Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just had my first litter of anery's ever last week and they seem to be doing great. They are all together and a few are starting to shed. My question is, should I wait until every single one of them shed out to move them into individual tubs and give them water or should I move them as they shed? I would think putting a bowl of water in with the group now would be a bad idea because if they all piled in some might drown. Any info is appreciated. Thank you.

I understand your concern for the babies to potentially drown, however, I like to err on the side of caution in the other direction. I'd rather that I risk one baby possibly drowning than risk all of them possibly becoming dehydrated.

For all of my baby snakes (regardless of species) I use small Gerber baby food bowls. You can find them in the baby food section of whatever store you prefer to shop in. They are small enough that the babies can easily access them to get a drink but not so large that there really is a risk of drowning. Plus, if and when one of them is knocked over the amount of water in the bowl doesn't end up soaking the entire tub.

Other people use small deli cups that they purchase in bulk. These can be placed inside of a PVC end cap to prevent tip-overs and spills. I used to go with this method but since I've downsized my collection, I really don't need to purchase as many things in bulk anymore. The advantage of deli cups is that they are generally cheap enough to simply be thrown away (or recycled - the better option) which can cut down on the time spent in the snake room if this is an issue for you.

With the Gerber bowls I usually do end up washing them by hand. Every neonate in my collection gets them in their individual tubs and when I have fresh hatchlings (I don't breed my boas - yet!) I place two to three of the bowls in the "community-shed-out" tub. This helps eliminate competition for water and allows me to spread them out in the tub so that all of the hatchlings can easily find the water they need since they aren't as likely as adults to venture far looking for water.
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I'm still not sure if it's weird that my best friend is a two year old boa named Ronin. He's quiet, non-judgemental and listens... what more could you want?

>>I just had my first litter of anery's ever last week and they seem to be doing great. They are all together and a few are starting to shed. My question is, should I wait until every single one of them shed out to move them into individual tubs and give them water or should I move them as they shed? I would think putting a bowl of water in with the group now would be a bad idea because if they all piled in some might drown. Any info is appreciated. Thank you.

Like the other gentlemen said, they need to have water to prevent dehydration. We use a 2" crock and just put two in with each drawer and change it twice a day sometimes three. The babies seem to poo in the water a lot. A 2 inch is a little over board. You would be fine with a 4 inch I would think. Babies are pretty strong as to be able to get out from under a sibling. Good luck and keep asking questions if you got them.
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I wouldnt be concerned about them drowning.... they arent helpless like mammalian babies..... Better to keep them hydrated
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Marc Duhon
Lafayette, Louisiana
SURINAMBOAS.COM
kaiyudsai@SURINAMBOAS.COM