Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I can't promise this will be my last list of stupid questions (the longer I have Iris the more questions I think of), but I do thank you for your patience and your great responses. I really appreciate it.

1. I'm curious as to how all of you sanitize your various cages and snake furnishings (especially the water/soaking dish)? What products do you use? How often do you do a full cage cleaning?

2. I'd also like to know for the health of my snake what a normal fecal sample should look like. I must admit, the dark fecal matter I see after my snake defecates (almost always in the humidity box) is a bit... goopier (very technical term) than expected. But I know that BRB's drink quite a bit, therefore produce more liquid, and I'm hoping this is perfectly normal. Also being in the humidity box helps keep it moist, I'm sure.

3. My snake spends quite a bit of time in his humidity hide buried under the damp sphagnum moss. Could this cause skin problems for him? I keep the rest of his cage as humid as possible. There is almost always some condensation on the glass, and sometimes it looks downright foggy. I suspect he spends so much time in there more for the comfort and secure feeling of being buried under the moss than the actual dampness. I know snakes like tight spots for hides, and I'm afraid his other hide is a bit big for him yet. What do you use as a hide for your young BRB's? I want him to have a range of options that will all make him feel secure.

Thank you so much,
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Dani

Dani,
...I wash my water bowls once or twice a week using common antibacterial liquid hand soap and a scrub pad. I change the papertowel or newspaper substrate in cages for little snakes about once a week or more often as needed. I spot clean any messes with Nolvasan and only rarely do full cage cleaning.
...Little BRBs pass mushy feces. It is sometimes a grayish color. As they mature over the first few months their feces will become darker and less messy. Rainbow Boas are MUCH less messy than most of the colubrids.
...It sounds like you have plenty of humidity in the cage. You are probably right that the snake is hiding for security reasons rather than for the humidity. Most moss substrates are fine as long as you change them out before they get too messy or too acidic from urine.
Jeff

>>I can't promise this will be my last list of stupid questions (the longer I have Iris the more questions I think of), but I do thank you for your patience and your great responses. I really appreciate it.
>>
>>1. I'm curious as to how all of you sanitize your various cages and snake furnishings (especially the water/soaking dish)? What products do you use? How often do you do a full cage cleaning?
>>
>>2. I'd also like to know for the health of my snake what a normal fecal sample should look like. I must admit, the dark fecal matter I see after my snake defecates (almost always in the humidity box) is a bit... goopier (very technical term) than expected. But I know that BRB's drink quite a bit, therefore produce more liquid, and I'm hoping this is perfectly normal. Also being in the humidity box helps keep it moist, I'm sure.
>>
>>3. My snake spends quite a bit of time in his humidity hide buried under the damp sphagnum moss. Could this cause skin problems for him? I keep the rest of his cage as humid as possible. There is almost always some condensation on the glass, and sometimes it looks downright foggy. I suspect he spends so much time in there more for the comfort and secure feeling of being buried under the moss than the actual dampness. I know snakes like tight spots for hides, and I'm afraid his other hide is a bit big for him yet. What do you use as a hide for your young BRB's? I want him to have a range of options that will all make him feel secure.
>>
>>Thank you so much,
>>-----
>>Dani

np
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Dani

one good hidebox to use is plastic flowerpot drip trays, the ones that are solid (look like red clay). Just cut out an opening along the side for the snake to get in and out.
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PHLdyPayne

That's a great suggestion. I would have never thought of that. I actually have a ton of those lying around because I grow carnivorous plants, and they really are the perfect size for my little snake right now.

Thanks!
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Dani

1) For my adults I use 1 oz of bleach to 30 parts of water sprayed on everything every other feeding. I rinse it well and dry it with paper towels then air dry. I use Dawn dishwashing soap to wash the hides and water bowls. My babies get switched to a clean enclosure (exactly like the one they are housed in) each feeding. I pick up any deposits within the 24 hrs.

2) All the BRB's usually excrete urates and feces that are well formed. I have on occasion witnessed urates passed that were more like urine in an enclosure for feeding. I look at patterns to determine what I use to judge normality.

3) All my BRB's hide at all times these days except at night begining about 20 minutes after lights out. If they have something to burrow in they will. If they only have a hide to stay in that's where they are.