Reptile & Amphibian Forums

because of space constraints, i am able to do either of the following setups:
1) large waterdish (as for soaking), no hidespot.
2) smaller waterdish (no soaking), "hollow log" hidespot.

which would be better for my gaboon?
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currently have:
snakes:
1.1 ball pythons (snake'n'bake, sally)
1.0 reticulated python (mousetrap)
1.0 leucistic texas rat (ice)
venomous:
1.0 pygmy rattlesnake (gordon)
0.1 mozambique spitting cobra (fluffy)
1.0 gaboon viper (boone)
0.1 cottonmouth (elizabeth)
lizards:
1.0 nile monitor (dick)
0.0.1 egyptian painted agama (george)
0.0.1 blue tongue skink (skinky)
0.0.1 red sided skink (skinky jr.)
0.0.1 desert horned 'toad' (grinch)
0.0.1 tokay gecko (jacques)
frogs:
0.0.1 pac man frog (flik)
turtles:
1.0 common snapper (snapple)
fish:
0.0.6 red belly piranhas (milich, teo, sonya, kwanda, kasim & neclord)
1.0 betta (big red)
mammals:
1.1 dachshunds (gus & heidi)
5.3 misc. cats (ho-hum, freak, pritchett, ghost, church, gypsy, flypsy, & hand)
1.0 child (michael).

The best answer would be to get an appropraite sized cage but you should be able to work with what you have.

In my cages I have 2-3 inches of cypress mulch that the Gaboons get under and use for a hide. The hides I have placed in their cages rarely if ever get used. They prefer to bury themselves.

Another solution would be to build a platform that is raised a few inches, enough for the gaboon to use as a hide underneath and the soaking bowl could be put on top.

If neither of them will work, or your Gaboon is like most I have come across, a soaking bowl inside the cage rarely ever gets used on its own. I take mine out weekly for a soak in a seperate container. So you could just have the water dish and a hide in the cage and soak it weekly outside the cage.

Jason

Suprisingly they are pretty stupid when it comes to drinking.

I have to agree with removing the soaking dish entirely, as mine rarely uses his on his own. My gabby will lay buried in the mulch, nose hanging up over the lip of the dish. As soon as I push his head closer to the water, he drops and drinks for a long and DEEP. So, if you are able to soak frequently, don't even bother with the dish.

But then again, if you want to cut down on in&out tank handling, leave a small dish in and just maneuver your snake to it once a day or so and move his face to the water.

A nice setup might be to have an upside down shallow U with a hole cut in the top big enough to get filled with your water dish which also allows the water dish to hang through. When your snake is under the water dish, it will allow you to easily add water while keeping the hide moist and cooler.