Randall hit all of the basics so I can't add too much more. At our facility, in which our atrox are on public exhibit, we have to go with a more aesthetic look than newspaper (BUT, newspaper is superior to every other substrate, period so if you don't care about looks, go with paper). If you want to show your's off in a nice looking set up that can be something to show off, we use a combination of sand, torpedo sand, a little clay, leaf mulch and a little soil (80% of this mix is sand/torpedo sand). We will then add some nice pieces of weathered driftwood, a couple of natural looking rocks and perhaps a cacti or two and you've got a nice display (particularly if you add some spot lights and fluorescents to accentuate the lighting effects). We provide a thermal gradient of 70-72 deg F on the cool side and the low 80's on the warm side with a localized area under the heat lamp that reaches the mid to upper 90's (but its very important that this is just small area as even desert dwelling crotalines can be very susceptible to heat stroke).

Our young atrox get fed weekly; usually one appropriately sized prey item. As they mature, we cut back a bit but increase the size of prey. We have a couple of 6-footers in our collection (long term animals - over 15 years old) that only get fed once a month and they still maintain excellent weight and girth. During the cooler months, we might cut back to every 6 weeks but we let their behavior dictate this schedule. During the summer, we'll bump up the intervals a little.

Hope this helps.

Rob Carmichael
Wildlife Discovery Center

>>Thanks, I well fed once a week, but how much? I mean how can I know wich will be the appropriate prey size? Based on the snakes mid-body girth?
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

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