Sorry the photo is of such poor quality, but I think it illustrates some key points in my white-lipped python husbandry program (based on a sum total of one animal only)



First, the blood on my forearm is sad testimony to the failure of my several years old “Just keep trying to handle him gently; surely he’ll calm down eventually” policy. Photo taken two days ago. Gee, I’m glad I wore gloves. Ouch.



I’m also using a Vision cage, in this case a three foot one. There’s a 50 watt Pro Products heat panel (not visible) overhead on the right side of the ceiling over the large, low hide container which takes up almost half the floor space. The hide’s access for the snake is through a hole cut in the top. I currently use CareFresh for substrate in the hide. I try to maintain enough dampness overall in the CareFresh just to suppress its dust, then as needed I saturate one section with water to elevate the humidity without making the python rest on an all wet substrate.



The blue container also has top access and contains a couple inches of water. I increased the size of his water dishes a few times as he frequently upended them until I wised up and provided something that was stable and provided security. He does utilize it for soaking occasionally, especially when opaque.



I use unprinted paper on the cage floor. As the winter progresses and the humidity gets harder to maintain, I spray down the cage with water every few days with my trusty garden sprayer.



I find it quite difficult to meet the needs of animals requiring high humidity in Vision cages. But I bought a bunch of Visions before I realized this so I try to make them work. Anyway, there is no perfect cage. If necessary, you could cover up some of the vents in the back. That really helps, but also promotes the growth of molds. Oh, and I also run a warm air humidifier in the coldest months in the room where the WLP is housed.



When I tried to maintain this animal with under cage heating, I just never could seem to get things fine tuned properly. But maybe I just wasn’t very clued in to its needs at the time. I either had it too dry and the poor animal had lousy thousand-piece sheds (and he avoided the UTH), or the water dish kept being knocked over and by the time I attended to it the snake was lying in a bacterial soup. The present set-up seems to work great and provides him with lots of security.



I really wish I could provide this animal with a large, tall cage with opportunities for climbing. I’m sure he would utilize the vertical space at night. But at least now he’s physically thriving. Too bad for me I can’t get him an attitude transplant



-Joan

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