Help-A-Noob :)

[Annarose15]

Okay so I'm a tad overwhelmed with all the very helpful and informative threads, and having read through some of them I have a few questions:

What's a PAM treatment? (I'm assuming PAM is not referring to the cooking spray) Provent-A-Mite by Pro Products - It kills snake mites (and just about any other bug around).

How easy is connecting a thermostat to a new rack system? Electricity scares me, lol. The higher-dollar therms (Herpstat, etc.) are easiest. None of them have any bare wires that expose you to electricity.

Which is more prefered: professional racks like Animal Plastics, or homemade ones? This all depends on how handy you are. I have one homemade rack that any BP over 200g is strong enough to escape (I'm not very handy). I have a few other homemades (not by me) that are escape-proof. If you aren't very precise at building, then the AP Economy racks aren't that much more expensive than the supplies you'd buy to build one.

If you get snakes from different sources, can/do you QT them in the same area?
In a perfect world, new additions would always be separate from other animals. I try to at least keep them on opposite sides of the QT room if they didn't come in at the same time.

Is deworming necessary? And can you do it at home? I haven't needed to deworm. I feed mostly F/T, so the chances of picking up worms is slim. You could take 1-2 samples a year to a herp vet for peace of mind, especially if you feed live. I'm sure you could probably deworm at home, but it depends on how comfortable you are with administering meds.

Does anyone here keep their snakes in the basement? Nope.How do you keep the ambient temp up other than overclocking your home heating system? I have the vent and door cracks sealed in a room heated by a radiant oil-filled electric heater, so it stays warmer than the remainder of the house.

Also, I have a sweet normal female who hides a lot. I've had her for about two and a half months now, and she's very well hand tamed, and likes to snuggle and watch Lost with me. But in her tank she hides under her water dish all the time. Granted, it's warm (heat pad under it) and humid, but her tank is too. Her hot spot is near 90* daytime/75* night and is right over a rocky hide, and her tank humidity is between 60-70%. Sometimes she lays with her head poking out from under her dish, but I never really see her exploring her 20gal long tank. Suggestions? or is she just shy? A hiding BP is a happy BP. Roaming (or "exploring") is typically a sign of stress.

Thanks in advance!!