Posted by:
HighEndHerpsInc
at Thu Jul 5 16:42:24 2007 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by HighEndHerpsInc ]
Howdy. I will leave your questions up and write my answers right after each.
1) How far into the cage should the hide box extend? With an 8' tank, should it be 2' into it (being 2'8" wide)?
There are really few "shoulds" in this hobby. Just so long as the box is comfortable and feels "safe" and secure for him and is of a size that allows for his inevitable growth over the upcoming years, it will be fine.
2) Is 10" tall enough for the hide box for a adult male? I want two 10" levels in it - one damp, one dry, and then be able to rest on top of it if he chooses. OR I'll do 14" levels. The top being the damp one so as he can stretch out in the lower... And would a ramp be helpful for him to get into the top level when he's bigger since it is about a foot off the ground... I'm thinking no, but I'm no expert... lol!
No such thing as an "expert" in this hobby. Yes, 10 inches high is enough for any snake of any species so long as the floor space of it is such that is allows the snake to lay flat, or not piled up too much. It's relative, you see. If the floor space is tiny and causes a snake to squeeze in all piled up upon himself in order to fit inside then 10 inches high may not be enough for even a small python.
3) How often should you feed a 6.5' burm? WHAT should I feed him to help get his weight up? Should I use huge rats, small rabbits, med rabbits? What's the cheepest food source - frozen ordered, or raise own rabbits? I want to provide him as much good food as he needs while making it the most cost-effective.
Again, there are no "shoulds". Pythons don't really have to be fed on an exacting schedule. In the wild they certainly take prey at very random and infrequent intervals. But in captivity you want to avoid any overfeeding that may result in excessive inactivity and subsequent lethargy which may lead to obesity and related illnesses caused by obesity. For a 6.5 foot burm I would suggest one large rat every 7 to 10 days or so. Again, it never really has to be exacting. The cheapest source of food is to raise it yourself. Rats are the cheapest and most prolific of the larger genre of rodents and your male burm can thrive on rats indefinitely if need be. As he grows you simply add more large or jumbo rats to his meals. You can also breed your own rabbits with almost as much ease but they require more specialized caging and maternity boxes for less feed output. They tae more space, cost more to keep and are somewhat more demanding, time-wise. But you can breed rats and rabbits both if you should choose to all with relative ease. Email me for any rat and or rabbit breeding info if you need to and I'll gladly share with you what I have learned over the last 32 years of breeding them.
4) How much bigger around should he be? He stretches just over from one end of a full-size couch to the other. Could someone post a pic of a healthy-weighted 6-7' burm so I can know? He's also not all that heavy to hold, but he's a great feeder and I know he'll eat what I give him... The last owner power-feeds most of her snakes, so I'm kinda surprized he's underweight, tho not TOO much since he does require large food...
I saw the picture you posted in a thread below. Good looking burm you got there. He does look a tad thin, but he also looks healthy. If you want him to bulk up do it patiently over a length of time with a very healthy diet that results in muscle development and not fat. He will become robust, thick and strong with the above mentioned diet regimen. Age also plays an enormous factor in the girth of a snake. A one year old 6 footer will be much thinner than a 2 year old 6 footer. And a 3 year old 6 footer will be considerably thicker than a 2 year old,. and so on. I call this, "Maturity girth".
And as for the cage itself...
1) Does he need substrate? I don't think so, while Tony does ("all snakes need substrate!". How would you clean the cage with the substrate?
All snakes need to have a highly absorbent substrate to absorb any and all urine and other fluids related to waste. Belly infections will result if they are forced to lay in their own fluid waste. I use newspaper. Many use aspen or mulch shavings. I find shaving-type substrates messy and harder to clean so we stick with newspaper. If you go with a shaving type substrate do not use pine or cedar as they contain toxic oils/vapors that can harm or kill a snake.
2) Would lanolium work well for the floor?
Yes, linoleum works very well as a leak-proof barrier between the wood and the source of fluids.
2b) If the cage started as two 4' sections, what is the best way to water-proof the seal between the two halves? maybe Tony has an idea...
Kitchen and bath silicone/caulk. It is very strong and entirely water proof and will last for yeeeaaaarrs.
3) How does removable ends sound? The ends would slide up and down with either runners or just tabs to hold it in place, and in the bottom ones there would be bolts to hand-tighten so as to hold it in place (hole in tab, hole in end-slab, depression in side of cage for bolt to hold onto). That way I can easily extract the hide box and water bowl from the side(s) for cleaning, or to get the snake out if side-extraction would be easier... It might also make it easier on him to get to the feeding box if that's what we do... We'll see.
The less-complicated your cages are the fewer problems you will have throughout the time you keep your snakes. Try to keep the designs as simple as possible and everything will be a lot easier with many fewer problems.
4) For air flow, we're thinking that along the top (and maybe the back - unsure) we'll put screening between two layers of 1/4" or 1/2" plywood and have either holes or thin strips all accross it so as there can be ventalation without the chance he can break out. Would this work? Or maybe should we use fair-size holes with strong hardware cloth? I think we'll also put a vent in each of the ends, too, just for air flow.
Never place your vents on the top or too near to the top. Heat rises and all your heat will flow out the top the same as water would pour out of a container with a hole on the bottom. Keep your vents about 6 to 8 inches above the floor of the cage and this will cause your heat, the snake's heat to be trapped inside but will still allow for adequate ventilation.
Our Website!
-----
David Beauchemin
High End Herps.Inc
http://HighEndHerps.com
[ Hide Replies ]
|
The post got cut. Here is the whole post - HighEndHerpsInc, Thu Jul 5 16:42:24 2007
