New Room, New Snake Arrangements - Page 2

Rogue628 · 11-05-12, 12:35 AM

Melissa, none of my animals are in rack systems...all are in clear tubs. Only a couple of them have hides and that's only because those actually use them. I took the hides out of the others tubs because they rarely used them. Most times I'd find them laying on top of them and not in them. My big girls are all in the same size tubs and they're all lined up against a wall. Their hot end is on that side as well. I bought a blanket to throw over that end and it encompasses all 4 tubs. Since they don't use hides, this gives them a dark area. Their cooler end is uncovered. And they still thermoregulate.

One thing I noticed and almost had an issue with when the ones that were using their hides when they were younger didn't thermoregulate much. A couple of my girls actually started looking a little pink on their belly scales because they stayed in their hides and would never come off the heat. When they did, they'd lay on top of their hides. With the blanket across them, they now have a sort of hide area and they thermoregulate more.

I thought of using the blanket when I realized that alot of people were keeping their animals in bins and weren't using hides. When the bin is closed, it gives them a dark area that probably gives them a feeling it's a safe area. When they move to the cooler end, it's still not as bright, even though we can still see inside and light can still get in. So the blanket kind of works the same way, although I don't cover their tubs completely, as their lids are colored and no much light can get in from the top.

I'm not saying this is an appropriate or perfect set up but it works for me and my animals do well this way. Once I get the Christmas Tree totes, I'm going to attempt to stack them. I think it's Chuck that has some of them on a shelf he's turned upside down (I think it's him...or it's Kyle...I don't remember who posted the pic a while back). Anyway, I've got to figure out how to do place the blanket since they'll be stacked....or by smaller blankets for each.

As far as the puppy pads...I use newspaper and it gets changed almost on a daily basis. The only time I use the pads is when I know noone will be here for at least a day to check on them. This way if they pee or flip over their water bowl (which a couple of them love to do), the pads will absorb the liquid so my girls won't be laying on damp newspapers until I get a chance to change them. I couldn't see using them everyday. That would get expensive! But if I knew of a way I could get similar padding much cheaper than puppy pads, I'd definitely use it!

rmfsnakes32 · 11-05-12, 08:18 AM

Our local petsmart has packs of 50 pads for $13 and we only use them on Black Betty because she is bigger and makes larger messes!

Strutter769 · 11-05-12, 09:16 AM

Looks great..... but I still see room for two more. :-D

exwizard · 11-05-12, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strutter769

Looks great..... but I still see room for two more. :-D

I like your thinking Roy. lol

jaleely · 11-05-12, 10:11 PM

rogue, thanks! That's what i was asking, is if the tubs are clear, then what can you do, or does he do, or you as in "whomever" do to make them feel secure, or if it's noticed if they act differently.
I guess exwizard is formulating his answer *lol*

I have one snake in a tub, my carpet python. She LOVES it. But, i think she'd like anything warm, humid, and out of my reach. I actually think it doesn't get enough air holes, and i want to drill some more. I had coconut husk in there, but it got mildew on it, so i removed it.

I have this personal aversion to newspapers because they feel all inky and get smudges everywhere, i cant' stand it! i feel like it would get all over the snakes *lol*

exwizard · 11-06-12, 03:17 AM

Yes the tubs are clear but three sides of the 1996, 1860/1960 and CB70 racks are completely solid. What little light that does get in doesn't go very fat so the tubs themselves double as hides, not that the bigger snakes need hides but this environment is there for them. When I had Medusa in my 1753/1755 economy rack, I had a hide in her tub but she never used it. All it did was take up space that she needed more.

As far as the newspaper is concerned, I find it very easy to clean up plus when they soil it, I know right away and as a result, clean it right away. The ink is non-toxic and it doesn't really get on them anyway. I know it's not for everybody, but this is what has worked for me.

Then there's the puppy pads in Betty's Neodesha. It's much more absorbent than newspaper for a snake her size and they're reasonably priced at Petsmart making for a very convenient cleanup.