Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys,
I'd like to know what observations the rest of you have made regarding the temperatures of the basking areas as well as the temperatures inside the hide box or at least in that part of the cage. Also , what information is available on this subject concerning natural habitat. I.E. what are the underground temps. where indigos hide out , and how do those temps. vary througout the year? I can't get mine to bask. They only come out to crap. My hot spot is about 85 and 75 in the cool end hide box. I don't know how to achieve a greater gradiant than that. I'm not sure I need to. Whatya think? Thanks,
Tony.

Keep in mind I¡¦m talking eastern indigos here:

The habitat preference changes seasonally, with ¡§tortoise town¡¨ being the preferred habitat in fall and winter. All bets are off and they go everywhere in the spring and summer.

The coldest the burrows EVER get (judging from a cold winter day in GA) is about 50F.

If your snakes are not basking, there are several reasons to consider:

1- The warm part of the cage is too hot¡Kmid seventies this time of year may be a little warm for the hide. They will be fine¡Kbut just as happy as can be in the hide. No reason to come out. A hide of 65-68 at night and low 70¡¦s during the day will encourage them to come out.
2- They don¡¦t¡¦ feel secure enough to come out. Try putting a small ¡§secondary¡¨ hide in a warm part of the cage. When indigos come out of the primary retreat (the burrow) in the wild, they bask¡Kthen when warm enough they will (rather than go back in the burrow) often stay up, but take shade under a palmetto bush¡Kpalm fronds, etc. If you put in a small hide in the warm area, they will go in and out of both hides (encouraging more activity which is good). Also, they may stay out resting along the side of the secondary hide or wrapped around it¡Kthese snakes (especially youngsters) don¡¦t like to feel like they are out in plain view. Don¡¦t make them choose between feeling secure and thermoregulating.
Large adults (esp. males) are another story. They will bask out in the open for all the world to see with one of those bumper stickers that says: AINT SKEERT. ļ

Hope this helps

ok...I usually use MS word to spell check so I don't look foolish, but I'm getting some alien garbage now when I post so I'm going to have to do it the old fashoined way.

O.K., I get what you are saying and have already thought of all of the above. They have a secondary hide in the warm end of the cage. I just need to figure a way to cool the other end of the cage I guess. If I turn down the heat in the cool end then the same will happen in the other end. I may try moving the primary hide into a shelf under the cage to get a greater gradient. I think the answer lies in the gradient. and possibly the age of the animals. They seem [especialy the female] to shy away from light as well. Hence my confusion about the thermo-regulatig theory. Right know the night drop is down around 69, and day time high in the hot end is about 84. Day time in the cool end is about 74. With the current set up I'm only able to acheive about a 10 degree gradient. My guess is that's not enough. Whatya think?

Dean made some great points and the things that the researchers are discovering in the Georgia project are truly amazing. Some of their findings, which will be published one day, have changed the way I approach my husbandry program with couperi.

The bottom line is that I try to provide as varied a thermal gradient as possible. If we follow this species' seasonal behaviors, as Dean mentioned, we can begin to understand what temps we should be providing to our own indigos. Even in winter, my indigos enjoy coming out to bask and even though ambient temps are greatly reduced, they still have access to basking opportunities just as they would in the wild.

Knowledge is power and the more we can learn about these animals from field research, the more we can provide sound husbandry programs in a captive environment.