Reptile & Amphibian Forums

could i please ask you for a bit of advice my snake just shed her skin but left the tip of her tail on what can i do to get that bit of skin off i was going to get some cotton wool and try to gently take it off with some warm water, is that what i should do? also i would like a little help on the heating in my vivarium, at the moment i have a large heat mat which covers aprox half the size of the viv but whenever i take my snake out of the viv she is very cold, i have hides in both the warm end the cool end and in the middle yet she seems to move towards the cool end more, i have installed a smaller heat mat 3" x 3" and put that nearer the cool end but when i get up in the morning the thermometer in the viv is only showing the air temp at 70 i know that heat mats only heat the area they are and not the air in the viv and i know that snakes take in heat through there scales but i think i need the air temp to show aprox 82 i have a light in the roof of the viv that was fitted by the shop and if i use this during the day it will bring the temp up to around 80, what can i use so that my snake cannot touch the light my viv is 2ft high and the light fitting is right up in the roof and hangs down by about 4" at the moment i only dare use the light when i am actually in the house to watch her as in the past when it gets later on in the day i have seen her use the wires from the lights (there is a uv light to with 2 wires one at each end) to get up to the top of the viv, i was shocked one day to see her up in the roof dangling over the 2 wires so i know she could easily get up there, i have taped the wires up into the roof now but im not sure if she could still find a way up there, sorry to go on but i want to give you as much info as possible, im wondering if maybe she prefers to stay cold, im going to buy her another hide for the warm end that is the same as the cold end (natural bark in the cool end in the warm end its natural wood made round a metal frame to bend into possition) as maybe she doesn't like the other hide as much and that is why she is going to the cool end, let me know your suggestions as im worried about her i need to know what else i can use to warm up the air temp also it is getting colder on a night now and i don't know anyone who can afford to run there central heating 24/7 so as it gets colder on a night the air temp at night is going to get colder .......thanx in advance for any help

As far as the tail skin goes, yes, you can moisten that skin a little with water, give it a few minutes to soften, then gently tease it off with cotton or tissue.

As far as your heating, take a temperature reading directly from the floor of the cage both from the hot end and the cool end, then post those numbers. Use an IR thermometer if one is available to you. It may very well be that the temp at the warm end is too hot and the snake is just choosing the lesser of two evils.

Wouldn't knowing the species of snake be important to helping out, too? Different snakes have different temp requirements.

Judy
-----
1.0 red cape gopher (Caesar)