| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| fiestastlou |
Posted - 23/08/2010 : 11:51:39
We have always used aspen for our royal, but we where having to change it constantly as cecil likes to tip his water bowl over neary every night! grrr! my fella brought this up when he took cecil on friday to get probed as we where worried that the amount of humidity that was being caused from this was going to give him RI, but they advised him RI wasnt gna be a problem it would be that the wet substrate would give him scale rot, which she checked him and he hasnt got, but could get it he continued on the wet aspen, they told us to use orchid bark instead, we did use this the first 2 months we had cecil but it produced so much humidity we thought it may also give him RI, so we stopped using it in place for aspen.
So now we have put in the orchid bark.. but im left with the predicament.. yes it may be better for his scales but because its quite a wet substrate anyhow, combined with the water that cecil tips out, could that produce over bearing amounts of humidity now putting him at deffo risk of RI? I do have a hydro meter in there but if im honest its pants, i have never seen the dial move since having it in there so i dont think it works? can i get digital ones? oh and hes in a RUB atm til my fella finishes making his viv. |
| 17 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| fiestastlou |
Posted - 25/08/2010 : 10:11:38
Another update lol -
I baked the bark last night for about half hour, and took the wet stuff out, mike put more holes into the rub to, seems to have worked a treat! woke up this morning and there was a tiny bit of condensation, which i thinks from where hes climbed on the leaves and bent them into his water bowl, but its nothing like it was yday morning, no huge drips water, just a light misting, i would have got pics but i got up late for work (doh) lol seems its all done the trick! thanks everyone for the adivce! |
| fiestastlou |
Posted - 24/08/2010 : 15:11:36
Thank u! all ur advice is much appreciated and i will be following it all! hopefully cecils rub will be all sorted soon! |
| Blackecho |
Posted - 24/08/2010 : 15:11:10
If I bake things I go 160C for an hour - Not 100% sure why  |
| boze |
Posted - 24/08/2010 : 15:06:57
Doesnt have to be that long, say 30 or 40 mins on a medium/low heat in the middle of the oven. Most people do this with orchid bark anyways due to the higher risk of any wee beasties being in it.
cheers
D |
| fiestastlou |
Posted - 24/08/2010 : 14:16:13
Getting on the hole situ as soon as i get home and gna bake the substrate to as soon as i get in, how longs best to bake it for? or is it just until i can feel its dry? gna have to sive thru it, as there was some plastic in with it! not alot but dont fancy bakin that to! |
| boze |
Posted - 24/08/2010 : 14:06:02
You should take all the orchid bark out and leave him on paper while you bake all of your substrate until its bone dry :-)
D
::EDIT::
Also, as BE says a few more holes wouldnt go amiss, especially in the lid. |
| fiestastlou |
Posted - 24/08/2010 : 13:33:24
nope water bowls on the cool end, will put more holes in tonight! raaar i feel such a bad owner :(
What should i do about the substrate? leave it as it is, put more holes in and see what its like inthe morning, see if its made a difference? |
| Blackecho |
Posted - 24/08/2010 : 13:15:35
Is your water bowl on the heat mat? - If so, move it to the cool end.
More holes!
I think there are something like 120 holes in this one of mine. |
| fiestastlou |
Posted - 24/08/2010 : 13:03:00
A update - I did what u suggested yday and i moved the substrate around the bowl so cecil couldnt get under and so far its worked! :) he hasnt tried to turn it over all night, gna still watch him tho! BUT i can safely say the substrate is rubbish! woke up this morning to this! bare in mind that cecil didnt tip the water bowl over so this is all from the substrate! Im not a expert but surly this is not normal or healthy! its worse than when he was tipping the water on the aspen!
I have no aspen left, just a huge bag of orchid bark! how can i fix this :( my poor cecil so worried somethings gna happen to him! if i bake the bark will it completly dry it out and stop this happening?
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| fiestastlou |
Posted - 23/08/2010 : 16:37:15
excellent! thanks for all the suggestions and the link! I will try putting it flat in the rub without substrate under and we also have some bits of rock in the rub which im gna move infront of the bowl to! fingers crossed it stops the problem lol thanks again :D |
| Blackecho |
Posted - 23/08/2010 : 15:44:07
quote:
Originally posted by boze
Cool, also clear a space of substrate on the floor where you put the bowl down so its flat on the base of the rub. It makes it harder for the snake to get under.
This sounds like a plan. |
| boze |
Posted - 23/08/2010 : 15:07:46
Cool, also clear a space of substrate on the floor where you put the bowl down so its flat on the base of the rub. It makes it harder for the snake to get under.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Exo-Terra-Digital-Hygrometer-Reptiles-/170524952836?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Reptiles_Spiders_Insects
D
PS: Just so ya know, a hydrometer is for measuring the density of a liquid (like alcohol etc), a hygrometer is for measuring humidity :D |
| mischang |
Posted - 23/08/2010 : 14:41:04
i use large cermaric dog bowls and you could always wedge it into the corner using a rock/stone i put stones in front of my damp hides to aid shedding as well just an idea to play with . |
| fiestastlou |
Posted - 23/08/2010 : 13:33:35
quote:
Originally posted by Blackecho
Just because you're using Orchid bark doesn't mean it won't be damp, so I'm not sure how that helps with the scale rot. As above, you could try to find a water bowl that they can't tip over. Or you could change to a substrate that they can't burrow under to get under the water bowl and tip it up, such as newspaper.
Thats what i didnt get, why suggest use orchip bark to prevent scale rot when its just as wet as wet aspen?
I prefer the aspen so if i can find a solution to the water bowl there wont be any problems with it getting wet.its just finding a solution, as i said above the water bowl i use is quite heavy as it is, i dont know what else i could use thats heavier, any suggstions welcome. |
| fiestastlou |
Posted - 23/08/2010 : 13:30:13
ooo noo i have a digi thermometer :D it was just the hydrometer i wasnt sure if i could get digital :) its currrently heated with a heat mat and matstat thermostat, the water bowls on the cool end.
As for water bowl i cant think of anything else i could use, we have something similar to this but it fits into the corner http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/water_dish.php my mum suggested hlding it down with blue tac, but not sure whether thats wise incase it gets into cecil scales.
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| Blackecho |
Posted - 23/08/2010 : 13:24:22
Just because you're using Orchid bark doesn't mean it won't be damp, so I'm not sure how that helps with the scale rot. As above, you could try to find a water bowl that they can't tip over. Or you could change to a substrate that they can't burrow under to get under the water bowl and tip it up, such as newspaper. |
| boze |
Posted - 23/08/2010 : 12:57:57
Why dont you just get a water bowl that isnt as easy to tip over?
Id stick with aspen if I were you, Orchid bark is notoriously damp for royals, if you do use it then dry it out completely and also heat it to kill any wee beasties that might be in there. The dial thermometers and humidity meters (hygrometers) are pretty useless, you can get digital ones cheap on ebay and id advise getting at least one digital thermometer.
What are you heating it with, any pics of the set up?
cheers
D |
