FWC enclosure

[RandyRhoads420]

How's this for him....It's got 2 dry spots one under a heat lamp, A good sized area to soak in including an underwater hide.Should it meet all his needs?

[infernalis]

That must be the water snake.

I will do some more research when I wake up, but a quick Google search revealed that your setup is completely wrong.....

They live in marshy areas and are terrestrial not aquatic.

I don't have a FWC, but I have an eastern water snake, he spends more time under his rock (dry) than in his modest water bowl.

[Will0W783]

Yes FWC's are terrestrial and not aquatic. He will end up with a respiratory infection if he continues to be kept like that. I have a male FWC, and I give him a very large shallow water bowl, and keep him on cypress mulch which I mist twice a day. Some days he will spend in his water bowl all day, but mostly he buries himself in the mulch and explodes out when I go poking around looking for him. They are awesome snakes, and very alert. You do need to be on your toes with them though. I would recommend investing in a good snake hook because they can be tricky to remove from a cage.

[Will0W783]

Meg on here also keeps FWCs, hopefully she will turn up and contribute her advice. But please get him on solid ground today! ASAP

[RandyRhoads420]

I don't know he's always in the water he's got places to come out but he doesn't....even in his old cage he ould spend %95 of his time in his water bowl (no he doesn't have mites). He seems to love the water more than land.
Should i make fore area for him to lay on...perhaps pile some peat or something on the rocks?

[RandyRhoads420]

I got the idea to set up his cage from this video of a FWC enclosure at a zoo. It has abut the same land/water ratio as mine. Did they set up theres wrong too? lol

YouTube - False Water Cobra (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DivK6dZdF-g)

[citysnakes]

from a 30 sec youtube clip showing a small corner of an animals enclosure you based your entire setup on? dude get a book and find out how to setup a proper enclosure for this species in the limited space you have in that fish tank.

[citysnakes]

He seems to love the water more than land.

he doesnt seem to have much of a choice...

[Will0W783]

Here are some care sheets I pulled up for you so you can see that FWCs are not aquatic, since it seems you will not take my word for it, even though I've got one and did a lot of research prior to buying him.

http://www.helium.com/items/1273201-care-and-keeping-of-the-false-water-cobra-hydrodynastes-gigas

False Water Cobra Care Sheet (http://snakesathome.co.uk/fwc.aspx)

[Will0W783]

It greatly concerns me that you have an outbreak of mites, a snake that is regurgitating, and improper environments for all of them. You absolutely NEED to regulate your temperatures and correct your husbandry for your FWC. I have a feeling he is spending all his time in the water because (1) you do not have any terrestrial hiding spots- they like to burrow, and (2) he has mites and snakes with mites tend to hang in water to drown the parasites.

You need to get yourself a temp gun and regulate your cages' temperatures, and you NEED to treat the mites. This will require you completely cleaning all the cages and removing all substrate and using paper towels/white butcher paper until all the mites are gone. Here is the link to the Nix thread with detailed instructions.
http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/general-discussion/17014-nix-treatment-snake-mites.html

I would very much like to help you, however you need to be prepared to spend the money required to correct your husbandry errors and heal your sick snakes and you need to be open to criticism and advice. I can lead a horse to water but I can't make him drink. I honestly hope that your snakes get better and that you will learn from this and create a better captive environment for them, but your attitude will be the deciding factor in the end. Please pm me if you need any more advice or have any more questions- I am here to help.

[infernalis]

I am here to help.


We all are, so please keep an open mind and accept the advice.

No matter how many forums you join, the replies are going to be similar or the same.

We just want to help improve your skills and the lives of your pets.

[RandyRhoads420]

Whoa easy sorry if I sounded like i was being stubborn I was just asking...from what Gathered from the snake it never came out of the water bowl when it had plenty of land....and I've checked him for mites none on him or in his water. I'm working on fixing it all I spent what money i had on the carpet python got her some antibiotics and everything to tube feed her with. Please be patient i'm trying to learn. :P

[infernalis]

Whoa easy ~ Please be patient i'm trying to learn. :P

Please be patient with us too ;)

We are all just very passionate about our animals.

[Will0W783]

Yes, be patient with us too. So many times people come on here asking questions and don't want to hear the answers or tell us off when we try to help them. Sorry I came down so hard on you, I was just concerned. I really think the reason he is spending so much time in the water is because he doesn't have hides on his dry ground areas. One thing you can do that would be very nice and satisfy both water and ground requirements is to get a larger cage and purchase a very cheap cat litter pan (the plastic shallow baking pan-looking ones) and put it on one end. Then fill in substrate all around it so that it ends up looking like a pond in one end. My FWC spends about 60% of his time in his water dish, and the rest of it buried in his mulch. The do love to burrow!

[infernalis]

Yes, be patient with us too. So many times people come on here asking questions and don't want to hear the answers or tell us off when we try to help them.

Just let one of those go 2 days ago.:rolleyes: