Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I need two more heating pads. I'm currently using two zoo med pads, and they are ok, but looking in to cheaper options. Would something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Sunbeam-Health-Home-Moist-Heating/dp/B000FGDDI0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1242533948&sr=8-1

Be a good idea? Any other good options in the 20-30 buck range? I also need another thermostat (just using the ghetto zoo med one) and I need one that I can trust for incubation. Looking to go with the "BAH-1000SC Thermostat Utilizing Electronic IC Smart Chip Technology" from Big Apple supplies. I can't afford any of the 100 ones at the moment.

Guess another question while I am on the heating discussion: I live near St. Pete, Florida, and the temps here are a pretty steady 88-92 every day during the summer. Would it be ok to keep balls outside with these temps? If not there's no problem keeping them in doors once I get my heating pad situation fixed.

And now about my problem feeder. I got her when she was 1200g and she is down to 1150g now. She is kept in the same conditions as all my others and she has shown no interest in food for the past month. She is very active and always exploring. I've tried frozen/thawed rats and just broke down a few days ago and offered a live rat and she was totally uninterested in it. She is being kept in a rubbermaid with paper substrate. I've heard that switching to mulch may help. Should I try that, then move on to different prey items like a gerbil or a hamster? I'm at my wits end, I really want to get her eating again so she is good and healthy going in to breeding season.

Thanks

We were having the same problem with our male pastel. We bought him and they told us he ate once a week. They said he ate small rats, and when he rejected those, we tried a mouse. We tried live first and nothing. Then we offered it dead and just left the room. We made sure he couldn't escape his feed tank, and we checked on him every 15-20 min and finally after almost an hour, he stared eating. So we left again and went back when he was finished. So next feeding we bought a rat, tried it live, no interest, then put it back dead and after ten minutes and us leaving the room, he ate. He doesn't like an audience. Yours could be the same. I don't recommend changing prey items yet, because once they get the taste of a gerbil or hamster I've heard they don't want to go back. And they're more expensive that rats. She could be uncomfortable in her enclosure, as in not enough privacy, heat source, hide box, etc. She may have been used to a different substrate and used to feeding on it as well. Do you feed her in her enclosure or in a feed box?

I've tried feeding her in a feed box and in her cage. Her cage is made of clear plastic, so would a switch to an opaque container perhaps help this? She has a hide and she is able to burrow under the paper to essentially hide wherever she pleases. She is constantly patrolling her cage and seems very eager to escape any time I open the top. And I have left her alone with both live and dead prey items for a prolonged period, so I really don't know what the issue is.

I live in florida, is there ever a problem of too much humidity? Its pretty much always in the high 70s or 80s. It hasn't caused any problems with my other snakes, and really not much I can do to reduce the humidity I'm afraid.