Rainbow not eating right

[sulferhead]

Ok so should I just buy a bag of cypress mulch from Lowe's?? I think my local pet store sells coconut husk and some other odd substrates. If I change to cypress mulch how often should it be changed? Right now I'm using a shop vac to clean ever 2-3 weeks and spot clean poop and such.

[Gluttony]

Im afraid of mites from buying at lowes or home depot, but I know of people who buy it at lowes, and they take a preventative measure as to not introduce mites, by spraying it with p.a.m..I would go with the coconut husk, I think and dont quote me on this, its cheaper and less risky.
How often you change it depends on how big the enclosure is and frequency of the snakes bowel movements, I use a shop vac also.

[KORBIN5895]

Originally Posted by Gluttony

Im afraid of mites from buying at lowes or home depot, but I know of people who buy it at lowes, and they take a preventative measure as to not introduce mites, by spraying it with p.a.m..I would go with the coconut husk, I think and dont quote me on this, its cheaper and less risky.
How often you change it depends on how big the enclosure is and frequency of the snakes bowel movements, I use a shop vac also.

May I ask why you are worried about mites from Lowes?

@op

Very nice conversion! You really did a great job.

[infernalis]

May I ask again what everyone has against using good old fashion dirt as a substrate?

Throw down some grass seed, and watch that humidity stay up, bury a hide, and offer a small tunnel hole leading into it.

Rainbow boas are tropical, like I said in my post, the humidity index made it feel more like it was the inside of an oven, and when the humidity is that high, even the jungle is sweltering.

I don't keep rainbows, but I know that tropical animals do so much better inside tropical cages.

Besides that, bio active micro climates inside your chosen vivarium never require cleaning, as the bacteria will digest the feces in 24 hours and never leave a smell.

[BryanB]

I cant figure out why no body asked if you heat the food after it is thawed. if not just heat it up a bit in a cup of really hot water.

[SnakeyJay]

Originally Posted by BryanB

I cant figure out why no body asked if you heat the food after it is thawed. if not just heat it up a bit in a cup of really hot water.

You are right, my female will turn away from her food if its not nice n hot...

[sulferhead]

Originally Posted by BryanB

I cant figure out why no body asked if you heat the food after it is thawed. if not just heat it up a bit in a cup of really hot water.

I let it thaw in warm water and it is plenty warm when I give it to him. I'm not that stupid if a noob haha.

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by infernalis

May I ask again what everyone has against using good old fashion dirt as a substrate?

Throw down some grass seed, and watch that humidity stay up, bury a hide, and offer a small tunnel hole leading into it.

Rainbow boas are tropical, like I said in my post, the humidity index made it feel more like it was the inside of an oven, and when the humidity is that high, even the jungle is sweltering.

I don't keep rainbows, but I know that tropical animals do so much better inside tropical cages.

Besides that, bio active micro climates inside your chosen vivarium never require cleaning, as the bacteria will digest the feces in 24 hours and never leave a smell.

Blasphemy! We need to always, ALWAYS re-invent the wheel Wayne. Don't you know that already?

[Mark Taylor]

Think the most important come first like housing. Get it settled then feed.

[sulferhead]

Here's some pics of sunny's viv. It's a twenty long tipped on its side with a sheet of polyethylene on siliconed on the bottom. On the front theres a 3 inch sheet of acrylic siliconed to the tank and the swing down door attaches to it via aquarium hinges. There is about 50 1/4 inch holes drilled in the door for circulation. The medium sized heat pads are on the left side on the top and bottom. I made 2, because at some point i know i'll want another snake.

[SnakeyJay]

Vivs looking good mate... Better than most conversions

[sulferhead]

Originally Posted by Snakey-Jay

Vivs looking good mate... Better than most conversions

Thanks man!

[Snakesitter]

Woah, huge thread for only two days!

Let me see if I can help....

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.

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.

Originally Posted by Valvaren

I would check the rest of your husbandry and attempt different ways of offering food.

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!

[sulferhead]

Ok I just took some temps. the cold side with the water dish is at 76.2 and the hot spot with the hide is at 81.4. I still have not switched substrates. I was at lowes and looked at cypress mulch but i could not find anything on the bags that said if it was treated or not. My local pet store has some moss and i think ill toss that under his hide away rock.

[Snakesitter]

Temps should be fine then.

Be careful buying moss from pet stores if they sell reptiles. I've heard of more than one case of mites being transferred that way. I always buy from specialist garden supply stores and check to make sure it is as untreated as possible. New Zealand spaghnum is the best, if you can find it.

For best results, soak the moss in water, then wring out it like a towel, then place it under the hide. Check it once a week it make sure it is still moist enough.

Another trick to boost humidity is to place the water bowl partly over the heat, as this encourages more evaporation.