Woah, huge thread for only two days!
Let me see if I can help....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Valvaren
I would absolutely not get another heat pad, your temps are fine i keep my brbs at no hotter then 82, 85 is very very extreme as far as temperatures for them and bordering on dangerous.
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Valvaren is correct. I generally keep my Brazilian Rainbows at a gradient of 72F (cool end) to 82F (hot end), and they do fine. Sustained exposure to temps of 85F or over can prove fatal. As for Lockwood using 85F as his warm end…one, that care sheet is older; two, he’s an expert so can read a snake’s behavior and adjust if needed; and three -- and most important to me -- using a temp below 85F as your hot end leaves you a small margin of safety in case something goes wrong.
Wayne, to answer your question about temps during your trip…rainbows are mostly nocturnal. During the heat of the day they are holed up below ground or in the leaf litter or even in water, so they never probably see those high temps.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Valvaren
I would check the rest of your husbandry and attempt different ways of offering food.
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Again, an excellent suggestion.
In addition to moderate temps, this species depends on having very high humidity. At age six months, these levels should still be over 90%. There are four key tools to meet this goal: a moist moss hide, a humidity-retaining substrate, a water bowl large enough to soak in, and limited ventilation. Humidity that is too low for too long can cause respiratory issues. Looking at your setup, you may have too many holes, and that can make it hard to keep the humidity up. If you have no way to easily check the level, a good low-tech solution is to look for condensation on the warm end of the viv. My rainbows’ hides always have water droplets on their sides, letting me know all is well. A higher-tech solution would be a digital temp-humidity gauge, of which there are several manufacturers.
Another issue with this particular setup may be the visibility. While it looks *amazing*, Brazilians are notoriously secretive snakes, and an all-glass life can make them nervous -- particularly if there is lighting in the viv. You might try covering a few sides with decorative backgrounds and adding an additional hiding spot.
Once your environment factors are set, hopefully he will start eating for you again.
However, you can stack the cards in your favor by offering the prey piping hot (not just warm), at dusk which is when rainbows are the most active, and dancing from tongs. Make sure all the room lights are out, and leave after offering the meal. You can even leave it in overnight if not taken right away.
Good luck!
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