What's going on with these snakes?

[TheAudOne]

So we have had the rack set up for some time now, the deal is no one has been sitting on there hot sides. The temps and humidity are all right on. I do keep the ACvent closed for there room, so could it be the air temp. is warm enough for them to not actually need to sit in there hot hide?
Also 2 of them havent eaten since 10/03/06, while others are eating every feeding day.
Then I come in to tuck them all in for bed lol...okay I just do a head count and say "good night" well I catch one of them in there water dish Checked the humidity and its actually a high (68%) so I pulled him out and checked him over hoping it isnt mites and I didnt find anything on him....although I have never seen snake mites, I like to think I would know when I did. I was looking for little black dots yes? I thought that could be the answer to why he hasnt eaten in so long, but I didnt see anything...checked every little hole and scale...nothing.

Who knows what's going on around here.

[kavmon]

what are the temps exactly inside the tubs, on the hot and cool ends? what are the room temps? can you briefly describe the rack? tub size and snake size??



vaughn

[HIGHMAINTENANCE]

Only thing I would ask is where and how are you taking the temps for the hot side?


I had my thermostat probe and thermometer gage on TOP of the substrate under his hide and Columbus started soaking (my first days I had him) and then learned to put the probe and thermometer thingy UNDER his cage on the outside and set the temp from there instead and he's been in his warm hide since then and no more soaking

But you probably know that I'm still green

Cara

[tmlowe5704]

Only thing I would ask is where and how are you taking the temps for the hot side?


I had my thermostat probe and thermometer gage on TOP of the substrate under his hide and Columbus started soaking (my first days I had him) and then learned to put the probe and thermometer thingy UNDER his cage on the outside and set the temp from there instead and he's been in his warm hide since then and no more soaking

But you probably know that I'm still green

Cara

only problem is that it may read 92* but on top the substrate could be as little as 88 I'm sure. ALways measure from where your snake will be

[West Coast Jungle]

Temps are very important, but they just might be starting the cool down cycle. They will prefer the cool side and not eat. I like to take a digital thermometer with a probe and tape the probe right on the inside of the tub over the heating element where the snake hides. I like the ones that read inside (the thermometer itself) and outside (the probe). Then I tape the themometer to the front of the tub (coolside) so I can see it at a glance. You'll see the cool and hot temps and also they come with high and low memories so you can check whats going on and adjust as needed. I think it takes out all the guess work. Then you know if temps are a factor. Some come with humidity reading too. Home depot or OSH will have them cheap.

[joepythons]

So we have had the rack set up for some time now, the deal is no one has been sitting on there hot sides. The temps and humidity are all right on. I do keep the ACvent closed for there room, so could it be the air temp. is warm enough for them to not actually need to sit in there hot hide?
Also 2 of them havent eaten since 10/03/06, while others are eating every feeding day.
Then I come in to tuck them all in for bed lol...okay I just do a head count and say "good night" well I catch one of them in there water dish Checked the humidity and its actually a high (68%) so I pulled him out and checked him over hoping it isnt mites and I didnt find anything on him....although I have never seen snake mites, I like to think I would know when I did. I was looking for little black dots yes? I thought that could be the answer to why he hasnt eaten in so long, but I didnt see anything...checked every little hole and scale...nothing.

Who knows what's going on around here.

Have you cleaned there windows lately? They may be unable to see outside from there hotspot .Sorry i could not resist it and its been awhile since i gave you a hard time .How are you checking your heat levels? I am guessing the hot spot is hotter then you think it is.Or they are using the hotspot when you are asleep maybe.Do you have a temp gun? I have one and i randomly check my temps in my rack and the fish tank setups.

[TekWarren]

temp guns are your friend...makes life a whole lot easier. Could also just be picky animals adjusting to the changes.

[jglass38]

only problem is that it may read 92* but on top the substrate could be as little as 88 I'm sure. ALways measure from where your snake will be

Your snake will get to the warm temps. If you have 3" of Aspen and you set the tstat to get a surface temp of 92, you might have 100 on the bare plastic/glass. If your snake moves the Aspen around, you could be risking a burn.

[Kilo]

Would it be safe to assume that a probe on the outside of the cage and directly on the heating element giving a read of 95 should be sufficient for the bp's warm side?

[TheAudOne]

Our rack is set up with sterilite 1996's, we have flexwatt on there hot sides, controlled by the Herpstat from Spyder Robotics, the probe for it is placed on the flexwatt of the top shelf under the tub. I have a $100 temp gun, I actually got from our restaraunt...figured if it checks our food to make sure they dont get to hot or cold then it must be pretty on the point as far as temp. goes.
I check everyone's temps. and humidity many times a day, I use accurite placed in there tubs for humidity, I dont leave it in there though, I place it in and leave it for awhile...read it and then take it out and move on to the next guy.
Temps on the hot side (bare plastic) are reading from 85-92.7 at the hottest part. Acu-Rite reads, 76.5 as there air temp. and 56% humidity in that tub.
Also, I'm up at the crack of dawn and going to sleep at 3AM, they all come out of hiding at 10pm, yet only go into there hot hides for brief amounts of time....most of the time enough to poop in it