Mite Journey Post/Questions

[GuardianHunter]

I'm glad. Most BPs are pretty tolerant (mellow) anyway. What MOST snakes hate about a "soak" is the loss of traction- you want to keep the water shallow (not higher than their height is); you don't want to force a snake to keep swimming- most will go thru the motions instinctively even in shallow water, but if they can feel some traction- like a rubber mat or even a small towel under them in the water, that helps reduce their stress & panic too. And keeping the water with just a hint of warmth helps too- not cold or too hot.* Use a thermometer to check- don't rely on how it "feels" because our bodies are 98.6*, so to feel "warm" to us means it's too warm for the snake. Water temperature can be very deceptive. And I'm sure you handled him gently thru this- that all helps too. BTW, with a drop or 2 of soap added, also make sure the snake doesn't drink the bathwater- that would upset their digestion. Another reason to stay "right there" with the snake.

So, for anyone reading this thread for information, what we ended up doing was hooking a thermostat to a heat pad and programmed it at 80 under his little scrub a dub tub. We didn’t add the soap immediately so he could drink if he wanted to first. And I’m glad we did it like that cause he ended up guzzling some water. His water stayed at a steady 80 when we checked with the heat gun.