Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok well i have a baby burm 22" in length. His cage is 30"x12"x18" glass tank. top is all covered except for a 10" dome lamp. There are 2 hides on the hot side and 1 hide opn the cool side. I use cage carpet as bedding. There is a heat pad under the tank rite under 1 of the hides on the hot side. the temps in the hot hide is 100 on the floor at day 90 at nite. But the whole hot side besides the hot hide is 92 and the cool side is 83. at nite everything is shut off except for the heat pad bringing everything to around 78-80 at nite.

1. Should there be a nite time drop?
2. Should i do what someone reccomended and get a human heat pad that covers 1/3 of the cage floor bringing hot side floor temps to 9o and cool side to 82 and then shutting it off at nite?
3. Can someone give me some of their heating strageties for baby and large burms?

sorry for so many questions and spelling errors I really appreciate the help,

mike

First, I see some SERIOUS (potential) problems with your set up:

1) NO FRESH AIR EXCHANGE: you are basically dealing with a poor desing of the standard fish tank and screen top syndrome; that is, too great a loss of heat. You compound the problem by trapping heat inside the tank but creating a wonderful breeding ground for just about every nasty bacteria that can affect your burm. Stagnant air is one of the primary reasons why many burms are afflicted with RI (in my opinion based on working with MANY burms throughout the years).

2) DITCH THE TANK: seriously, if you really want to keep this snake properly, go with a cage that is specifically designed to keep snakes: Vision, neodesha, Habitat Systems, Crescent Moon Creations just to name a few. Tanks are great for fish; not burms.

3) Thermal Gradient: your temps don't sound too bad and if you insist on using a tank, I would personally recommend a ceramic heating element that can provide 24-hour heat in a localized area while also boosting ambient temps.

4) DON'T USE HUMAN HEATING PADS!!! I don't care what anyone says, they are a fire hazard. They are not intended to stay on 24 hours a day. There are a number of confirmed reports of ENTIRE COLLECTIONS AND HOMES going up in smoke due to improper use (IE....using these pads to heat reptile enclosures). Yes, we will now hear the "I've been using these pads for years w/out any problems" folks....but, they, too, could become a statistic some day. Why take the chances?

Hope this helps.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake Forest, IL

for now until my burm gets to be 5 foot it will be in glass tanks also no1 told me whether or not to have nite time drops?? i will probably get the human pad as i heard no bad about them until now unless someone can give me other advise as to heat my cage ..... thats not expensive such as ceramic heating.

Herping is not a cheap hobby. If you're going to be in it, be in it. Rob gave the warning of the human heat pads for the protection of all. Spending a little more now could seriously mean the difference between life and death. Not just your own, but anyone in your house, maybe your neighbors house should yours burn to the ground and jump to theirs. Now that would just suck to be dead, then get sued! Seriously, when Rob Carmichael puts in his 2 cents, you can rest assured it's some of the best info you're gonna get!

DZ

Thanks for the nice words...unfortunately, as this post just attested, too many immature keepers either don't want to accept good, solid advice (BASED ON DOCUMENTED FACTS TO BACK THEM UP...did the previous reader miss something?), OR, they want to cut corners which usually spells disaster in one way or the other; or, they just like to see people give them some attention by answering their questions but then either question good advice or just don't want to hear it. Many folks just don't want to do things properly when it comes to giving their animals the proper care. I honestly feel like there are times when we are dealing with infantile kindergarten kids on this forum (yet, I feel indebted to the SNAKES to speak up for them because of the horrible advice that seems to permeate this and other forums). Thankfully, though, there are some (a few) great people here too and that is what keeps this forum going.

As far as night time drops go, YES, a mild drop is perfectly acceptable but I would caution in allowing night temps to dip too far below the mid to upper 70's/ 80 for more than 6-8 hours. The key during these drops is to maintain optimal humidity levels while NOT sacrificing good air flow. As my previous comments and recommendations suggested, your set up is NOT appropriate for keeping a burm; period.

Just as the sun goes down in their home town, the temps should drop to low 80's but no more than 78 at night.

Mike,
What is the purpose of your question here if you are going to blatently ignore the advice that is given. Rob is one of the most experienced people we have here at this forum and even though we have disagreements there is absolutley no one I would rather get and take advice from. He has years upon years of experience and if you care at all about your burm then you should heed his advice.
Keeping herps is not a cheap hobby. It at times can be downright expensive. If you are not willing to spend the necassary funds to ensure that your snake is kept properly then I know you will not be willing to ever take your snake to a qualified herp vet if it is ever required. And believe me that you have a greater chance of needing the expertise of a vet if you keep your snake in an inadequate enclosure. That is one of the main problems with this hobby. People by a snake for pretty cheap thinking that I can afford this and then they skimp on the enclosure and when the animal gets huge, if it lives that long, and the feed bills start getting immense they skimp on the feed also. All this produces is a seriously neglected and uncared for animal. This is why I really hate the low prices of these animals. They truely have become disposable pets, just like fish and rodents(fish and rodent people please do not bash me ). If the prices were higher and people did the research prior to making the purchase the animals would be cared for better.
As for your cage, Rob speaks the truth. Human heating pads are used jsut as they are entitled, for humans. IF you want to use a heat pad then spend the damn money and get one designed for the purpose that you are going to use it. I recommend Kane heat mats. They are designed for the purpose you want. They are waterproof, which human pads are not) and will stand up to the abuse a large burm can put them through. Secondly whatever heat source you decide to use you need to use a reliable thermostat. IF you neglect to use a thermostat you are creating a situation for disaster. Your animal will either freeze, if the heat source goes out, or more than likely will severely burm itself because the heat source will get much to hot. Failing to not use a thermostat is irresponsible.
Lastly, get rid of the cage carpet. It is a nesting ground for bacteria. Regardless of how much you clean it the urine will soak through the carpet of fester in the bottom of the cage, creating a perfect environment for bacteria to grow. I strongly recommend newspaper. It might not be pretty but it is the absolutley best substrate for your snake( and that is what truely matters isn't it). If you must use a substrate other newspaer then use cypress mulch. Spot clean it as needed and change the entire bedding atleast once a month. You have the same problem with the mulch though and that is that the urine can soak through to the bottom of the cage.
I lied I have one more thing. Would you keep a dog in a bird cage? Then why in the Hell would you keep a snake in a fish tank. See where I am going here. IF you are going to have an animal it is your responsibility to keep that animal in an adequate atmosphere and keeping a snake in an aquarium is not adequate. By a cage from a reliable source or build your own. I am done. Todd