Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 3' long burm.

I got it about 2 months ago.

I was wanting some tips on feeding it. I of course f/t large mice.

How long should I offer the feed item?
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0.0.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 Bull Frog
0.0.1 Green Tree Frog
1.0.0 Red Eared Slider
0.1.0 Box Turtle
0.3.0 Love Able muts
1.0.0 Crazy ass black cat -_-
0.0.1 Golden Hamster
0.1.0 Mouse
0.0.2 Hermit Crabs
0.0.1 Parakeet

It would have behooved you to do your research before bringing the burm home but since its too late for that:
1) Mice are too small for a 3' burm; try frozen/thawed small rats. One per feeding should be fine and I would recommend offering food every 7 days. Your snake will "tell" you when its time to increase the size of prey. Once it reaches adult size/age, you can cut back to feeding once or twice a month.

2) USE LONG HEMOSTATS or TONGS when feeding. I'm sure you do but based on your question, I am just providing some basic feeding advice.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center

>>I have a 3' long burm.
>>
>>I got it about 2 months ago.
>>
>>I was wanting some tips on feeding it. I of course f/t large mice.
>>
>>How long should I offer the feed item?
>>-----
>>
>>0.0.1 Ball Python
>>0.0.1 Bull Frog
>>0.0.1 Green Tree Frog
>>1.0.0 Red Eared Slider
>>0.1.0 Box Turtle
>>0.3.0 Love Able muts
>>1.0.0 Crazy ass black cat -_-
>>0.0.1 Golden Hamster
>>0.1.0 Mouse
>>0.0.2 Hermit Crabs
>>0.0.1 Parakeet
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

Thanks. I have some more questiions.

What should I uae to provide heat? Currently am using incandecent lighting. Now the colder weather has hit do I need to add a uth also?
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0.0.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 Bull Frog
0.0.1 Green Tree Frog
1.0.0 Red Eared Slider
0.1.0 Box Turtle
0.3.0 Love Able muts
1.0.0 Crazy ass black cat -_-
0.0.1 Golden Hamster
0.1.0 Mouse
0.0.2 Hermit Crabs
0.0.1 Parakeet

That depends on the type of caging/housing that its in. Please fill us in and we'll go from there.

I'm guessing that its in an aquarium with a screened lid and the incandescent sits on top of the lid, in a relector dome, and hopefully not just in a lamp placed beside the cage.

Yea or Nay?

HH
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

I agree, it really depends on the set up. If you are using a tank with a screen top, it's time to start saving for a better cage as these tanks are not designed for pythons. It really doesn't matter what heat source you use as long as you have the proper temps....for some, it may just be an incadescent bulb, for others it may be a combination of overhead and UTH. I personally love Pro Product Radiant Heat Panels and use them for many of my herps.

>>That depends on the type of caging/housing that its in. Please fill us in and we'll go from there.
>>
>>I'm guessing that its in an aquarium with a screened lid and the incandescent sits on top of the lid, in a relector dome, and hopefully not just in a lamp placed beside the cage.
>>
>>Yea or Nay?
>>
>>HH
>>-----
>>It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.
-----
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

It is currently being kept in a 30g tank.

I had plans to convert a closet into an enclosure for it. (longer rectangle type of closet)

What kind of materials are commonly used in cage construction?

I was going to use plexi and malamite.
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0.0.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 Bull Frog
0.0.1 Green Tree Frog
1.0.0 Red Eared Slider
0.1.0 Box Turtle
0.3.0 Love Able muts
1.0.0 Crazy ass black cat -_-
0.0.1 Golden Hamster
0.1.0 Mouse
0.0.2 Hermit Crabs
0.0.1 Parakeet

Go to the Cage & Habitat Design section: forums.kingsnake.com/forum.php?catid=4

There have been a lot of good discussions recently on materials. You should get plenty of ideas from within the first 2, maybe 3 pages. Well worth the time it takes to read.

Melamine is pretty much the all-time favorite due to its relatively low cost compared to other options. However, melamine, alone, won't quite do it.

You'll definitely be needing something bigger, soon, if not already.

As for heating your 30gal., a UTH would work along with an incandescent, flood or ceramic heat emitter.

If the cage sits off the floor and room temps average in the 70's you may not need a UTH. Get a dome reflector lamp with a ceramic base, a dimmer switch (Some domes made for reptiles come with one already installed, or, you could get one at a hardware or pet store and install a dimmer switch.) and get incandescent, flood (75 watts) or ceramic heat emitter (100 watts) with plenty of wattage and you can adjust the output with the dimmer.

Make sure that the dome is deep enough or the bulb is short enough so that the bulb doesn't rest directly on the screen.

Set the dome on top of the screen lid, to one side or the other, so it creates a gradient temperature within the cage. To help retain humidity you can place the water bowl near the heat source. You should also cover as much of the open space of the screen top as you can to hold more humidity in. Use either cardboard, preferrably with a waxed side facing down, or anything else. Just make sure it doesn't come into contact with the dome or bulb.

Have a good one!
HH
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

...I'm not an experienced burm owner but have had Moses for 3 years now. I'm curious, how will he show that he's ready to move up? He's a lazy eater in the past 2 years. The first year I had him he even tried to eat a newspaper and a wash cloth. Now, I'll dangle a rat, rabbit, guinea pig in front of him and during the summer he'll hit 1/3 of the time. In the winter maybe 2% of the time. It's very frustrating because I throw away more food than he eats. He's big enough for large rabbits but usually only strikes rats.
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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

You may not be an experienced burm owner yet, however, you have more experience with your burm than anyone else on earth and you can speak for what is the best way to care for your burm than anyone else. Some burms are just picky eaters for no rhyme or reason. I would just offer the snake a couple of large rats, or, one rabbit per month. By increasing the amount of time in between feedings, you may get a better and more consistent feeding response. Or, you may have to invest in a garbage disposal like a big monitor or common snapper/alligator snapper or gator/croc; I use them all and nothing goes to waste. I am assuming that you have your burm in optimal conditions and once they reach adult hood they do slowdown in their metabolism so I wouldn't worry too much.

>>...I'm not an experienced burm owner but have had Moses for 3 years now. I'm curious, how will he show that he's ready to move up? He's a lazy eater in the past 2 years. The first year I had him he even tried to eat a newspaper and a wash cloth. Now, I'll dangle a rat, rabbit, guinea pig in front of him and during the summer he'll hit 1/3 of the time. In the winter maybe 2% of the time. It's very frustrating because I throw away more food than he eats. He's big enough for large rabbits but usually only strikes rats.
>>-----
>>DZ
>>
>>"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

A croc or monitor would be choice but my fun meter is pegged already with Moses. Not to mention my wife would shoot me, then the other if I brought one home. I had an iguana for over 10 years and it became a chore more than a pet. I'm moving to Mi. in a month. My wife is picking up Moses this Saturday and taking him home. Once I get established I'll work at it again.

DZ
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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell