soon...Why fight it? You'll eventually get tired of fooling with all that stuff and struggling to keep humidity up and go to tubs or a rack setup...especially when you look in the tank and don't see anything but tank "decorations"...balls will usually be in their hides....just a matter of time. I guarantee most folks here went through the same thing...me included...it sucked...I got tired of it...moved to racks and have never looked back...good luck either way. I sincerely hope it works out better next time.

[DemmBalls]

That's the crap I was referring to...and the bacteria won't be gone for long. Bark just harbors bad stuff...the rock is unnecessary, the tree is unnecessary, the half log, in addition to harboring yet more bad stuff, will probably be outgrown soon...Why fight it? You'll eventually get tired of fooling with all that stuff and struggling to keep humidity up and go to tubs or a rack setup...especially when you look in the tank and don't see anything but tank "decorations"...balls will usually be in their hides....just a matter of time. I guarantee most folks here went through the same thing...me included...it sucked...I got tired of it...moved to racks and have never looked back...good luck either way. I sincerely hope it works out better next time.

I agree. It looks pretty to us, but is completely unecessary for the snake. Paper towels/news paper as a substrate, a hide box, and a water bowl are the only things they need.

[loonunit]

clean the tank with ammonia after you've cleaned with bleach. Apparently cryptosporidium (sp?) can survive bleach. DO NOT LET ANY AMMONIA COME INTO CONTACT WITH YOUR BLEACH, and store them in separate areas when you're done. Ammonia + bleach == very, very bad. For you, for everbody.

I recommend throwing out all wood and/or porous furniture if you really don't know what killed your previous animal and are still worried about it. It's impossible to completely decontaminate wood--there're too many microscopic hiding places.

[sicilian1928]

I actually never had humidity issues. it was always at 60%. I am just questioning now about all this because if all this was true and bark was soooo incredibly dangerous, how do zoo's keep their snakes alive? I am pretty sure they live in very well maintained, highly complicated tanks. They often have bark if not sand. Obviously they know much more about snakes than me and us, but if bark was so incredibly bad how do they keep their snakes healthy and happy?

[cinderbird]

I actually never had humidity issues. it was always at 60%. I am just questioning now about all this because if all this was true and bark was soooo incredibly dangerous, how do zoo's keep their snakes alive? I am pretty sure they live in very well maintained, highly complicated tanks. They often have bark if not sand. Obviously they know much more about snakes than me and us, but if bark was so incredibly bad how do they keep their snakes healthy and happy?

Most zoos, #1, don't have animals die randomly for no apparent reason without getting a complete necropsy done. #2, most of that stuff in the enclosure is FAKE.

[Trey Yeoman]

Make sure you wash the actual walls of your tank... all four sides... and the floor of the glass (assuming its a glass viv) if its a bin just wash out the bin and clean all its inner sides
other than that... what you have done seems great! and I know you will do perfect with your new baby, just because you are so cautious now because of what happened with your recently passed
Keep it cool! and goodluck!

[Dave Green]

Why would you ask for advice and then argue with everyone? Bark isn't dangerous; however, since your last snake died maybe you should scrap it just in case. Since you can't be sure what the snake died of why take any chances? I think you've gotten some good advice, sterilize the tank as best you can and use new items in the cage regardless of how simple or fancy you want to get with the enclosure.

[sicilian1928]

Make sure you wash the actual walls of your tank... all four sides... and the floor of the glass (assuming its a glass viv) if its a bin just wash out the bin and clean all its inner sides
other than that... what you have done seems great! and I know you will do perfect with your new baby, just because you are so cautious now because of what happened with your recently passed
Keep it cool! and goodluck!

Thanks I appreciate it, especially after hearing all these people that say I am doing so many unnecessary/wrong things like having bark and a half log when most people that own snakes have those things. Not only that Repti-bark seems pretty credible to me, along with soaking it in diluted bleach then baking it for 2 hours at 350 degrees. I cant see how anything could live through that.

[sicilian1928]

Why would you ask for advice and then argue with everyone? Bark isn't dangerous; however, since your last snake died maybe you should scrap it just in case. Since you can't be sure what the snake died of why take any chances? I think you've gotten some good advice, sterilize the tank as best you can and use new items in the cage regardless of how simple or fancy you want to get with the enclosure.

Its conversing, not arguing. I am putting things out there to be thought about that have been told to me. Just about every person I have talked to, which include long time snake owners, pet store owners and a reptile house owner have said I have done an excellent job with the husbandry and cleaning. I do want many ideas on the matter but when I have been told by an overwhelming majority of people that I my cage was just about perfect its funny to hear people telling me that bark is a bad idea to have and a half log is unnecessary. sure its easy to use paper towels, but I wont take the easy avenue with this snake. I want it to be happy not just survive in a bin with no room or anything to do.

[dr del]

Hi,

I'm going to possibly sound a little mean when I say this but I promise you that is not the place I'm coming from I just can't think of a better way of expressing myself.

Most people haven't had a snake die of unknown causes in their setup.

Now you seem pretty certain your friends snakes are healthy and that yours was healthy when you got it. For the record I am not so certain given the early regurge.

But.

The upshot of this is you need to take a few precautions when you get a new snake that other people don't really need to.

Keep the enclosure as simple and clinical as you can until your new guy has settled in and seems to be doing all right.

This means paper towels or newspaper as a substrate - something that is easy to clean and gets completely changed when the animal poops or pees. They also let you inspect said poop and easily bag it if you want to have it checked at a vets.

Papertowels also make it easier to spot mites etc.

Half log hides are never ideal but, since they were used by a snake with an unknown sickness I would hold off on using it again - a simple easier to clean hide would be a couple of those plastic drip tray saucers that go under plant pots. They are cheap as chips, easy to cut a door in, and very easily to sterilize if needed. BP's also tend to love them.

Now these aren't permanent restrictions - they are just sensible precautions until you know things are working out ok with the new guy.

Once that has been established you can think about moving more towards the type of setup you want long term.

One silly question I can't remember the answer to - what kind of bark is it and where did you get it?

It's almost certainly fine but I thought I'd ask.


dr del