Help! New BP Strikes Frequently

[dr del]

7.) Someone posted a quote here from some biologists regarding belly burns and quite frankly it does not tie in with the body of knowledge from other sources perhaps even more reputable (including Sutherland's book, and Vosjoli's book) - but it is interesting because if this is your yardstick then why don't the care sheets on this site completely ban UTH - one contradicts the other - which is the whole point of many of my posts.


IMHO, using UTH properly is far from reckless. I have measured these devices, inquired about their construction and they need not be regulated - it is plain nonsense to assume that they need to be regulated - you might as well be more concerned about the bp's exposure to electromagnetic radiation. There is about as much possibility of these getting hot enough to burn flesh as there is that the BP get struck by lighting. They are very low watt devises constructed of thin nichrome which doubles as a fusing devise, so even the wattage is displaced over a large area.

Hi,

Just my on a couple of points.

"some biologists"?? you did follow the link and actually find out who they are and what they've done didn't you? Here is the link again in case you missed it.

I agree that using UTH's properly is far from reckless but the rest of your point is based on a completely false premise - that there is only one type/manufacturer and that they all perform identically.

This is so wrong it's frightening.

Over here the type available in stores are extremely weak and generally can only raise their surface temps about 10 C above ambient. Unless they malfunction they probably could be used without any control as long as ambients were stable. They do malfunction every now and again the same as everything else of course - at which point a thermostat might make the difference between a cold snake and a disaster.

This sounds like the type you have from your descriptions.

The flexwatt I ordered from America however can reach a surface temp of 120+f in the same room that those ones only reach 85f.

There may indeed be plain nonsense in this thread but, to be honest, we aren't the ones talking it (on that front at least ).

The reason the caresheets don't ban UTH's is because our defenition of using them properly includes using some form of regulation as an absolute must precisely because we know the range of performance and construction the term "UTH" covers. There is no contradiction just poor comprehension.

I agree with you there is no grounds at all to suppose our snakes enjoy handling.

The reason people are differentiating between aggression and defense however is because one can generally be improved fairly easily and if you make the snake feel more secure and it stops being as nippy then I don't think clairvoyance needs to be used. You don't know which it is before you begin trying to fix it but you can try and form conclusions with hindsight.

As to your assertion that the species as a whole is not suitable as a pet because yours still nips after a short time of ownership that's just plain daft.

Most ball pythons are indeed perfectly handleable without biting - but it's an animal not a toaster, variability in temperament should be expected. When the sources you mention say that they are good pets they mean the average disposition of all the ones they have ecountered was fine.

I have 5 sitting within 15 foot of me that have shown me no agression and any bites have occured purely because of mistakes I made when feeding etc. That doesn't mean I disbelieve anyone who has one who bites at every given opportunity - we had a speckled kingsnake once that was the most determined biter/crapper/musker I have ever seen even after being in the same home for 3 years. I don't condem every kingsnake for that any more than I condem all of humanity because of jeffrey dhamer.

This rambled on a lot more than I meant it to but hopefully some sense managed to creep in among the random blithering.


**edit**

Wow 6 posts since I started trying to compose this drivel. I need typing lessons.

**end edit**


dr del