Ball Python Issue

[CarissaREVV]

My Ball ( Jennifer) has been losing muscle mass our something I have had her since Aug 2012 and she since day one has always been more on the squishy side if that makes any sence. and i noticed about two day ago she was not one smooth size all the the way through if i handt known better i would have said she had just eaten several tiny mice she is about a foot long and i can up load pictures later but i am worried i have tried soaking her and everything she gets fed about every two weeks and she i usally feed her about 5 pinkies in a weeks time. we are live feeding because i cannot get her to eat the dead pinkies and since we are breeding the mice our selves there is only so often i can actually feed her we also have a male ball (kyle) and he when we got him was solid build and still is he looks just as healthy as we got him and we got him in Jan 2013. is there something i am doing wrong with her or is there some other underlying issu that i am not aware of. lighting heating water and substrate conditions are just fine. If any one can help that would be much apreciated I am concerned about Jennifer. I dont want anything to happen to her. oh and i am feeding her and kyle again tomorrow now that the pinkies are big enough to be eaten. :sad:

[Lankyrob]

Why would you feed mice? Once the snake is an adult it will need LOTS of mi e to fill it up, and mice pinkies aswell?

I would guess from the description she is underfed but will happily change that opinion once a photo is provided.

Switch them both to rats as soon as you can and feed a size that is slightly bigger than their girth.

[KORBIN5895]

I would say underfed and maybe malnutrition. If she could eat five pinkies she could probably eat a weaned or hopper easily. These would be much better nutritionally. Also every two weeks is not enough for that young of a snake. It should be fed weekly until you get her up to size.

[bcr229]

How old is your snake? We just got a female BP last week that was born in September 2012, and the breeder said that she's eating a small rat (not a rat pup, a rat) each week. She's almost two feet long. If you bought yours last August she should have been 5-6 months old, minimum, at that time since most breeders keep them until they've eaten a few times and shed once. Mouse pinkies would have been way too small even when you first got her.

[CarissaREVV]

The snake is to small to eat rats other wise thats were we would be at. she use to never eat at all i would have to force feed her. I got her in aug as for her age i dont know my snake is barely a foot long and is about as wide as my thumb. i got her from a pet store so this my be my issue. I have no place remotly close to were i live to feed her live every week she doesnt eat five in one sitting she will eat about two and leave the others and a day or two latter i can get her to eat more. but from what i am hearing the food should be a bit bigger, i fed her and him last time the mice changing from pinkies to fuzzies. i use to feed her twice a week at first but then she went into shed for a while after that she became almost impossible to even force feed the dead pinkies she would just sit there with it in her throat and not swallow sometimes she would even jsut spit it back up. i guess for the time being i will have to go back to making her eat in between live feedings

[CarissaREVV]

actually now that i look at picture she is a little wider then i originaly thought. I dont know if this matters at all but she has alway felt squishy i guess is the best word i can use to describe it. she has never felt like she has had any muscle from day one.

[CarissaREVV]

How do you upload pictures on to this thing?

[bcr229]

Upload the pic to a site like photobucket.com first, and then use the "Insert Image" icon to past the URL of the pic into your reply.

[Chris72]

How do you upload pictures on to this thing?

Under the "submit Reply" button you have Additional Options. Scroll down a little and hit "Manage Attachments"

I am new to Pythons but have had lots of reptiles in the past. It sounds like the snake was underfed and or fed the wrong food item even before you had her!

Expert to comment please:
From my reading you want to feed rats to a ball python rather than a mouse as the nutritional values are not the same and a rat is better for that snake. (eg: rats have higher fat, etc.)

My male ball python was born October 2012 and is currently eating a medium rat pup weekly on Tuesdays. By Sunday night he is, what some would call, hunting around looking for something to eat. (ie-can’t sit still when I have him out)

You really need to take serious action on getting this animal healthy, or the problem is going to sort itself out in a bad way. If I were you I would take it to a vet ASAP. If you can't you might need to look at force feeding with small rats and / or a nutrient rich formula. (Need a python expert to chime in on that)

Fingers crossed for Jennifer!!:no:

[DeadlyDesires]

it sounds like the snake is underfed to me as well... you would be surprised what sizes of prey they can eat. i got my snake in Sep 2012 and he was around a foot in length and the girth of my thumb like you are describing and we started him out on hoppers then switch to adult mice a month later... he grew soo fast! he is now just over 3 ft long. something is not right yours isn't growing.

[bcr229]

Look on facebook for MD and northern VA reptile groups. You should be able to find someone there who can supply you with live mice regularly if you can't breed enough of your own.

Was Jennifer from a big box store like a Petco or PetSmart, or did she come from a smaller pet store? Unfortunately the big box stores can be hit-or-miss for reptiles, especially if the manager doesn't have a clue about them.

[Chris72]

Carissa,
I noticed that the original post says this:

"......and I am feeding her and kyle again tomorrow now that the pinkies are big enough to be eaten..."

Jennifer has not been healthy since she came home, clearly but has the feeding sched been dependant (in any way) on when the mouse pinkies are "big enough to be eaten"??


Also thought a little more about this:
"...The snake is too small to eat rats otherwise that’s were we would be at. ..."

Rats are available in all sizes. Typically I see:
Rat pinkies at 3 to 9 grams.
Rat fuzzies at 10 to 19 grams.
Rat pups at 20 to 29 grams.
Rat weanlings at 30 to 49 grams

(In contrasts to)

Mouse pinkies for sale are normally 1 to 2 grams

Now for context: My B.P born Oct 2012 , currently just over 2 feet long) has 5 more rat pups in the freezer until I switch him to weanlings. (Already have 12 in the freezer at home)

Do you have some place to buy small rats?...if so switch to those.

If Jennifer is only capable of downing a 1g-2g mouse pinky I think we need to make sure you know have a very serious situation on your hands. I suspect Jenifer was digesting her own body mass for nutrition (see: squishy snake) even before you bought her.

Is there a reptile club or rescue facility near you? I suspect you are already at the stage that you need an experienced hand to take over. If a vet (and his bills) are not an option for you then please consider seeking out the help of someone who will help for free.

Fingers crossed for Jennifer!!

[Lankyrob]

For the first year of my bp's life i was feeding rats twice his grith every seven days.

What temps and humidity are you keeping it at and why did you forcefeed? How long did you wait before doing this?

[Chris72]

Carissa,

Bethesda is in Montgomery country right?

I just did a Google search for: "Montgomery county Maryland reptile club"


Second hit down has a giant list of phone numbers for various herp rescues. Just start calling and ask for help. Chances are even if the person on the other end cannot help you they can point you to someone who can.

I fear that the path you are on is going to be a short one for Jennifer.

For her age she should be around double her length (roughly) and should be near the diameter of a US silver dollar at her middle. (Roughly..Inch and a quarter to inch and a half)

Please understand you have a snake that is in very, veeeery bad condition and if not addressed soon you will not have that snake much longer.

The right person can make a massive change in condition. A (bird) breeder friend I worked with when I did breed birds took in a sick macaw that the local University sent home to die when it couldn’t stand....he nursed it back to health in a week!! Help is out there if you can’t do this yourself.

Good Luck.
C.

[Aaron_S]

Can we see a picture? I'll respond with more information when that's done.

For now, you're underfeeding your snake.

[LadyWraith]

Definitely sounds under nourished to me as well. My male BP, a June 2012 hatchling so not much older, started off eating mouse hoppers from the get go. Pinkies don't have the same nutritional content as the older rodents; they're lacking a more structured bone system which means your snake is not receiving appropriate calcium and other nutrients that bones provide. I'd switch them both up to hopper mice or fuzzy rats once every week. The can eat a lot larger prey than you'd think. Also, if she's refusing to eat, you might do a re-check on your husbandry. If they don't feel secure in their environment, they won't eat.

[bcr229]

Lisa Carr
VCA Veterinary Referral Associates
500 Perry Parkway
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20877
Phone: 301-926-3300
Emerg: as above
Website (http://vcavra.com/)
lisa.carr@vcahospitals.com (lisa.carr@vcahospitals.com)

This is a 24 hour emergency vet near you who will treat reptiles. You are very lucky to have a herp vet so close - the nearest to me is a 90 minute drive away.

[CarissaREVV]

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p784/Carissa-Reveles/121936B5-D555-482C-91AC-25E9A8674193-2813-000003A202939E31_zps5571d3bb.jpg
http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p784/Carissa-Reveles/121936B5-D555-482C-91AC-25E9A8674193-2813-000003A202939E31_zps5571d3bb.jpg
http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p784/Carissa-Reveles/3966E248-E14D-4327-ABD3-8725838B69C6-2813-000003A20FBD8DD9_zpsb03f2249.jpg

I did get her from petsmart I fed her a fuzzie last night she took about twenty min to swallow it. I tried to get her a second one but she refused to eat it she sat there with it in her mouth for twenty or so min then just spit it out. When I say pinkies being bigg enough to eat I am talking about them being on the verge of fuzzies so a bigger pinkie. We bought rats last night and are going to start breeding them. I am going to find what I can to get her fed properly if that is the issue is. She has never seeker for food. Kyle does on occasion though.

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p784/Carissa-Reveles/5C6E7013-0B90-4B8E-9E54-25566F428175-2813-000003A1FC3E7502_zps74238e68.jpg
http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p784/Carissa-Reveles/2CF6F6C4-1465-40E9-82CE-DD4E6C490091-2813-000003A1F8EC8A93_zps26c0fc46.jpg

[CarissaREVV]

I don't usually feed the two of them together I just wanted Kyle there for size reference

[CarissaREVV]

Oh and for the first up until the end January I fed her every week three pinkies and he went into she'd only once the entire time. After we got Kyle and he didn't want the dead food we switched to live and their feeding habits changed.

[CarissaREVV]

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p784/Carissa-Reveles/E32DDE2F-10DF-4835-B74D-E15D3A319033-2902-0000043D05A53982_zpsb186d63e.jpg

This the first week I had her

[Lankyrob]

The item that she is eating in the picture needs to be double the size imo if not bigger than double.

You also still havent told us the temps and humidity you keep them at.

[CarissaREVV]

almost forgot she had gone into shed three times since january and kyle twice.

[CarissaREVV]

She could barely swallow that fuzzie how is she going to eat something double that size. she spent twenty min working that thing into her throat.
But fair enough i have bigger mice i can get her to try and eat.
i will have to check the temps when i get home i can say it is atleast 80 on the cool side since that is the temp of my aprt. hot side we have 100 watt heat lamp and the ground is about 8-10 inches from the bulb

[Lankyrob]

She could barely swallow that fuzzie how is she going to eat something double that size. she spent twenty min working that thing into her throat.
But fair enough i have bigger mice i can get her to try and eat.
i will have to check the temps when i get home i can say it is atleast 80 on the cool side since that is the temp of my aprt. hot side we have 100 watt heat lamp and the ground is about 8-10 inches from the bulb

So you dont know the temps? What is the thermostat set at? And what is the humidity?

I will see if i have a picture of my ball eating to show the size difference.

[CarissaREVV]

not the exact temps i do have a temp probe we usually use for the frogs tanks. what ever the humidity level in the apartment is at is what the cage is going to be at so it isnt going to be high at all . i can move the water bowl under the heat lamp to increase the humididty though.

[Lankyrob]

Not great pic but is the only one i can find

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo200/Lankyrob1975/30012012232.jpg

[Lankyrob]

not the exact temps i do have a temp probe we usually use for the frogs tanks. what ever the humidity level in the apartment is at is what the cage is going to be at so it isnt going to be high at all . i can move the water bowl under the heat lamp to increase the humididty though.

The humidity NEEDS to be a minimum of 55% and really should be over 60% and 75% during sheds. The hot end temp should be 91-95f and cool end no lower than 78.

Without the proper conditions being met consistently, including feeding propeer sized prey the snake will suffer.

Are the two kept in the same enclosure?

[CarissaREVV]

yes they are kept in the same enclousure. Jenhifer got more active once kyle got in there. they are almost inseperable. nothing i ever read before i got her said that they needed large amounts of humididty, well heat side and cool side should be at correct temperatures like i said we keep the aprt around 80 since we recieve everyone elses heat below us. and the heat lamp is intended for desert animals so the temp is about 120 i do believe two inches from the source then drops to about 95-100 six to seven inches away which should but gound level 90-95 the ground is actually pretty warm to the touch. we will mist the cage more and move the water bowl to the hot side so we can keep the humidity up.
curious why would kyle be just fine in the same conditions but jenifer having all of these issues

[CarissaREVV]

do you have any of the snake straightend out so i can get a better judge of the size

[Will0W783]

To me that snake looks very dehydrated, and both snakes (Jennifer and Kyle) look underweight. Ball pythons are not supposed to be slender snakes. Kyle is very underweight for his length as well.
The fact that you do not even know what the temperatures and humidity are in the cage is worrisome as well. What research did you do prior to buying these animals? A cursory Google search on ball pythons will tell you the temperature and humidity range you NEED to keep them at, as well as proper food sizes. A ball python is a constrictor and can swallow prey far larger than non-constricting snakes can. This is because of the structure of the jaw. There is no solid joint, only ligaments and muscle connecting the bottom jaw to the upper, and there is a separate bone for the left and right sides of the bottom jaw as well. This allows the snake to appear to dislocate its jaw and take down food much larger than the head of the snake. You should be feeding a single food item that is slightly larger than the girth of the snake at its widest point.

Also, housing them together is NOT a good idea. The reason Jennifer is more active with Kyle in there is she is stressed. If they are always together, it's because they are both trying to be in the optimal spot in the cage. Its a form of competition for resources. Snakes are not social creatures. With the exception of a few colubrids and crotalids that hibernate in large communal dens, snakes will not live near other snakes in the wild. Housing two together increases stress for both animals, weakens their immune systems and leads to health problems.

Please separate them into individual enclosures, and please please do more research on these snakes.

[Aaron_S]

yes they are kept in the same enclousure. Jenhifer got more active once kyle got in there. they are almost inseperable. nothing i ever read before i got her said that they needed large amounts of humididty, well heat side and cool side should be at correct temperatures like i said we keep the aprt around 80 since we recieve everyone elses heat below us. and the heat lamp is intended for desert animals so the temp is about 120 i do believe two inches from the source then drops to about 95-100 six to seven inches away which should but gound level 90-95 the ground is actually pretty warm to the touch. we will mist the cage more and move the water bowl to the hot side so we can keep the humidity up.
curious why would kyle be just fine in the same conditions but jenifer having all of these issues

You're a ball of horrible husbandry issues. Worst part it isn't even just one snake it's two.

1. Do not keep together. The normal is stressed out and that's why she's active. Nothing to do with having a friend who's "inseperable". You only offer one cool side and one hot side. They compete for it so that's why you think it's "snuggling".

2. Use a heatmat and not that light. It's drying out the enclosure with FAR too high of temps that you're not really sure of. Use a thermostat in conjunction with it.

3. You didn't read much of anything if you didn't see they need about an average of 55-60% humidity. Do better research.

4. The normal isn't too bad of weight loss but the spider is. Who cares how long it takes a snake to swallow a piece of food? I've got ball pythons that take hours. They are just slow. Feed them hopper sized mice or rat fuzzies.

[bcr229]

curious why would kyle be just fine in the same conditions but jenifer having all of these issues
She may have been having health issues when you got her, and you've had her on a pretty minimal diet since August. Snakes should be eating prey that's 1.25-1.5 times their girth at the widest point. Don't worry about how thin her neck looks, it will stretch.

What is Kyle eating? Hopefully not the same diet. Don't worry about how long it takes them to swallow the prey, 20 minutes is nothing.

On the humidity, what are you using for substrate? We found it easiest to keep the humidity up when using cypress mulch. Aspen and newspaper/paper towels dry out very quickly. I tried Reptibark once and while it's better than aspen for maintaining humidity, it's also very dusty so I don't use it any more.

If you have an open-top tank cover it as much as possible with aluminum foil, or make a plexiglass top and drill some ventilation holes in it. This will help maintain the humidity.

I would also use an under-tank heater instead of a light for heat, BP's don't really like direct bright light as they're primarily a nocturnal animal. Direct lights are also very drying (hence the term desert light).

I also wouldn't house them together. They each need their own space and while it's rare, BP's have gone cannibal. They're not social snakes and really only get together in nature to mate. Plus, if either gets sick (or is sick) you're guaranteeing the other one will pick it up.

There are awesome care sheets for all sorts of herps at CARESHEETS (http://ball-pythons.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?107-CARESHEETS)

[CarissaREVV]

okay so that means i got both snakes with issue i bought kyle from a breeder and they said he was just fine I did not get the cream of the crop when i got these snakes did i . but i can power feed them to bulk them up. as i said temperature should be just fine i have a low cage with a strong heat lamp. as for humidity i can start misting the cage and move the watering dish and we will pick up a hydro meeter as well, I have a mesh top so do you guys have any suggestions on how to keep the humididty inside the cage.everything i read online is something different one person says cage should never go over 90 because it increases their metabolism and that they have healthier snakes at between 80-87 the some people say you need to keep the tank's hot side in the 90s i am hearing differences on the size of the food some people say the food should be the size of the widest part of the body and some people are saying it should be almost twice the size of the snake i have also read that it should be a little bit smaller then the size of the body to make eat regualrly, I have also heard that your better off feeding them several smaller mice then feeding them one rat. i read that they live just fine on mice then i read they need to be on rats not mice. then i see snakes that live in worse conditions then what my two are at and thrive and become huge. also some sites never mention humididty some people say its safe to use a heat rock while other swear up and down that it is not suppose to be used. i have read that they can be housed together as long as you feed them seperatly, they say it is not recomended but you can, sometimes on a rare occasion one will try and eat the other.
so with all these different instructions, ideas, and ways people raise these snakes raised how am i suppose to know which one is the fore sure correct way.

[CarissaREVV]

I use the repti bark and there is slight fogging around the bottom were the bark is.

[Valvaren]

Carissa I'm going to ask you to bear with me cause this might be a long post. I want to assure you we are all here to help you and your snakes. We want these guys to live the 20-40 years they are supposed to and we want you to be there with them.

Theres a lot that is going to have to be changed but it is for the better, not because we want you to or because we want to inconvience you its because these animals live a huge area that they have evolved to live perfectly in and we have to do our best to replicate that in basically a box.

First as others have stated you really have to separate them, Jen is not more active because she is happy, she is trying to find her own spot, her own territory without Kyle, her own heat and hides and cold without him being there. She is stressed and that is just making things worse.

Second you should get them on heat mats and thermostat, as stated that light is two hot and is drying out the air and humidity is very important. The thermostat is also very important, this will help take a lot of guess work out of your temps and will help maintain the perfect spot for both Kyle and Jen to be happy. In the wild they have so many places to choose from for heat and as I said we just have this box so we have to make sure they have that perfect spot.

These are the two bigs things I suggest you change asap, once they have they're own space and room, with the correct temps and humidity they will be off to a great start, then we can worry about food since we need proper temps to help them eat anyway.


As far as food size, I remember what it was like when I got my first BP, I remember freaking out watching him eat but honestly what people are saying is true, they really can eat something SO much bigger then they are. This is my baby Brood back when he was around 8-9 months old, its not the best video but I hope it helps you relax a bit about feeding, more so since i know he could eat larger then that.

For those who are going to tell me he can eat bigger because i know some will I just want to point out this video is from years ago when I first brought Brood home and was buying food from the pet store, I am aware he couldn have larger I simply wanted to post a video for Carissa so she could have an idea of what they can handle.


xAjZlkPkui4

[CarissaREVV]

if i am useing repti bark would a heat pad even make it through the substrate i will up load a picture of the tank later so everyone can see it, along with the temp of the tank. and the humididty. once we get the rats breeding we will deffinatly be going to straight rats for now though i will just feed them the larger fuzzies or small mice. we can get them seperated too. just need to buy another cage.

[CarissaREVV]

Oh they guy that works at the pet store that we bought Jenny from said we should have never bought a snake from them. They said that the snakes there dont do well. of course he tells us this 8 months after we got her. i think she was in that store for just over a month.

[CarissaREVV]

okay thank you for the video it does relieve some worry.

[bcr229]

as for humidity i can start misting the cage and move the watering dish and we will pick up a hydro meeter as well, I have a mesh top so do you guys have any suggestions on how to keep the humididty inside the cage.
Cover the top with foil, except for under the lamp for the hot side. Once you install an under-tank heater and you remove the lamp, you can use damp dishtowels instead (don't use dishtowels with the lamp, it's a fire hazard). Eventually you can make a plexiglass top for it.

IIRC from reptibark, it can stay pretty wet without concerns about mold. So, don't worry about over-misting. Once you use up the current supply (substrate should be spot-cleaned daily and changed monthly) I would still suggest switching to the cypress, my BP's all love it and even the adults will burrow in it like baby king snakes.

For water, provide two sources, a small dish on the cool side and a large, fairly shallow one on the warm side to help increase humidity and give your snakes a place to soak if they want.

You are right that there is a lot of conflicting information available, but if you take what is consistent about feeding you can see that the meals for Jennifer have been way too small. Look at the size of the fuzzy compared to her girth - and she is thin, no doubt about it - and that fuzzy is half her size at best. It's a snack or an hors d'ouvre, not a meal.

Kyle is doing better because you got him from a breeder who no doubt kept him in ideal conditions so she could get a good price for him. Jennifer is basically a "mutt", you got her from a chain store which may or may not have kept her in good conditions. It's very likely she got stressed there even if her husbandry was correct. So, I'm not surprised that Kyle is doing ok and she is not.

[CarissaREVV]

dang now that i do the math she should deffinatly be much much bigger then she is.
yikes now i feel guilty :( my babies :(

[CarissaREVV]

okay so insure the correct temp, feed them bigger food, seperate them, and increase the humidity, i can do that. I hope this works i love my little snakes and i want them to be healthy. thank you everone for letting me know what i was doing wrong.

[jarich]

If you want to have the substrate deep then you could get a Radiant Heat Panel (RHP) instead of a under tank heater. They are a non light based heat emitter that does not dry the air out at all. They are very good units and last a long time. I think they run about $60 for the size you would need, so are a little more than an under tank heater, but then you dont have to worry about it having to heat through all your substrate.

[CarissaREVV]

okay we will probably try that instead of under the tank heater then.

[CarissaREVV]

I have another question for every one How long should teh snakes be in shed for? first time jenny sheded it took her about three weeks to finish and did give her baths to soak finally i let her soak for about an hour instead of twenty or so min then i gently rubbed her to get the shed off since then she has only taken about a week to ten days her eye caps are always the last to go and she doesnt shed smoothly either she just has random pathces that come off. Kyle when he sheds his comes off in almost one setting he take about a week to fully come out of shed as well if i remember correctly.

[bcr229]

She's been having problems because her humidity is so low. Once ours start they're usually done in a few hours, a day at most. Eye caps should come off first, when the head sheds.

[CarissaREVV]

Really. okay we will see if fixing the cage issues help. i had though it was odd that her eyes would have the caps stay on for so long.

[Pareeeee]

When my BP is in shed I raise the humidity to about 80%.

I agree with most of what's been said. Separate the two snakes, feed larger meals, increase humidity and temp.

I keep my BP between 90-95F and 60% humidity.

Really, really glad that you listen to advice. Want to point that out. So many people just get mad and leave, instead of doing what's best for their pets. Thank-you for that.

[CarissaREVV]

Hopefully this will all make my babies healthy and keep them that way.

[CarissaREVV]

i dont know why they would get mad. you all are here to help and if they truley want and care for their animals there should be no reason to get mad, we are all humans and we make mistakes the smart humans get help from other people and listen to them. I can tell you right now I am very grateful to everyone who has helped me figure out what was going on I love my babies and i did not know i was hurting them. i feel really bad now but i am going to fix the sistuation.
So average the humididty about 60% then when she and he are in shed raise the humididty in their cages. okay easy enough.

[Mark Taylor]

I am so glad you will start to provide the care needed for both snakes it may not have been the welcome you wanted but your snakes will be happier and healthy.

[bcr229]

Also don't forget the two red-tails you're getting will need similar, although bigger, setups. Don't even bother with trying to feed them mice, as babies they'll have been started on rat pups. My three are all much less picky about eating than my BP's are, and will take frozen/thaw with no issues. They also need to be quarantined in a different room from your BP's.

[CarissaREVV]

The guy isaac got them from said to feed them rat pups. if we have shelving system do we need to keep them in seperate rooms?
we have a much bigger set up for the boas

[Mark Taylor]

Yes separate rooms as far apart as possible for 6 months.

[Lankyrob]

Kudos for listening and making changes, as others have said lots of people get pissy when we tell them that they are doing things wrong, it says a lot about your character that you are willing to learn.

With regard to the new snakes, whenever youbring anything into your collection you dont want to risk the health of your currrent snakes so new snakes should be kept totally separate for at least six months, this means their own water bowls, feeding tongs etc. basically you never use the same tools for your current snakes and your new ones. Trat the new ones like they are extremely contagious.

Feed/check on your current snakes first, then deal with the newones, never go from the new snakes into the currentones without at minimum disinfecting your hands but ideally changing clothes etc just in case.

[CarissaREVV]

I am pregnat i always wash and sanitize my hand after handling each one. i dont want to pass anything around so i do it for that reason too. and we have a seperat containers for feeding and two sets of tongs. that part I knew. my older snakes are my first priority wheni get home. my husband can take care of his new one
okay we will keep them in seperate rooms

[CarissaREVV]

were did i learn to spell, pregnant**

[CarissaREVV]

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p784/Carissa-Reveles/9E31579B-1BCA-4402-9AF4-44CACEF94815-156-000000155F0D2C90_zps9f9f4304.jpg
http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p784/Carissa-Reveles/B2F89634-CAA4-4209-886D-ABA903FA3DB6-156-000000156348F2F1_zps40f6d860.jpghttp://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p784/Carissa-Reveles/F7446128-CE4E-4DA7-B297-C184058CDCCC-156-000000156D2F921E_zpse939174b.jpg

[CarissaREVV]

Rearranged everything and covered the top I have to get a new bulb one with less power because at ground temp it was 101 f

[jarich]

Id say cut yourself a piece of plywood that covers the whole top, buy an RHP (with thermostat) to attach to it and all your problems are solved. Wont have to worry about humidity or heat problems after that.

[LadyWraith]

A really quick, easy fix for the foil so it looks a little neater and stays in place... lay the foil down and then cover with duct tape over the top leaving a square area open for the heat light. Like you have it, only duct tape it down. I found a tutorial on it on another site before I figured out the awesomeness of sweater boxes and it worked really well for keeping the humidity up in a tank. :) It's refreshing to see someone open to advice.

[CarissaREVV]

What are sweater boxes exactly.

[LadyWraith]

Like this: first pic is of the top with duct tape over it. The second picture is the under side with the foil. This one is re-purposed (hence the 2 squares) but you get the gist.

[LadyWraith]

Sweater box.... those Tupperware or Sterilite long rectangular boxes you normally slide under the bed. Who would've thought they make good enclosures lol. People use them in rack systems mostly but my setup is a utility shelf with Flexwatt taped to the shelf, controlled by a thermostat, and my BP's sweater box sits on that shelf. A hide on each side (hot and cool), water on the cool side, digital thermometer with a probe that measures both the hot and cool side temps, and newspaper for substrate. If you can keep the ambient temp at 80-ish in the room, it's a very useful setup that keeps humidity in the proper range.

[CarissaREVV]

So I put in a lower watt bulb now the hot side is 89 and the cool side is 81 I won't find out the humidity until this weekend when I get paid that is Jennifer's cage Kyle has to chill in there until Friday when I can buy him something. The boa's cage is only reaching 86.8 on the hot side and 79 on the cool side we are going to have to get a heat pad for under the tank because the tank is so big that 100 watt bulb is not doing it. If feels fairly humid in the tanks now that I moved the watering bowls and misted the tanks down I tried to get Jennifer to eat a small mouse but she wanted nothing to do with so we will try again in two days see if the improved condition in the tank will help Kyle thought about the mouse but when it finally stopped twitching and died he turned away and did not even show interest again after that.

[DeadlyDesires]

So I put in a lower watt bulb now the hot side is 89 and the cool side is 81 I won't find out the humidity until this weekend when I get paid that is Jennifer's cage Kyle has to chill in there until Friday when I can buy him something. The boa's cage is only reaching 86.8 on the hot side and 79 on the cool side we are going to have to get a heat pad for under the tank because the tank is so big that 100 watt bulb is not doing it. If feels fairly humid in the tanks now that I moved the watering bowls and misted the tanks down I tried to get Jennifer to eat a small mouse but she wanted nothing to do with so we will try again in two days see if the improved condition in the tank will help Kyle thought about the mouse but when it finally stopped twitching and died he turned away and did not even show interest again after that.

just try to offer once a week, no need to waste rats on every other day, as for the boa cage. 89 is a pretty good temp for it to be at. but i do have a heat pad only because i have stacks in my cage and my boa likes to lay under the stacks and i feel its too cold down there so i place a heat pad on very low to keep it luke warm still cool but not cold glass.

[CarissaREVV]

Okay will do. Okay that's good I just didn't want the tank to be to cool on the heat side

[DeadlyDesires]

Okay will do. Okay that's good I just didn't want the tank to be to cool on the heat side


thats why i have stacks in my cage... down at the bottom on the hot side its around 85-89 ish, then as you climb higher in the stacks its get hotter the top is at 100 ish. depending on the heat in my house, my cool side is usually mid 70's

[CarissaREVV]

Will have to buy something to help her get up closer to the heat if she wants too.

[Chris72]

Carissa.....three questions:

Is the half log the only hide in there?
How many breeding rats did you get?
Why didn't you go out and just get a few rat pups?

(Sorry if I missed detail already specified....in Florida and the wifi is horrid)
C.

[CarissaREVV]

in Jennifers tank there is a half log and another log climb that she can go hid in she actually really likes the log climb ad for the boas cage she has a half log and one of those drift wood gettups that you get at petco that has places for her to hide in i found the boa curled up in that this morning. right now we have two females and a male. we are actually going to a reptial expo tomorrow to pick up some rat pups for the snakes. hopefully they will eat them jenny never serches for food she just sits in a little ball behind her climb log or in it. kyle does though i catch him sniffing around the cage every now and then.