| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| stevethornley |
Posted - 07/02/2011 : 23:14:22
Hi everyone
First, thanks for such an informative and passionate forum! I've been lurking for a couple of weeks now to see if it would be possible for my 8-year old son to have his wish for his 8th birthday: his own snake.
He's wanted one since he was 3 but we've held off until he was old enough to take a more active role in looking after it. I realise that I'm going to have to help him in the early stages, maybe even years, and I'm cool with that thanks to the info I've gained from this forum, a couple of books from the library and spending a couple of hours chatting things over with a breeder who lives a couple of miles down the road (details found on the web... how amazing is that?!) I certainly don't consider myself knowledgable in any way but I, at least, feel that this dream is possible to be realised!
So, we've decided on a Royal Python and I'm just in the planning stages. I would like it to be a surprise so I figure that I will have to build the viv and the breeder has offered to settle the snake in to his new surroundings before we pick it up on birthday day.
I've made up a shopping list and I just wanted to check that I was on the right track before placing an order. I would be very grateful for any input before I shell out and get it potentially all wrong!
1. Viv - VivExotics LX24 like this one
http://www.bluelizardreptiles.co.uk/housing/vivariums/5032656152425
2. I would like to put in a ceramic bulb but I'm unsure of the wattage I would require for a viv this size. I've seen postings saying that 100W would be enough but I'm just not sure. I know I'll need to find an appropriate guard.
3. Habistat Pulse Proportional stat like this one http://www.bluelizardreptiles.co.uk/reptileheating/thermostats/5027407000056
4. Lighting - I've read things about flourescents flickering stressing snakes and I quite like the idea of these moon lights:
http://www.bluelizardreptiles.co.uk/reptilelighting/bulbs/4040483638013
but I'm unsure (a) if this would be bright enough to light the viv sufficiently and (b) whether this should be on 24/7 or just come on at night via a timer or somesuch? Can anyone help with this?
5. Substrate: I was liking the look of Orchid bark. I saw someone was recommending B&Q kiddies play bark which is everso cheap but it's pine-based and I thought that was toxic to snakes, no? And, if Orchid bark is OK, do I go course or fine? Decisions, decisions!
6. Hides & a water bowl - I know I need a couple of hides but can anyone recommend a good size for a 6-month old baby Royal? And what size of water bowl? I know that shops will be free with this sort of advice but I wanted to get it from the experts first!
7. Other stuff: no doubt I'll go a bit mad with a nice Java branch and some greenery - I've been really inspired by what I've seen on this forum, and of course a couple of digital thermometers to keep a check on things. Have I forgotten anything obvious?
Finally, if anyone can give some particular advice for how I encourage a tremendously enthusiastic 8-year old boy to love and learn about his new arrival then I would love to hear it 
From an equally excited Dad - thanks in anticipation.
Steve
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| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| mrmagicpants |
Posted - 01/07/2014 : 15:42:31
Lol Steve. Yeah. Trying to get that bit through my other halfs head.
He's all moved in now. Just leaving him to settle.
From all the reading on this forum I am pretty chilled about the stuff that worries most. |
| stevethornley |
Posted - 01/07/2014 : 10:44:17
Thanks for your good wishes Kelf - you're just around the corner from us... we should meet up! MMP I wish you every success with your new Royal. So excited for you. Just remember that when he/she doesn't do what you expect, you take in a deep breath and say to yourself: "Well it is a Royal!". |
| mrmagicpants |
Posted - 23/06/2014 : 19:43:47
Just looked over the website. I think there might be a budding admin there.
Love how much info you put on but made it easy to navigate and look up.
The pictures are brilliant.
Well done Steve & Son |
| mrmagicpants |
Posted - 23/06/2014 : 19:38:16
Just spent the last however long reading this (should be working). We get our first Royal this weekend and for all the research I've done mainly through this website, this one thread is fantastic. It pretty much covers everything and then some.
Loved reading stuff about getting this ready for your son then the update. Amazing. So glad he's still into it. I'd be to afraid that my kids would lose interest.
Any how. Well done Steve. And to all the guys who have contributed to this thread and all the others. Keep up the good work. |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 23/06/2014 : 12:38:36
quote:
Originally posted by stevethornley
Well Forum Members, you are all due an update!
Old-timers might remember this thread from, wait for it, more than 3 years and nearly 3000 views ago and I thought I owed you all an update.
My son was 8 then, and the advice I had from Forum members along with Mike our, now, breeder friend, was invaluable to the success of this addition to our family. Needless to say, Kate the snake has been well looked after and, about this time last year, Jonah decided that he wanted to try breeding with her.
I am one to encourage and 'fuel the fire', so to speak, and we allowed him to take a lump sum from his college fund in the hope that he would try to pay it back in three years. He has a one year, a three year and a five year project (although I'm not allowed to share these with anyone!)
Last summer was spent adding his first morph, a pastel, and then a second large female, just in case Kate wasn't ready this year, and a Butter Pastel which he "couldn't resist because it was so pretty", and later a young female lesser which he wanted to grow on for his 3-year plan (can you guess what he might be aiming for?!).
We went through the whole IKEA wardrobe thing for housing only to end up with a viv stack because (a) most of the enjoyment for Jonah was seeing what the snakes were up to and (b) he wasn't strong enough to lift the larger tubs out with 2-3kg of snake inside, and he started putting pairs together last autumn.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, Amy (the second large 'back-up' female laid a clutch of 7 eggs a couple of weeks ago, and they are now cooking nicely in his home-made incubator and due to hatch in mid July!
I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to this original thread all that time ago and to act as an encouragement to any parents or educators who are mulling over the idea of adding a Royal Python or any other snake or reptile for that matter, to their home or classroom. It's been a brilliant journey for my son and one which is still conjuring up surprises... he wants to one day be an exotics vet.
I've also helped him put his own website together at www.sussexroyals.co.uk and he has a Facebook page via his Mum's account as he's not old enough to have his own yet. He would be very happy if any Forum members with a FB account might 'Like' him and offer some words of encouragement. Oh, and he's used the Royal Python Forum logo on his 'Hints and Tips' page because we wanted to point people to this Forum and, particularly it's superb Care Section. Please tell us if we've infringed anyone's Copyright doing this. I am a musician by trade and take Intellectual Property Rights seriously - if I've done wrong, please tell me and I'll take it off and just put a text link in.
To close, a couple of snaps. I wish you all great success with your snakes.
Best Wishes and thank you
Steve (Jonah's Dad)
[URL=http://s1201.photobucket.com/user/stevethornley/media/Snake/AmysEggswithJonahedited.jpg.html] [/URL]
[URL=http://s1201.photobucket.com/user/stevethornley/media/Snake/Amyafterlayingedited.jpg.html] [/URL]
[URL=http://s1201.photobucket.com/user/stevethornley/media/Snake/Billhangingout.jpg.html] [/URL]
This is fantastic I remember this thread being around when I first came here. Great to see the update and that everything is going well for you all! The royals look fantastic and the website is brilliant I don't think anyone here will complain about anything you've used I think it's great! |
| stevethornley |
Posted - 22/06/2014 : 15:16:05
Well Forum Members, you are all due an update!
Old-timers might remember this thread from, wait for it, more than 3 years and nearly 3000 views ago and I thought I owed you all an update.
My son was 8 then, and the advice I had from Forum members along with Mike our, now, breeder friend, was invaluable to the success of this addition to our family. Needless to say, Kate the snake has been well looked after and, about this time last year, Jonah decided that he wanted to try breeding with her.
I am one to encourage and 'fuel the fire', so to speak, and we allowed him to take a lump sum from his college fund in the hope that he would try to pay it back in three years. He has a one year, a three year and a five year project (although I'm not allowed to share these with anyone!)
Last summer was spent adding his first morph, a pastel, and then a second large female, just in case Kate wasn't ready this year, and a Butter Pastel which he "couldn't resist because it was so pretty", and later a young female lesser which he wanted to grow on for his 3-year plan (can you guess what he might be aiming for?!).
We went through the whole IKEA wardrobe thing for housing only to end up with a viv stack because (a) most of the enjoyment for Jonah was seeing what the snakes were up to and (b) he wasn't strong enough to lift the larger tubs out with 2-3kg of snake inside, and he started putting pairs together last autumn.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, Amy (the second large 'back-up' female laid a clutch of 7 eggs a couple of weeks ago, and they are now cooking nicely in his home-made incubator and due to hatch in mid July!
I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to this original thread all that time ago and to act as an encouragement to any parents or educators who are mulling over the idea of adding a Royal Python or any other snake or reptile for that matter, to their home or classroom. It's been a brilliant journey for my son and one which is still conjuring up surprises... he wants to one day be an exotics vet.
I've also helped him put his own website together at www.sussexroyals.co.uk and he has a Facebook page via his Mum's account as he's not old enough to have his own yet. He would be very happy if any Forum members with a FB account might 'Like' him and offer some words of encouragement. Oh, and he's used the Royal Python Forum logo on his 'Hints and Tips' page because we wanted to point people to this Forum and, particularly it's superb Care Section. Please tell us if we've infringed anyone's Copyright doing this. I am a musician by trade and take Intellectual Property Rights seriously - if I've done wrong, please tell me and I'll take it off and just put a text link in.
To close, a couple of snaps. I wish you all great success with your snakes.
Best Wishes and thank you
Steve (Jonah's Dad)
[URL=http://s1201.photobucket.com/user/stevethornley/media/Snake/AmysEggswithJonahedited.jpg.html][/URL]
[URL=http://s1201.photobucket.com/user/stevethornley/media/Snake/Amyafterlayingedited.jpg.html][/URL]
[URL=http://s1201.photobucket.com/user/stevethornley/media/Snake/Billhangingout.jpg.html][/URL]
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| n/a |
Posted - 06/03/2011 : 21:40:50
Hey, keep us posted about the progress of your son and Kate - this is only the beginning of the story.
And all the best for the future. |
| stevethornley |
Posted - 06/03/2011 : 21:21:54
Happy times indeed Blackecho!
Thanks everyone for your huge help in getting us this far. We feel like we've got a slice of Africa in our house now! A real privilege.
I'll sign off from this thread now and hope that our experience and your wealth of advice will help others who might be starting out on this adventure.
Steve |
| Blackecho |
Posted - 02/03/2011 : 09:54:14
Happy times |
| Royalbob |
Posted - 02/03/2011 : 09:11:38
Amazing. He looks so chuffed. Wishing you all the best of luck.
As pointed out, get one sensor directly under heat source and the
other tucked away by cool hide. When making any adjustments
give it a day to settle off.
Nearly forgot WOW the viv looks amazing. |
| Lotabob |
Posted - 02/03/2011 : 01:01:55
Brilliant name and that is one very happy young lad.
The setup looks amazing and as pointed out you've got everything sorted right down to the bottle of hand cleanser.
Thats made my day. |
| Welly |
Posted - 01/03/2011 : 23:37:07
All good. Nice to see the bottle of anti-bac.
With the feeding if you haven't already fed her. Be patient and prepared. Scares the crap outta you the first time. Oh and use tongs!
This is what to expect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DG-L74nH60 |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 01/03/2011 : 23:22:50
What A Patriot!
Love it!
Looks great, fantastic work hope you all enjoy it :D
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| louise32 |
Posted - 01/03/2011 : 23:08:28
Awww, such cute pics.
Thanks for sharing.
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| n/a |
Posted - 01/03/2011 : 21:41:04
Aww! Brought tears to my eyes ...
Magical! |
| stevethornley |
Posted - 01/03/2011 : 21:35:17
What a day!
We are woken at quarter to 4 in the morning by a very excited boy who doesn't claim to have seen the red glow on top of his chest of drawers on his way out of bed and we manage to persuade him to stay in bed with us until half past six (still far to early in my book!) when we go into his bedroom to have a proper look at the viv (which he eventually admits to having seen earlier but didn't want to spoil the surprise!)
What he didn't know was that there was a snake in there already! And you can only imagine his joy. We had a brief, nervous, handling and then put her back to observe behind glass. He's called her Kate in honour of the forthcoming Royal marriage (gettit!) and she has been much admired from a distance having a good roam all over the viv. We can't wait to handle her again but we're going to leave it until the weekend when we'll try our first feed.
Here are some quick photos: sorry about the quality. I'll try to get some better ones once she's settled in. We're all quite apprehensive so we're just taking it one step at the time!
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| Lotabob |
Posted - 28/02/2011 : 20:23:23
Congrats on the snake finally been home, I'm sure your excited about tomorrow, cant wait to hear all about it.
I would turn up the hot end hot spot to 32 degrees making sure the hotspot probes are slap bang in the middle of the brightest bit on the floor(or as close to as possible) and make sure the sensor measuring ambient doesn't have line of sight to the bulb, if you put it in the cold end hide or tuck it just behind it you should get the best idea of the gradient temperature. Your temps aren't far off the recommended though so there is no problem in just tweeking the temps over the next day or three. |
| Welly |
Posted - 28/02/2011 : 16:05:36
Good stuff. Hope he likes it. |
| n/a |
Posted - 28/02/2011 : 14:58:55
Happy snakeday in advance!
Yes, snakes do like to explore a new environment and yes, it is normal for them not to talk much lol!
I can't talk about temps ... I seem to do them okay but if I try to talk about them I tie myself up in a knot - but as you know there are plenty of good guys here to advise.
Just wish I could be a fly on the wall tomorrow when your lad sees his present ... can you take pics?
Very very happy birthday to him! |
| stevethornley |
Posted - 28/02/2011 : 14:48:37
Hi everyone
Well, the day is nearly here! I spent Saturday afternoon putting all the bits I'd ordered into the secondhand viv I purchased from the breeder, and yesterday, I collected the snake in a pillowcase!
I have to say I was very nervous! Had a 10 minute car journey to get back home and I had butterflies the whole way!
Once I got home, I deposited the snake into the viv that I'd had running all day to get up to temperature. She had a good explore (it's currently hidden in my home office for the surprise tomorrow morning) and then tucked into the hide under the lamp. Today, I've seen her pressed up to the glass the full height of the viv, back in the hide and now she's outside stretched along the left hand side of the viv. I assume she's happy getting to know the new space - tried asking her if she's OK but she's not very talkative. Is this normal?
I don't seem to be able to get much of a temperature gradient but I'm guessing that this is difficult in a viv of this size. I've got one sensor in the back left corner, on the substrate (this is where the dimmer sensor is too) and the other in the back right corner by the snake cave. Averaging around 30 degrees on the hot side and 28 on the cool - but I think that directly under the lamp is going to be a couple of degrees hotter and actually in the snake cave may be a little cooler than outside. I'll try and include a photo below so if anyone has any ideas of how I can change things for the better, go for it!
Many, many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. You will have helped a special boy fulfil his dream tomorrow morning and I am very grateful.
Steve
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