ETB falling from perch while eating?!?

[bistrobob85]

Hey guys, i noticed a few times that my ETB would fall from her perch while constricting the F/T rat pups i feed her. Have you ever seen such a thing with yours? Is it that my perches are too slippery for her? They're made of 1/2'' wide PVC bars...

phil.

[Shad0w]

Umm.. I know allot of people use PVC as perches, but I would be careful... Its been known to cause blister disease in Emmy's...

Check corallus.com for further info :)

And yea... Wooden dowels / branches would offer better grip... mine never slipped yet.

[bistrobob85]

Don't you get fungus on your perches because of the high humidity???

phil.

[Shad0w]

nope.. never had a problem!
Ventilation and airflow :D

[Kimo]

make the perches removable, so you can give them a good soack in boiling hot water from time to time, helps the fungus situation, but then again, my emeralds dont live in a 100% humid enviroemtn 24/7 its only 80% during the day, and it gets drier over night, ready again in the morning for a good misting, helps control fungus growth, and keeps a perfect balance for the snake, because remember, its only fairly humid during the day time, then at night where these bad boys are from.

Josh

[bistrobob85]

Ok, wanted to be sure because i've read that somewhere and tought it made sense... Has anyone else seen his tree boa falling while eating???

phil.

[Shad0w]

Josh is right...

I also "BAKE" my branches in the oven every once in a while too... about an hour at 300... but if u do the same.. KEEP AN EYE on them.. last thing ya want is a fire :)

[marisa]

Why not simply seal them?

I sealed the dowels/perches/branches for my GTP's enclosure. Not only does this prevent the mold (along with good air circulation and what not) but it makes them easier to clean. Wood sucks up anything, but not if it's sealed. :) You can always rough em up a little bit to make them more grippable too.

Marisa

[bistrobob85]

Thanks for the warning, shadow!

''where these bad boys are from '' Hehe, now that was funny :)

[bistrobob85]

Marisa, it's not the same with ETBs because they need higher humidity than GTPs. The housbandry is ALMOST the same but emeralds like humidity a little more and eat less often.

phil.

[marisa]

I see what you are saying and I agree, but I think the solution is the same. The PVC is probably not the best idea, and wood seems to be the best choice if your snakes are slipping off the perch, sealed wood even better.

Marisa

[CraigC]

PVC is great if you "burn" it first. This gives it a wood like texture and we have never had a blister problem.
CraigC

[bistrobob85]

What is this blister problem you guys are talking about? I have never really heard of it before, maybe in different terms or in french... Hey CraigC, what do you mean, ''burn'' it first??? What is it for and what does it change? Hehe, also, of course, how do you do it and what does it look like?

phil.

[Shad0w]

http://www.corallus.com/caninus/husbandry.html

A perch the thickness of the snake can be from a pvc pipe, wooden dowel or natural branch. Incidents of scale problems have been observed when emerald tree boas were kept in humid conditions and on pvc piping.

Blister disease has been seen on emerald tree boas which were kept on pvc pipes.




I say... why take the chance :D

[bistrobob85]

Hehe, Thanks Shadow but that doesn't help me! I know about the thickness of the perch and about blisters on emeralds kept with pvc pipes, i just want to know what blisters are! What kind of disease, what causes them, etc... and how you ''burn'' your pvc pipes, what does it change and what does it look like after...

phil.

[Shad0w]

Id be interested to see pics of burnt PVC too.. but i would be concerned about off gassing.. Im unsure of the dangers.

[BOAS_N_PYTHONS]

PHIL:

Mine take a very calm but solid strike on there prey.
None have fallen using 1/2 - 1/3 body grip on the branches.

I use dowels and pvc pipie as well, athough with pvc I liked the look but knew not the greatest thing for griping. So I decided to warm it up and warm it a bit to create dips and valleys and make it look more natural. In the end I decided wood dowels are best over pvc.

Cya...

Tony

[BornboreD]

To scorch the PVC, just use a small propane torch. You can get the propane canisters that are for Coleman stoves, and buy a torch end for it. You'll wanna burn the whole perch except for maybe the last inch on either end, that way you can still use your perch holders or anything else. I burn mine until evenly turned brown along the whole length, then burn it more heavily in random spots. After thorough scrubbing in soapy water as hot as I can stand, and a good rinse, they come out looking like wood, and the parts that are burned more heavily look like knots. Also, Immediately after scorching it you can quickly grab the ends and give the perch a twist, and hold it while it's cooling down. This gives them a more natural "vine" type look. Just be careful that you don't twist or bend too much causing the ends to no longer line up with your holders. As far as the offgassing, you will definately want to do this outside, unless stinging eyes, a nauseous buzz, and a smelly house interests you. I'll try to post pics of ones that I've made sometime this week. Oh, and another upside to scorched PVC perches, is that they are easily cleaned, and won't rot with time and exposure to moisture.

Colin

[CraigC]

In these pics the animals are on burnt PVC.

http://www.gemsoftherainforest.com/TN200male.JPG

http://www.gemsoftherainforest.com/2-12-04.jpg

CraigC

[Shad0w]

Nice Emmy's CraigC :)

[bistrobob85]

Thanks a lot everybody. Nice pics CraigC! Thanks also to you BornboreD :) I guess i'll try wood, then ill consider trying to burn my PVC and if it does look good, i'll swith them then.

phil.