Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Or maybe I should I ask...do you bother to get a pet sitter? I'm going to visit my folks and then go to Atlanta for for Christmas, and I'll be gone for about 10-12 days. I'm not worried about the snakes too much, but I need someone to come in and feed the cats, fish, mali, gator, and tegus who aren't sleeping. We're trying to decide what to do with this giant snake who wets 2-3 times a week. I don't want anyone messing with him because of the liability factor, neither do I want to come home to a house that smells of urine. Plus, it doesn't seem right to leave him in his urine for that long.

Ideas?

Whenever we go out of town (which is very rare) our neighbor keeps the eagle eye on our house and looks after our pit-bull, other dogs and cats. he also makes sure the rats are always fed and watered. He will also poke his head into the snake rooms and see if any of our bp's have dumped their water bowls and re-water them if needed. As for our large snakes, I don't want anyone opening their cages if I'm not in the room. So what I do is if I'm not going to be home for a few days, they don't get their 2 feedings before I know I'm going to leave. I also make sure I clean all cages the night before we leave or if we are leaving at night, that morning. Also with the large constrictors I always use an extra thick layer of bedding so to soak up any urine or spilled water. We have never had a problem with this system and hope we never do. Good luck on your vacation.
-----
Josh & Krysty Hutto
J&K Reptiles

Various Ball Pythons, boas, dogs, cats, fish, an amel tiger retic female, a couple sulcatas and a few other odds and ends.

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrier as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!

I believe Josh has the right idea about not feeding a week or two before you go and using thick substrate to soak up anything they pass.

I can't remember if you're using belly heat or heating from above; hopefully heating from above since it wouldn't affect heating to throw in 3 - 4 inches of Aspen.

No offense, but your burm won't even realize you're gone and will be fine. I don't know if you've had a caretaker come in before or not but just in case, I've found it best to pay them for their time to come over a few times before I leave to watch me do it once & then for me to watch them do it the next time.

Take care!
Mike
-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

No offense taken...I'm not implying that my Burm really gives a hoot if I'm there or not. Truth be told, he'd probably rather I'd leave forever and never mess with him again.

I'm just thinking of it from a health standpoint. I don't want his skin to be irritated or ammonia to build up. He 'urinated' today and soaked 1/2 his cage, little to no urates. I use sections of newspaper as substrate, about 6 sections at a time. He did the same thing Thursday, but he just had a large meal on Sunday.

I'm heating from above. I'm still waiting for my new enclosures to be delivered and they will have RHP's.

This snake seems to be unique in the amount of water he passes, still haven't got to the vet to check that out yet (due in Dec). I haven't gone out of town for more than a few days since I've had this guy and I was curious as to how others dealt with their big ones. We usually vacation for a week in the winter and 2weeks in the summer. In the summer I have so many lizards that are awake that I have to have a feeder come in every other day. They feed the cats, too, and we board the wacko dog.

I think I first said 3 - 4 inches of Aspen bedding but 4 - 6 would probably be better. It's absorbent but most fluids will go on down towards the bottom, away from the snake. Any wetness on top should dry out fairly quickly.

I seriously doubt that it would cause any skin irritations for no more than you'll be gone. Besides, they usually try to get out of, away from, their own watses like that (urine, or whatever the formal, fancy name may be).

The ammonia odor usually lessens as it dries but will still have a slight odor due to it being in the Aspen bedding. But I don't think that's any reason for concern. He'll be fine.

> > > ...we board the wacko dog.

Ha! May be the reason it's wacko. maybe it needs a vacation, too. We humans can be quite perplexing at times, ya know. Hahahaha!!!

Catch ya later!
HH
-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

you might check with a local recue- I do boarding and home visits for people who go out of town. We both sign a waiver saying if i get bit- its my problem (and my fault) and they sign one as well...

A lot of times- if its something small it just comes here but if theres a collection or bigger stuff- i go there.
We dont charge much for this usually like 30 bucks and if its a day and a mile away- gas as well...

it helps the rescue (that feeds 5 iguanas for like 2 weeks!!!) and seems like people are much more comfortable with someone that knows about reptiles taking care of thier babies.
(and its fun to see what other people have!)
just a thought- and i do dogs/cats/whatever as well- just because.
-----
The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

I with-hold feedings on my larger snakes. My other personal snakes are bloods and well, they are always more than happy to with-hold droppings.

Honestly, I will adjust feeding cycle. With a 12 foot girl and a few 7 footers, I have them pretty well planned on how close to feeding does it take. Load up with aspen.

Check with a rescue to come in if you cant get a pet sitter willing to work with lizards. My rescue does this. It is less stressful for someone to come in rather than to board and many clinics do not accept reptile boarders because of this. work with reptiles.

Also if you are a member of a herp society, check with them as well and see if there is someone you click with.

Lots of pet sitting companies do not work with reptiles. Primarily because of the vast differences between species and well dogs and cats are easier.

Luckily we are rarely both gone from the house, but I am looking at this for next year with hubby joining me in daytona. Dogs will be boarded, but I would like someone in the house to watch it and check the room for issues. This is where a good friend really comes in handy. Thankfully I am excessively snake heavy here in both personal and rescue animals and can easily leave for 5 days with no concerns.
-----
Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!