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dalesanders28
Snake Mite
United Kingdom
27 Posts |
 Posted - 14/02/2012 : 20:12:19
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Hi.
i am very pleased i have just got my first snake and its a Royal Python.
i have been a fan for so long.
i would really apprechate some advice please.
i have a male royal python aged about 4 months.
He is in a 1.5ft x 1.5ft and 1.5ft deep approx wooden with glass doors viv.
i have a 7w heat mat on the outside back of the viv.
inside the viv he has little wooden sqaure chips (not sure what they are called) as substrate, a little hide, 2 artificial plants hanging from the top, a twig, also a clay water bowl in far corner from the heat.
my major concern is the temperature and humidity as measureing it on a gauge dial i took from my dragons viv. the temp is reading 80f and the humidity is reading 80%. im a little concerned with how high the humidity is.
i first thought that because i had the royals viv on top of my drgaon viv because the heat was coming throu the wood as it does get quite warm but tried moving it and still reads the same humidity.
please can people help as dont know if im doing my royal more harm than good.
cheers
look forward to your reponses.
many thanks
Dale |
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richard v
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
563 Posts |
Posted - 14/02/2012 : 22:42:45
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Hi Dale,
Sorry if I overlap with anyone but Im sure this won't be the only
comment.
First off you need the heat mat inside your viv otherwise it is pretty much
useless but it MUST be on a thermostat you can put your substrate on top of this. that should sort out you temp problem.
you will need a couple of decent digital thermometers also to guarantee you are getting the right
temp. Same goes for humidity standard humidity in the uk is around 50 to 60% anyway but to make sure
get a digital reader. If you get stuck further take a look at the care sheet on the home page it's got pretty much got everything covered
hope that helps a bit. Good luck , if you need anymore help just ask. |
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Lotabob
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
5008 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2012 : 00:33:21
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Hi Dale, OK I shall start at the top:
Heat mats are contact heaters, totally useless for keeping a snake warm if they can't sit on it. Secondly adult (or bigger than hatchling) Royals are for want of a better word chunky monkeys and their heft can cause a situation with heat mats called thermal blocking, long story short it gets too hot and burns them because they are heavy.
Humidity wise, 80% is not too bad really maybe could do with been dropped but its nothing they cant cope with in the short term. Becasue you are using a mat for heat the air isn't really getting warm at all so the airflow stops (see the vents in the bottom suck in cool air as the hot air escapes out the top vents, bit like a chimney, no heat minimal air flow). Because the air isn't heated its not dried so any moisture in the substrate water bowl etc will just sit in the viv.
Last bit is dial thermometers are about as useless as a one legged man in an ass kicking contest. They just aren't precise enough to be sure what you're looking at.
OK now the fix:
Royals are generally better with overhead heating, I personally recommend ceramic heat bulbs. These are available in all good reptile stores, ebay and a website you must store to memory if you're getting into this hobby www.surreypetsupplies.co.uk. When using ceramics you will need a good strong guard for the bulb (I recommend prorep guards) and a good thermostat. Thermostats are so so important in all reptile enclosures for regulating temperature correctly and ensuring animal safety. There are several brands out there but the 2 main contenders are microclimate and habistat. I use habistat. With ceramics you get a choice of 2 types of thermostat, dimming or pulse, I prefer dimming, they are a good all round bulb stat and can also power light emitting bulbs, pulse is only for ceramics (and heat strips but if you aren't building a rack dont bother worrying about them).
Thermometers. I use exoterra digital thermometers but thats just what was available when i was starting up and they haven't failed me yet, you can get cheap digital thermometers with probes for about a fiver you need 2 ideally, 1 for the 'hot spot' under your heat source and the other tucked away in the cool end to monitor ambient temps.
Dragon temps may affect the Royal viv if its directly over the heat source but otherwise it shouldn't be an issue other than the weight of the Royal viv may cause the roof of the dragon viv to bow/sag.
To fix the humidity if your substrate (its called wood chip, if its light its beech chip, dark is orchid bark) is moist take half of it out and bake it stone dry in the oven at about 100oC but not over that so it doesn't burn, leave it to cool, mix it with the other half, it will suck up the moisture out of the air and dry the remaining substrate in the process too. |
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dalesanders28
Snake Mite
United Kingdom
27 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2012 : 08:54:02
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thankyou so much for your response.
i will try all the following methods.
however, because my royal is in a small viv at the moment, i thought i would use a heat mat as it was recommended by the reptile shop i got him from. as i use bulbs for my dragons, i knows whats involved, so when the royal gets adult (in a bigger viv) i was going to use bulbs, is heat mats ok for him as a juvinile and will this be ok for 6 months, up to a year?
also currently i have the heat mat outside the viv on back wall and using the heat from my dragons viv which is acheieveing about 80f this is because i am waiting for my thermostat to come through post.
am i right in thinking that the temp should be dropped at night? i have been turning every heat source off and at night the temp drops to about 65-70f.
although i keep bearded dragons and a tortoise, keeping a snake is alot more involved. (but im loving the challenge, just need help along the way lol)
thankyou for your reponse in advance,
Dale |
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JanieW
Old Royal - I Post too much!
United Kingdom
2279 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2012 : 10:45:55
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Hi Dale,
Rob already gave good advice, but the temp is a little low, mats are better beneath. I too have a Beardie, and they like lights and heating off at night, I have Gimli on a 12hr cycle, but snakes need heat 24hrs. |
Peoples Of Middle Earth:
Bert (Staffy) , named after Tolkien's stone Troll
Popeye, African Grey
Gimli (Son Of Gloin), Baby Beardie
Slinky, Baby Royal Python
Fëanor..Baby Mexican Common Boa
Casper 2011 Male Ghost Corn Snake **RIP**
Hoard of Orcs (Dubia Roach Colony)
Pearl & Ivory--African Giant Albino Land Snails
Ra, Taiwanese Beauty Snake
Henry, Western Hognose *Missing*
Pippin, Coastal X Diamond Carpet Python
Elanor, Pastel Royal
Timmy, Western Hognose
Flake, Calico male royal, Eowyn, Arabesque Boa |
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Lotabob
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
5008 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2012 : 13:16:18
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Yeah snakes are greedy heat guzzlers. You can drop the temperature on a night but to keep things simpler and in my opinion better for a snakes digestion (basically when they are digesting a HUGE amount of energy is diverted to the stomach, heat helps the digestion process so they can digest a bit quicker and avoid regurgitation due to not been able to digest quick enough) but the choice is yours there are timer thermostats out there but they are incredibly expensive for what they do.
If you are going to use the heat mat it needs to be inside the vivarium, wood is a great insulator so the heat wont really get to the snake. You will absolutely have to have the mat on a thermostat, I use hot glue to stick the probe onto the mat that way its always keeping check on it.
Temperature wise a hot spot (where the heat mat is in your case) should be 32-33oC aimed for definitely keeping it under 35oC and over 30oC and then an ambient temp of around 25-27oC, this wont be achieved with a mat but the dragons den wil boost ambient but it wont be controlled so I wouldn't rely on that for ambient. Humidity of about 50% is OK during normal snake operating conditions (I'm calling it that OK) but when the snake goes into shed humidity needs to be raised a bit, I used to monitor humidity but after a while you just get a feel for it, when you open the door, the colour of the substrate, even how the snake feels when you get them out but that comes with time. Snakes aren't a lot of work, i'd say beardie requires much more attention but the setup takes some time to fine tune to each individual snake. |
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Set up and Humidity advise please
