Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Thanks to everyone who soothed my worries about Radio - he just shed yesterday and is looking handsome as ever, and was up for lots of playtime yesterday and today.
I have a few basic questions about "raising him right", though, if you guys have any input to offer

He's about 5 months old. What kind of feeding schedule would be ideal? I started out trying to feed every other week, but that quickly became erratic. How often should he be eating? He's up to adult mice now (I euthanize them with CO2 before placing them in the feeding container)

How often should I clean out his cage, and what's the best way to go about it? I've noticed a lot of little white fleas in his tank, which a fellow snake owner assured me were just wood mites, and they haven't seemed to bother him at all.

Also, now that it's finally warm enough to take him outside... I notice a lot of you posting pictures of your snakes playing in the grass and on trees. I do take him outside but have never put him down - he's still so little (about 30 cms) I'm afraid he'll get lost! Is it ok to put him down in the grass for a bit if I keep a close eye, or should I wait until he's a little bigger?

Thanks so much! I've loved joining this community - everyone is so helpful and friendly
Becca

Cool, glad he's back to being his fine self!!!

Define erratic? Was he acting hungry? Were you not keeping up with the every other week schedule? Was he not eating?

30 cms???? if my conversion estimate is right that'd be .3 meters or roughly a foot? Eating mice and 5 months old sounds more like 30 inches or 75 cms ???

At that size/age, he could be reduced to a once every two week schedule or left on the weekly one. every two weeks would be a larger prey item while weekly would be two smaller ones. Like Jeff says, listen to him, if you go two weeks, does he act hungry betwen meals, get grumpy or nippy, or is he just fine???

Remeber, it's us that think they need to eat all the time and very easy to overfeed. In the wild they can and do go weeks, even months with nothing at all to eat.

I don't like the wood chip type substrate, hard to clean, can come with bugs and easy to let it get not so clean. - spot clean the messes, replenishing chips as you remove some and periodically do a full cage clean. Not sure on the full cage clean interval.

It's OK to put him down, just watch closely and make sure there is no crack/crevice/hole etc. he can get into!!!!
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats