Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, after ironing out the initial problems, everything has been going fine. A previous post brought to my attention signs of dehydration. I change my splendidas water daily sometimes two days max with fresh water from the tap, today just after placing his water bowl in the enclosure i noticed him mouthing the side of the plastic container. On closer inspection he is actually drinking the water droplets off the side of the bowl.
My question is..... is the tap water too cold for him? i have never seen him submerge himself totally, and can i use luke warm tap water?
Anther idea i had was to use a deeper bowl with a fish tank heater placed in the bottom to warm the water and rocks placed over so that he can still submerge but not come into contact with the heater, would this idea work and if so what temp 65-70?
Thanks in advance

1) water that is cold will not effect the snake wanting to drink out of the bowl. You snake is probably very well hydrated from having a constant source of water.

2) I give my adults a drink once a week. Water bowls cause more health problems in a large collection than anything. So every wednesday the bowls go in and the next day (thursday) they all come out for cleaning and disinfecting.

Since you do not have a large collection and clean your water bowl you snake is at no risk to leave it in.

3) snakes love to soak. So providing a water bowl that is large enough for the snake to soak (especially during pre-shed)is a good idea.

4) keep the substrate dry and clean. Water spills left for days weeks can turn ugly.
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"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

thanks for your reply. i do everything that you posted except his water is left in and i have two bowls so they are always clean.
The signs he is showing are the same as pre-shed when he had folds of skin more prominant when he is curled.
Could this be anoter problem not related to the water? He is no way due shed as he is a full grown adult and only shed 2-3 wks ago, or can it be? I do worry about him lol

How big is the snake? How often and what size meals are you feeding?

Can you post a picture?
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"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

snake is close to 5ft and eating two jumbo mice weekly. heres the pic. taken 2 wks ago one of my previous post has pic of folds will try to post link

I replied below when you posted a pic of the set up. The lightbulb is causing the problems with the skin. Take it out. Not healthy even if you only run it once in a while.
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"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

Your splendida is a desert kingsnake. His drinking the droplets off the side of the bowl reflects an instinctual drinking technique. In their natual habitat, water is precious. They will drink dew off leaves in the mornings, or condensation found anywhere. His habit may reflect this instinct. Just an interesting tidbit.
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Species kept:

Nuevo Leon Kings
Kunasir Island Rats
San Luis Potosi Kings
Axanthic Desert Kings
White Oak Gray Rats
Corns

Coming Soon:

Western Green Rats
Pale Milks

hi beaker, very interesting titbit! before this though he could be regularly seen drinkin from the water bowl, sometimes between 30 and 90 seconds approx at a time.here is a pic of enclosure...temp just short of 80 day and just over to 70 night with basking spot opposite end to water at 85-90
Pic was taken pre-shed with wet box in

Okay I see the problem from you above post. That light above the water bowl is causing the snakes skin to do what it is. Also it is not a good idea to have the light right above the water bowl. Move the bowl to the other side of the cage away from the light bulb.

Or better yet...Take the light out that is above the water bowl. Get some undertank heating on one side of the cage. Provide an undertank heating source on one end to give the snake a cool and hot side to choose. Lightbulbs and snakes are NOT a good mix.
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"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

sorry m8 bad pic, the bowl you see was a damp box pre shed, he now has a heatmat 2/3rds up the tank and water bowl is at cool end and a bulb situated outside the tank providing the basking spot. I have measured temp with digital therm and have thermostat on heat mat, just change bulb wattage for basking spot dependent on ambient room temp. Should o get rid of the bulb and opt for controlled heat element as the heatpad alone does not provide enclosure temp of 80 just keeps it hovering above 70 so the mat is set to heat just before the bulb switches off giving nightime temps of 70-72

Either way any overhead heat element is whats causing the skin problems.

I remeber seeing a pic of the snake before and thinking it had real dry skin.

Get an undertank heating source. If that does not work with that enlcoser take the snake out and use it for lizrds that need an overhead basking spot and vitalight. Get another enloser for your snake.
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"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

thanks bluerosy m8 will do that. I have been toying with the idea of building a custom enclosure for him for a while, i suppose the snakes telling me its time lol.
The heatpad i have at the mo is not sufficient to maintain the 80 temp, so should i purchase a second pad or replace with a larger pad? Enclosure is 4ft x 1ft x 1ft.
I have built a multi layer enclosure for a bull snake i once had from an old wardrobe. if i can dig out some pics i will post. (i was happy as a pig in mud with it lol)so i know whats involved, thinking more of a box 3ft x 3ft x 3ft with drop down glass front.

a bulb situated outside the tank providing the basking spot.

I agree with Bluerosy - Desert Kings don't need a basking spot because they don't bask. Lizards bask, but most snakes probably don't, particularly in the warmer parts of the globe.

Desert Kings get all their heat by absorbing it from the substrate. Therefore, provide a warm substrate in one area of the cage (under tank heater) and get rid of the light altogether. You can put a low wattage flourescent on there if you want light as long as it doesn't heat the cage.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

i forgot that its a spot bulb, does that make any difference? or is any incandescent light a bad idea? I thought that by using the spot bulb i would be heating the substrate from above in a similar way to the natural sun? i probably explained the area wrong as a 'basking' area as i thought that the actual light emitted from the bulb did not make any odds, but the concentration of the light in one spot was creating a warm area for the snake to lie and maintain his body temp, and cooler substrate at his water end, there is ventilation both sides of the tank via mesh panels in the lid. There is also a full length hide box with the last 8-14" heated at night by the heat pad under the tank.
Was my whole thought process of immitating sun warming the ground the wrong way or is it just the equipment that i am using that is wrong?
Thanks and the above post is making some interestig reading.

the enclosure.....
....

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb109/onebadguy/tank3.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb109/onebadguy/Tank1.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb109/onebadguy/tank2.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb109/onebadguy/vents.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb109/onebadguy/Pic1.jpg

from hot end to cool end

Saves copy and pastin links, sorry!!!
Taken with my phone sorry about quality