Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ive got a few snakes in shoebox bins.I am concerned about our black milksnake because he seems so uptight.Constantly moving about the bin trying to get out and just way more active then the rest of the snakes(corns,rats and a kingsnake)..Is this normal? Ive never had a milksnake of any kind so dont know what is normal or not.
The rest of the snakes are typical, moving around occasionally, moving from the back(warmside) to the front.Mpre active right before feeding day etc..

Warm end 85-90(85 on top of papertowel and in hide.Under papertowel on the plastic its 90), cool end 75ish..Water, papertowel substrate, hide on each end..Pink mouse every 5-7 days.
Maybe he needs to eat more? Are the temps about right?

"Warm end 85-90(85 on top of papertowel and in hide.Under papertowel on the plastic its 90), cool end 75ish"

That is too warm for Black milks,...in those tight quarters of the shoe box, it seems to me it cannot escape the heat to get to a cooler area. Gaigeae like it more in the mid 70's, as opposed to many other milks.

Turn down the heat a bit, and it should stop being so restless. Now I'm not saying it ISN'T hungry either, but the immediate problem is likely the heat.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

I was worried about that.But when I reduce the thermostat to 88 it gets down to 69-70 on the cool end(my bedroom is rather cool).Another problem is the heat tape doesnt seem to have the same temp all the way across.One bin is warmer then another....Its frustrating.There is a lip on the bottom of the bins that holds it up off the tape too.I have the thermostat set to 90 as the highest.The probe is in the indentation in the bin that holds it up off the tape under the paper towel.I hope that makes some sense.

I have only one thermostat on two pieces of 3 inch heat tape.

So should I just move this guy to a 10 gal tank so he can have more of temp gradient?

Either that, or space the existing enclosure up off the heat tape with anything suitable until the earlier mentioned temps are reached.
in other words,........DO WHAT EVER IT TAKES to do it!, just make SURE you keep a very close eye on things.

Anything non-flammable will work!, as long as it gets the enclosure slightly above the heat tape in small increments to achieve this.

good luck!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Thanks, I found some thicker washers and put those under for now until I can come up with something else.

I keep 4 black milks myself (2 adults, 1 sub adult, 1 less than six months) and have no heat sources for them anymore. I used to but I experienced the same thing that you are now. Once I cooled them down I found they were much much happier and their shedding stopped being so frequent as well (almost every two weeks with heating like a normal king or corn). Now I just keep them at room temps which ranges from about 70-75 by day, to the mid and high 60's at night (my space heater kicks in when it gets below 65). They never miss a meal each week, they shed about once every month and a half or so on average, and are staying nice and plump! So depending on where you live (I live in Southern California) I bet you could take them off the heat altogether if you live in a fairly warm climate. The temps you described in your room when you turn down the thermostat sound about what they like to be kept at from the research I have done in learning about these critters!!! I am no pro, far from it, but so far the advice I have taken to keep them nice and cool has worked like a charm for them!! My most favorite snakes I own

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~Markus Arelius

Ok fine just Markus.

The very existence of flamethrowers means that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves..."You know, I really want to set those people over there on fire...but I'm just not close enough to get the job done!

Wow those are some awesome pics.I cant wait to see mine start to change.I hoping my hubby will put up with me when I ask for a female to go with this little male.
What size cage is that adult in?
Ive read that they need cooler temps so Ive got him propped up off the heat for now.I also gave him a fuzzy this last time instead of a pink mouse and he has settled back down...

Thanksya

And yeah its very hard not to get more than one of them once you get on to these guys lol!!!

The cage in the pic is 4 feet long by 20 inches wide with my male inside. I have my adult female in a sterilite tub from target that's almost the same size (4 inches less in length) but was 190 dollars less in price! And so far so good too!!!

My '09 youngin is also on fuzzies so you are probably good to go with those no problemo!

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~Markus Arelius

Ok fine just Markus.

The very existence of flamethrowers means that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves..."You know, I really want to set those people over there on fire...but I'm just not close enough to get the job done!