Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok temp is 84 ( non basking area) humidity is 60%, have tried rats, quail and rabbits and neither will eat! I have a 10 ft albino male and a 14 ft non albino female. Could it be the time of year? , do not think female is gravid since we have only had her not quite a month, they have a hide, and large water tub. cage is 7 tf long by 3 feet by 4 feet. The cage is hard to heat because it is formica covered wood on top and bottom as well as the back and side, the front is plexiglass. There is now where to put lights that they can not get to them (and the do and have) so ideas are appreciated.

Thanks

Angela

What are you using to heat right now? What are the temps of the room they are housed in? Ambient temps of the outside air can affect your cage as well.

I'm having a similar problem with my new cage. I use a radiant heat panel on the roof, but it's winter and the room temp is in the low 70's right now. With the thermostat on high, I still can only heat the hot side to 86 degrees and the humidity is 55-60%.

I do like the RHP's. This is my first experience with them and they seem so much better than lights for my snake. I have a 12 ft albino burm. Some days he would spend half the time covering his eyes with his coils as if he was trying to escape the harsh light, especially close to shedding. Lights are also more drying.

Just a thought....

niether of my big girls are eating- its been 4 months for one of them, its been 2 months for the other.

Regarding the cage- mine are HUGE.
i use a 'light box'- i use plywood and build a box big enough to hold 2 clamp lights with NO clamp on them. Then i use that metal wire mesh- similar to chicken wire- just smooth, and they can rub thier noses on it but not get burned.
I have the same heating issue.

and with the lights- humidity is an issue as well.

I have a small kiddy pool in thier cages for water and they can get thier entire body inside to soak and they have pretty good sheds this way...
but duing shed- good luck getting them out of the water...

anyway-
If your cages are big enough- try a kiddy pool- it doesnt help the ambient humidity so much but they do shed better.
and so long as the snakes aren't getting skinny or anything- i wouldn't worry about them not eating.

The girl that hasn't eaten in 4 months has lost a whole 6 lbs.... which dropped her weight down to a "puny" 79 lbs.... i'm not worried...

Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

It sounds like typical breeding season behavior to me. Mature males go off feed more than mature females but some females will go off feed, too.

My male hasn't eaten in about 4 months but my female continues to feed, just like she did last year.

If they're housed together you should have seen, or should be seeing, some breeding activity if both have gone off feed due to breeding season. Males that aren't kept with females during breeding season will typically reduce their activity to conserve energy for mating. Your male could be ready but the female may not be. If he's persistent it can stress her. A little bit of close observation and you should be able to tell what's going on.

You said you've only had the female less than a month; is there a chance she's stressed from the new environment and/or mate?

84 degrees is OK but since you're having trouble heating the cage make sure the temps aren't much lower than that anywhere within the cage and definitely try to keep humidity levels up. I hope you're able to see them frequently in case they start showing any signs of respiratory infection.

"OKReptileRescue's" 'light box' idea should work fine for you. You can use 1/2" hardware cloth or any other kind of small, smooth wire to put across the open end that the lights shine thru. You can also increase humidity a tad by placing the water bowl/pool under the heat source. But there still needs to be a dry place they can get to so they can get warmer without getting wet.

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

Chickens

I put a humidifier in the cage which I plug in for about 5 min at a time (till their humidity level reaches 60-65%) while of course making sure they do not go near it so the steam does not burn them. it is working quite well so I thought I would mention it.

A