Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone, long time since I posted in here but I have a few questions about water bowls. My first one is do you really need a large tub of water for them. I have read some people do and some do not, is it a prefrence thing. Second should the water be heated, or if it is just a normal bowl, does it matter. Every time I go to the swap here I walk by a guy selling yellows and say I am going to get one and talk to him but don't. I have to say if the g friend did not take my wallet when I got home I was going to go back and get one. Maybe in a couple weeks.

Thanks
Jeff

` Anacondas can live without a soaking container. If they can get into it, it needs to be warm. I give mine one just big enough to fit into, they don't need to swim. Heated by floor heat to 85 degrees, or so. Evaporation trapped by sealed cage, so high humidity. Vinegar added to water to bring pH down to 5.0, tested with pH test kit, very important.
` Most importantly, if you're going to have a soaking container, it must be CLEAN, always. The acid water helps to inhibit most bacteria. But, a soaking container needs to be easily removable for thorough cleaning, regularly.
` Anacondas do better in captivity with completely dry, newspaper substrate. The humidity should be in the air, not on the ground.
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I totally agree....n/p.

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Why is the PH so important, and it should be 5.0, its going to be like owning a pool, with the water test. How often should you test the water?

Thanks
Jeff

` Since Anacondas are quite tolerant of low pH, lowering it is just one more thing you can do to inhibit bacteria, and promote general cleanliness. Same idea as in your swimming pool.
` After being in pet retail for years, I can assure you that cleanliness is one of the fundamental elements in successful captive critter husbandry.
` You must test your water and the effect of the acidifier on the carbonate buffer in the water. I use vinegar for this, and to spot clean, along with Hydrogen peroxide ( don't use peroxide for pH adjustment ), because these two cleaners are safe for the snakes, and me. You get a little sloppy with it, nobody dies, except the bacteria. On very hard water with high alkalinity, the vinegar will only lower the pH for a few days. I change water every 24 to 48 hours, so it's enough, as my water is quite alkaline. For the first few days, you test the water every 8 hours or so, to establish the pH trend. Once you've got it down, and assuming your water supply doesn't fluctuate in pH from the faucet, you just measure the vinegar by volume. I just use a graduated turkey baster.
` I use pH 5.0 because is is just about as acid as flowing riverine water is likely to get in their native habitat. Most of the Cichlids from the Amazon drainage will tolerate pH 5.0 fine, as long as it is stabile.
` Remember the Anaconda is going to excrete what ever it wants to, in the water. It's going to drag in any detritus from the floor of the cage. Warm water, full of dissolving metabolites can be a bacterial soup. It can stress your Anacondas health, and make it weak, or downright kill it. That's why may Anaconda keepers, who operate on a large scale, forego the soaking container, for health safety reasons. They offer them just a small bowl to sip from. Their Anacondas do fine this way.
` My interest is in their behavior, so I give them soaking water, as they do seem to enjoy it. I push my snakes to the limit of their tolerance of human intervention in their lives. So, I want them really comfortable. I figure it gives them a little more ability to recover from the hoops I make them jump through every day.
`
` I believe it helps me to get them to behave as in the picture below. This guy has got so lazy, he will actually sit there, with his mouth open, untill I lower the food into his mouth. I'm certainly not suggesting you try this with just any adult Anaconda.
`

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n/p

just curious..is the swap near chicago and is the guy selling yellow anacondas mark petros (breeder of the granite yellows)? if so then i deffinitely recomend that if you do buy a yellow anaconda...you have walked by the right place a few times and passed up some very good animals. if you do buy it and choose a water dish just make sure you are changing water very frequently. I do have a green that will tend to bite if deprived from water long and temperature is not perfect(moving) and if he goes for a swim in warm water he is instantly calmer and happier and can be handled with bare hands in less than a minute...but this is no recomendation in either way and just a note...health is by far the most important thing so take all advice to that category first. if you just saw the post on the blistered anaconda that is deffinitely because of submergable unclean water so no matter what you do...keep it clean....i see a quote there "if you don't want blisters on your anaconda...make sure you put it somewhere clean"

I always walk by and want to pick one up but do not. I think next time I will be.

Wow we live rather close to each other than, I live in South Bend Indiana. I visit the streamwood show myself.

Hey, I highly recommend Mark's snakes. I picked up a Yellow from him a couple of months ago, and the snake is doing great. Mark is a nice guy, too. I'm also from the Chicago area.