Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently altered one of my Trans-Pecos enclosures. Switched from cypress mulch (all it's known since a baby) to Aspen. It's hide remains a low to the floor wide flatrock. Daytime hot temps are about 85, low 70s at night. This transition was about a month ago. He simply will no longer eat the young hoppers that have made up the totality of his diet in the past. Is 85 a bit high? Should I return to cypress mulch? Any & all ideas appreciated!
Dan.

I keep numerous subocs and had similar problems last year with a couple of my animals. This year I keep the room pretty much at 82 degrees during the day and down to 75 at night. So far this year no throw up or non-eating issues have occurred. Also got 5 good looking eggs from my Guadalupe Mtn. pair. Hope this helps.

Thanks! I'm dropping the temps by 3 degrees & see what happens. Tell me, is it typical Trans-Pecos behavior to only accept the smallest of meals?

My guy will eat gerbils but he is 68" long! He doesn't eat mice but will do rat pups. I have never seen a large rodent on the cuts, only reeeeeeally small wild mice. And I am sure they are proficient nest robbers and may eat a bat here and there. My yearling can tackle small hoppers but only one per feeding, so I choose to give her 2 fuzzies one week and a small hopper the next. Just what works in my snake room. I would keep it small and feed at night if possible.
Todd Hughes

I try and feed most of my Suboc's multiple small meals except for one which seems to do ok on adult mice. The others are fed 4-5 hopper mice and like I said earlier no throw ups or lack of interest in feeding so far this year.

I keep my room temp in the mid 70's with a heat tape under the back of the enclosure that raises the temp to the mid to upper 80's. This gives them the option to pick their temp.
As for meal size, mine take meals up to a small rat. I saw one that a friend found on the road near Terlingua that had eaten a medium size cottontail. It thrashed back and forth but could not get off the road because the weight of the rabbit kept it from moving. If yours will only eat small meals, you might consider giving it a heat gradient with a variety of temps to choose from. People tend to keep these animals like they come from the desert, but they don't live in the desert, they live under the desert. Temps in the mine shafts and caves in the desert southwest maintain a temp in the mid 70's year round while air temps can be in the 100's. Think about it!!
Later
Rick

Bob Macken told me a similar story, I wonder if it was the same incident. He said that he's still kicking himself for not having a camera to take pictures.
-Phil

It was Bob that picked it up. I saw it that night/morning at his cabin at Villa De La Mina. It regurged the next day and died shortly after.
Later
Rick

I'm planning on meeting up with Bob at the end of Aug.,in New Mexico, if it rains enough. We'll be using the Macken method forsure. Snakes beware! Wish us luck.
-Phil