| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| chrisc |
Posted - 11/07/2011 : 18:06:47
hey all im a member on the cornsnake forum and am planning on getting a royal some point soon. i am planning on getting a hatchling or slightly older snake dont want to jump from a corn to a fully grown royal. a friend has a 2x1.5x1.5 viv that im going to buy as the first home for the snake, would this be to big? if so i will section it off as personally i dont like the idea of rubs.
been reading the care sheet and with regards to heat mats being no good with a big snake is it ok to use one with a hatchling or would i still get the problem with hotspots? |
| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Lotabob |
Posted - 12/07/2011 : 13:39:24
Oh yeah the dial hygros are rubbish but to honest the digital ones aren't much better, its all about placement to get the best reading, not near the vents, not in line of sight to the heat source, not covered over, not too low, not too high, lol more trouble than they are worth most of the time. You get a feel for the humidity quite quickly when you open the door you can feel the hot humid air whoosh out, if you have lots of condensation its too humid, if the whooshing air feels dry its maybe too dry (but I doubt it, they normally only ever drop to room humidity which is around the 50% mark which is fine). I only ever intervene with Duke's humidity if he goes blue (is preparing to shed his skin), I bump the humidity way up with a damp flannel on his hot side hide, you can use moss or spraying but I think the flannel isn't as messy and really easy to clean, just stick it in the washing machine. |
| chrisc |
Posted - 12/07/2011 : 12:23:17
oh right thats good to know that their not problem feeders.
just been reading the care sheet about humidity, with stick on hydro readers are they the same as stick on thermomiters and bit inaccurate? |
| Lotabob |
Posted - 11/07/2011 : 21:33:39
Agree with Hodgie, problem feeder is a load of twoddle, they aren't a problem, owners can get in a flap because they are not eating but you have to remember its a reptile and because it doesn't generate its own body heat when its sitting still its using almost no energy at all. When you feel a good well grown adult you will feel they lay down a nice layer of fat too so with what food they can retain in their digestive system for months and what fat they have stored they can go an extraordinary amount of time without eating and barely lose any weight at all. As I said abiove they can be fussy when they are eating but thats due to their shy nature but if its eating it doesn't really matter how. |
| n/a |
Posted - 11/07/2011 : 21:16:14
Hi, welcome to the forum - agree with everything that's been said - the royal fasting isn't a 'problem' - it's just a sign that the royal's mind isn't on food but sex lol. Fasting can occur from autumn through into spring and early summer. My three (cf10 male, cf09 girl and cf06 girl) didn't start to fast till the new year ...2 younger ones now eating really well but older girl (Surahi) despite scarfing down 3 good meals earlier in the year, is still fasting, although she's now blue and hope for appetite restarting once she's shed. I look upon it as a kind of hibernation - they eat for part of the year and then live on their fat, so to speak.
If you can live with this eating pattern (it does get some people down - understandably) then you'll be fine with royals. And if you've got corns, they don't half come in handy for recycling unwanted royal meals - that is why the royal python god provides us with greedy corns first lol!
ps, adult girl corns can be as bad in spring - my lot have been TERRIBLE! Roaming round and randy as hell! |
| hodgie |
Posted - 11/07/2011 : 21:04:31
quote:
Originally posted by chrisc
i have a spare heatmat but like you say its going to be better to get a light an dimming thermostat straight away. i have read that they dont do much and can be problem feeders but i love the look of pythons an am looking forward to something a little more challenging than my corn.
Problem feeder is always used but its really not the correct term as any keen Royal Python keeper will tell you. Sometimes they just fast this just requires you to keep feeding and wieght records. |
| chrisc |
Posted - 11/07/2011 : 19:32:19
i have a spare heatmat but like you say its going to be better to get a light an dimming thermostat straight away. i have read that they dont do much and can be problem feeders but i love the look of pythons an am looking forward to something a little more challenging than my corn. |
| Lotabob |
Posted - 11/07/2011 : 19:12:17
I have a similar sized vivarium for my Royal and its almost 3 1/2 feet. First thing I'd say is it might be cheaper to buy a pet rock, Royals are expensive and do pretty much nothing lol, saying that I wouldn't be without my big lump. They say its fine for heat mats for smaller Royals but if your going to be using a vivarium you'd be as well to just go for the heating system that you wont have to replace and you dodge the risk of thermal burn because how big is too big for a mat, I dont know. Infra red bulbs or ceramic heat bulbs are best and I recommend dimming thermostats, they are a bit more expensive but there is a reason for it, they are extremely accurate.
The only things to consider when getting a royal is you have to be the most patient person, they are quite often quite shy, they have a habit of fasting, but if you are prepared to put in the patient work with them they are so rewarding.
When you get one find out how they feed it, if they cant answer that I'd be concerned, some royals are fussy how they feed, my one will only eat over night from a tin tray with the vivarium totally covered. Not all are like that though a lot of them will strike feed.
good luck getting setup and ready, you will love Royals, they are such a lovely snake. |
| hodgie |
Posted - 11/07/2011 : 18:34:50
I`ve had all my small ones in vivs like that and never had a problem but you will need to fill it up with hides and other viv furniture. Heat mats are fine for little ones. I`ve also used these and never had a problem. |
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