Soaking alot, good, bad, normal?

[sw204me]

Did some research and found that soaking before a shed is great for BP's. Well, for the past couple nights Max keeps sitting in his water bowl, that just mean hes about to shed? Or that the tank is too hot and hes trying too cool off? or the humidity is too low? As always, thanks in advance.

[nd179906]

It could mean many different things. it could mean that your humitidty is too low and he is soaking on order to loosen his skin for a shed. It could also mean that he has mites which are not good. Does he show any signs of an impending shed?

[sw204me]

Not too much. I'm getting him sex'd tomorrow night, I'll have him check for mites as well, lets cross our fingers..

[Mighty Monty]

I rarely see my BP soaking in his water bowl, He may when i'm not around, but does this mean anything?

[Reptilian]

I rarely see my BP soaking in his water bowl, He may when i'm not around, but does this mean anything?

When soaking occurs it usually means there is an issue with health or husbandry (mites or humidity). If your bp isn't soaking while you are there, it's a good thing.

If your snake is about to shed, go out and get a misting bottle and spray your bp lightly. It'll have a similar effect to soaking.

If your humidity is too low there are a few things you can do to fix that. Change your heat source to an undertank heater if your using a overhead light, change the substrate to eco earth or a smiliar coconut husked substrate and mist lightly, daily. Or you can cover the top 2/3rds of your cage with seran wrap or a towel after you mist to keep the water vapors in the cage longer.

Just remember don't over do it with the misting bottle you don't want to lead to any other health problems such as scale rot in the future.

[sw204me]

which brings me to my next question, if a UTH can provide 94-96 on the warm side on its own without any help. Do you even need a CHE/over head light?

[rabernet]

which brings me to my next question, if a UTH can provide 94-96 on the warm side on its own without any help. Do you even need a CHE/over head light?

If your room temps are not too cool, and your UTH is controlled by a quality thermostat (Ranco, Johnson's, Helix or Herpstat), yes.

When you take your snake out of the water dish, do you see flecks in the water that looks like pepper or poppy seeds?

[sw204me]

If your room temps are not too cool, and your UTH is controlled by a quality thermostat (Ranco, Johnson's, Helix or Herpstat), yes.

When you take your snake out of the water dish, do you see flecks in the water that looks like pepper or poppy seeds?

nah, water looks just fine. hes getting sex'd tonight, ill have him take a good look for mites though.

[JLC]

Reasons a BP might soak:


1. Mites
2. Cage is too hot
3. The water bowl makes a better "hide" than its hides do.
4. Ate a big meal and is trying to "float" some pressure off its belly.
5. Impending shed in a low-humidity environment

Any one of these reasons are issues that should be "fixed." Soaking prior to a shed can actually make the shed more difficult because it leaches away essential fluids that are developing between the new skin and the old that helps it separate and pull away. Soaking is best used only IF a bp has already had a difficult shed with lots still stuck on him.

If all these issues have been ruled out and your snake still soaks all the time...I'd suggest a much smaller water bowl. Constant soaking can lead to other serious health issues.

[Mighty Monty]

When soaking occurs it usually means there is an issue with health or husbandry (mites or humidity). If your bp isn't soaking while you are there, it's a good thing.

If your snake is about to shed, go out and get a misting bottle and spray your bp lightly. It'll have a similar effect to soaking.

If your humidity is too low there are a few things you can do to fix that. Change your heat source to an undertank heater if your using a overhead light, change the substrate to eco earth or a smiliar coconut husked substrate and mist lightly, daily. Or you can cover the top 2/3rds of your cage with seran wrap or a towel after you mist to keep the water vapors in the cage longer.

Just remember don't over do it with the misting bottle you don't want to lead to any other health problems such as scale rot in the future.

I should probably get an undertank heater, i have a 150watt bulb for a 20 gallon tank, and i use Aspen bedding, which i think just kills the humidity, i have to mist ALOT in order to keep it anywhere close to what it's suppose to be at. Can i use a red bulb during the day, and black at night? or should i not use a red bulb for the day? I've covered the top 2/3s of the cage like in one of the forums suggest, with the tinfoil and duct tape. I'm going to change the bedding.

If i change my heat source to an undertank heater? what should i use as a light source during the day?