Who doesn't use a water bowl?

[Mike41793]

In your opinion they aren't negotiable. I think it is. I KNOW i've seen someone post that balls get most of their fluids from the prey they eat, which would make water bowls in their enclosures all the time unnecessary. They just haven't seen this thread i guess. We think we know everything about keeping them, but there's still plenty to learn

[wwmjkd]

Ha! Just caught another one while I was walking by! .... Like I said, for the next two days, like clock work! lol

you have some very nice enclosures. that lighting makes all the difference.

In your opinion they aren't negotiable. I think it is. I KNOW i've seen someone post that balls get most of their fluids from the prey they eat, which would make water bowls in their enclosures all the time unnecessary. They just haven't seen this thread i guess. We think we know everything about keeping them, but there's still plenty to learn

Mike, I've seen this as well in a few places, including this forum, a number of times. unfortunately, I can't recall exactly where or when, and I certainly don't remember whether it was based on any kind of study or just a statement someone made without anything to back it up other than their snakes simply not dying due to kidney failure.

I will say that it makes some sense intuitively, at least for royals. they don't require water daily, rats/mice do contain plenty of hydration, especially if you're defrosting them in warm water, and obviously a female snake in Africa won't leave her eggs to go for a drink if she gets thirsty. it probably doesn't pose a serious health risk as an experiment if you're feeding smaller meals every few days and keep to the schedule. however, any concerns I have boil down to the captive keeping vs. wild animal issue. an animal in the wild without immediate, 24/7 access to water is simply a different situation from a captive snake relying only on its next meal from its keeper. there's no way of telling whether the amount of moisture in rodents that would suffice in the wild might be tantamount to deprivation in captivity. you have different humidity parameters, you use newspaper instead of African soil, instead of rain you mist as you see necessary, you're feeding frozen rodents that might be more desiccated due to the freezing process, etc. as with any other husbandry issue, we're only able to approximate the conditions that they require to survive. obviously the guidelines are meant to give everyone a baseline for best practices, and I wouldn't presume to tell someone with your experience not to attempt it. hell I'd be interested to see your results, but I also don't think I'd do it myself.

finally, not to beat a dead horse, but try a PVC coupler too. I don't know why exactly, maybe it's because they can slide around, but they work. go to home depot, buy one 4'' coupler, and put in in your worst snake's tub. I'll mail you a deli cup so you don't have to eat a full sleeve of them if it doesn't work out. I would be surprised if you continue to have problems. I had plenty of dumped bowls before I switched over, and the only one to flood her tub in a year and a half was a cranky and gravid female who just wanted to be a destructive ass that day.