Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here are the pics I promised.

1. Tweek's new setup

2. Tweek (Jalisco Milk) in old habitat; pre-shed a couple of days ago (shed yesterday - ate 2 pinks today).

My observations:

a. I still cannot see Tweek because he buries himself (like he did under the newspaper). I'm guessing he's more comfortable, though.

b. The undertank heater doesn't put out that much heat. It's enough to keep him warm at night, but it only keeps the ambient temp on the warm side at about 80 deg F. I'm sure it's warmer in the Cypress Mulch. Is this sufficient, or do I need to keep my overhead light on for heat?

c. He hasn't entered the humid hide, yet, but I'll give him time. Maybe as the mulch dries out... (there is condensation on the side glass from this).

Walt

I like the new setup. It looks alot more natural. I think he still likes to hide because he feels more secure with something touching him on all sides. Most of my milks like to burry themselves during the day, but sometimes come out, but when the lights are off on that side of the apartment, they seem to be active and come out to play. Like I said, I don't use lights, so I personally don't like them (Just one more thing to keep up with, and a potential hazard). As long as the heat pad is putting out enough heat, then the light would only be for display purposes. In that case, I would go with a low watt soft white light bulb. Also, keep the time that the light is on, close to the same shedule that the sun is out. This will keep a more natural environment for him. The humid hide is nice, it may take him some time to find it, but if he likes it, it may become his favorite spot. If you want, try introducing him to it a couple of times. This may encourage him to go in more often. Since it is dark and small with litter inside, he may feel more secure.

Dave

again-the under tank heater is your best option,but no it will not increase the ambiernt air temp-it doesn't need to...read my first post again-it will heat the surface it is touching(the tank floor)....that's just how you want it....those dual thermometers are not necessary-just one will do-as the air temp will be essentially unchanged from one end of the tank to the other...the temperature gradient he needs will be of the surface temps,which again is acomplished via the u.t.h. on one side of the tank...definitely loks better/more appropriate for a milksnake now,though...try a pane of glass,like it was suggested earlier by someone else,that may work....don't put so much trust in those thermometers-stop trying to get them to read 80 plus degrees-that's a higher ambient air temp than is needed...as long as the air is about 74-77 degrees,the heat pad will do the rest,he will find the warmth he needs and be fine.

You should look into getting an infrared thermometer, proexotics.com has them for pretty cheap. That way you can get an acurate temp. of the substrate. If you're going to keep reptiles, an infrared therm. is absolutely necessary! The only thing a self adhesive therm. is good for is making sure the snake is somewhere between 80-100 degrees F, not exactly the precision you need for a living animal.
I hope that helps.
-Phil

Now that you've given the snake choices, you'll be able to see where he hides out most. The cypress is probably humid enough that he doesn't need to use the humid hide, but leave it in there to see what happens.

Also, if the humidity in the room changes from season to season, the snake's use of the hide areas may change. Or may not. But the choices should be there so you can see what he prefers. Then go from there. You may find out that simply misting one portion of the cypress is enough so you can remove the humid hide. You can be the judge on that over time.

Beautiful snake. Jaliscos aren't real common it seems like, and that's a shame because they are a nice snake to keep. Kind of like a mountain kingsnake mixed with a milksnake.

Thanks for the advice and the compliment.

Yeah, he's a beautiful snake. You should see him after he sheds. He's gonna be a killer adult.

Walt