Posted by:
Carmichael
at Thu Aug 21 09:07:53 2003 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Carmichael ]
Mark, first of all,that is a great looking burm. And for every handful of irresponsible keepers, there are wonderful, responsible and dedicated folks like you who I am sure give their burm a great home. My comments were a bit of a vent/rant and perhaps I should have just kept my opinions to myself but since this is a burm forum, I felt it was okay to talk about matters involving burms (not just talking about the latest morph).
I could write a book in answering your questions but I will just address a few:
Responsible ownership: If you truly want to keep a burm responsibly, you should keep them in a properly locked cage made specifically for reptiles and then that cage, in turn, kept in a locked room where young kids and folks not experienced in working with large snakes are denied access unless the owner is present.
The room where the burm lives in should have escape proof windows (they will quickly push out a screen window in the event of a rare escape). Vents should be sealed tightly.
When a large burm is taken out, there should be AT LEAST a couple of people on hand should something go wrong. Servicing cages by yourself and feeding by yourself, though we are all guilty of doing this at one time or another, is something that should be avoided if possible. Rooms should be uncluttered so that large burms don't get in trouble when they are out of their cage under highly supervised conditions.
One should have expderience in properly handling large snakes. There are right ways and wrong ways to take a burm out of its cage. The use of various hooks and shields go a long way towards preventing a disaster. Feeding, in my opinion, should be done INSIDE the snake's cage. Feeding in a separate cage is a recipe for disaster and also puts undue stress on the snake after eating a large meal.
Feeding should be done with LONG forceps....pretty basic common sense.
Giving medications and proper "packing" of snakes to take to the vet is another area but probably beyond the scope of your question.
Responsible ownership includes not taking the snake out in public in a forum; that is not a good idea (unless it is an education program, etc.).
Trouble Shooting: You should always be ready for something bad to happen. What will you do if you get nailed by your burm and it starts to constrict you? What are your emergency procedures? Do the local authorities know that you keep snakes? If not, they should so that the fire department can also be prepared well in advance.
These are just broad generalities but absolutes in my book when it comes to keeping large constrictors.
In terms of husbandry, there are many ways to keep a burm successfully. I prefer to keep things simple. Keep burms on newspaper or aspen bedding. Adult burms should have at least a 6' x 3' cage but preferably something larger such as 8' or 10'. They must have an appropriate thermal gradient. Temps ranging from 80-82 deg F. on the cool side and into the mid to upper 80'
s on the warm side with a basking area that reaches 90-94 deg F. is sufficient. My night temps typically do not fall below 80-84 deg F. Humidity levels are maintained at 80 to 88%. I provide fresh water daily and mist my cages once or twice a day. Diet consists of a variety of appropriately sized rodents ranging from mice, rats to rabbits. My adult burms are fed 1-2 large rabbits monthly and they stay in pefect shape. Some feed more often but you want to avoid obesity. Young burms should be fed more often. These are just generalities and there is MUCH more to good husbandry but I just thought I would throw out the basics.
Hope this answers your questions.
Rob Carmichael
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RE: TO: Rob Carmichael... - Carmichael, Thu Aug 21 09:07:53 2003