Hey guys, I am the process of changing my snakes over from newspaper substrate to Sani-Chip bedding, at this point I am forced to purchase a wholesale order of the stuff a TRUCK-LOAD of it, for $350! I cannot find ANYONE who will sell me a few bags, and I beleive each bag is 30 pounds.
I am not having much luck this year with my animals eating for me. After talking to many people I'm thinking it has something to do with my cage setup. I'm using newspaper, with lots of crumbled sheets for the snakes to hide. But at night when I go to feed, I have to remove some of the paper, and I wonder if this in itself is enough stress to cause my feeding problems.
When I offer the LIVE rodent to snake, I usually have to dig them out from all the newspaper before feeding, this can't be good.
I'm hoping if I get the hide-boxes from Freedom-Breeder and switch the bedding I will have some better luck.
Out of my entire collection of roughly 50 ball pythons, I have only handful that have been feeding just my normal 2002 CH girls to be exact, everone of my 2001 HET albinos ARE NOT EATING and have not been for sometime. Because of this fasting my rat colony is out of control, as well.
I am 100% sure my temps and humdity are PERFECT, but I don't think my cages are setup right, I mean c'mon I have 7 female HET albino girls and NONE OF THEM ARE FEEDING NONE!! Some since November of last year.
I know I have always ranted to DEATH on the feeding problems I have had in the past and I want to thank everone for all the encouragement you have given me over the past 3 years, but I'm finally at the end of my rope. I breed all my own rats, buy LIVE mice. I offer the snakes dead,live, wiggled from tongs you name it. I only offer at night once every 10-days, change water once a week, do everthing not to bother them, and of course I don't handle them.
I just cannot beleive anymore that its normal for more then half of my collection to JUST not be feeding, at this time of year.
Just wish I knew the dimensions on the hide boxes, ESP the ones for the medium freedom-breeder tray. There website has nothing on it, and they say it's being updated, but that still has not happend.
Gonna switch the bedding, going to add hides to each cage, if that doesn't do it, I have to honestly say I will be throwing in the towel ONLY with Ball Pythons. I just like snakes to much and will always have to have a snake or two.
Thanx for reading, I am off to order 1-million pounds of Sani-Chips, guess I could use the stuff for my rat colony as well.
PS I was considering using cypress mulch but this stuff is IMPOSSIBLE to find. I have found little tiny bags of it from Zoo-MED but at $7 per tiny bag, that's just highway robbery.
Have went to every green house garden center in my state, one place had about 7 different types of mulches, most of them were toxic cedar junk, when you ask for cypress they seem to know what I'm looking for but they all have the same answer, WE DON'T SELL IT.
