Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Especially when it starts like this!
CraigC

CRAIG, Yeah nice way to start the day CONGRATS!!!!!!Waiting on my feamles to go any day now.Once again SWEET job.

Wow that girl is huge! We ended up with 11 neos, 1 slug and no stillborns. I have another girl that is ready to go anytime as she ovulated 2 days after the one that delivered this morning. I never noticed with the last two litters we had that 2 days before she delivered she got as far away from the heat source as possible and I actually had to drop the DTH and NTL. Good luck with your girls!!!!!
CraigC

I like the professional look of your caging, and it's nice to see that you have what appears to be “natural” perching branches (as opposed to merely wooden dowels or p.v.c. pipes), but would suggest one more thing be added... a plant.

I took Stan Chiras’ suggestion and placed a Pothos plant in my emerald’s cage. Her reaction to it was immediate... she loved it. She often stays near it and even hides in the leaves sometimes. It also gives a large surface area for the misting water to cling to, helps to keep the humidity up, and keeps the air fresh for the snake.

The great thing about a Pothos is that it's easy to care for and likes the same conditions as the emerald does. They can be purchased inexpensively at all times of the year at many stores. My cage setup is vertical so I bought my plant already growing up a totem pole. They can also be purchased growing in a simple pot and can be trailed out sideways for use in a horizontal cage like yours. Leaving it in the original pot makes it easy to move when cleaning the cage.

The one pictured here is the most-commonly found type, with variegated leaves, but they are sometimes seen in a solid-green variety, too.

Actually, that is PVC, it's just been burned with a blow torch and then cleaned. All of our animals seem to love it. It looks natural, but is easily cleaned and sterilized.

Thanks for the suggestion about the plant, but we used pothos a long time ago. We stopped using them because:

A: We have water as a substrate (drawers slide out) and it would be a pain with as many cages as we have moving pots around to get the drawers out.

B: Pothos take over the cage really easily. Unless you stay on top of it, you will have a jungle in your cage really fast.

C: Unless you sterilize the dirt yourself and get hydroponically grown pothos to start with, there is no telling what kind of bacteria/bugs/etc. you are introducing into your cage. Besides that, dirt is a very good breeding ground for mold and bacteria. Not worth the risk. Not worth the time when you have multiple animals.

D: Mice/rats will hide in the plant if you HAVE NO CHOICE but to feed live. Not worth the risk to the emerald of getting bitten or getting mouth/gut problems because of the ingestion of plant/dirt material.

KarenC

I forgot. You’re a breeder.

That explains it.