| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Steagle |
Posted - 25/01/2012 : 13:15:56
Hi All,
Would really appreciate some advice to a few questions I have as a newcomer to keeping snakes.
Here’s a brief rundown, three days ago bought a baby chocolate Californian king snake, he/she (For the time being we’re going to assume he’s a boy and have called him Victor, as he has a v marking on his head!) is probably about 18 inches long, handled briefly in shop And then again when got home.
Put him in his small tank which is on top of our wooden cabinet covered fishtank with the heat mat underneath covering ¾ of floorspace (After reading the intro on this site I will buy a new heatmat with a thermometer as the one I have does not have one), hide on warm side, water on cool side and as far as I can tell he seems fine, he’s in and out of his hide and seems to be sussing out his new home, he retreats into his hide most of the time when I go near the tank though which I guess is normal?
The questions I have are:
Is there anything wrong with the way his tank (positioning, heat mat, hides etc) is set up?
He was due a feed the day we bought him, but I have seen the general feeling is to leave them settle in for a week before handling (Plan to feed him in a separate tub) so therefore don’t feed (as this would involve handling) him until next week?
Cheers
Steve
|
| 2 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Steagle |
Posted - 25/01/2012 : 18:10:37
Huffy many thanks, your advice and that link is very helpful. I am just about to order a digital therm and thermostat, and will adjust the heatmat as soon as I get home (am still in work, unfortunately)
Thanks again will keep you posted and post some pics in time |
| huffy_86 |
Posted - 25/01/2012 : 17:51:08
Hi Steagle,
Congrats on the new snake. You'll have to post lots of pics for us to see once Victor has settled in.
Your set up sounds fine apart from 3 things:
Firstly your heat mat should cover no more than 1/3 to 1/2 of floorspace. The reason for this is that snakes need to thermoregulate and if too much area is covered by the heatmat it won't be able to do this properly.
Secondly you haven't mentioned anything about a thermostat. Personally I would keep the heatmat you already have and just re position it so that it doesn't cover too much of the tank. Instead buy a digital thermometer and thermostat to then regulate the heat produced by the mat. Without these essential items the mat left uncontrolled can reach temperatures which can cause all sorts of issues for your snake (burns, regurgitation etc). Ideally you need to have the hot end set at around 30-33c to provide a comfortable area for your snake to hide or digest in.
Lastly I would provide a second hide in the cool end as snakes don't always need to be in the hot area, and will feel much more safe having somewhere to hide where it's cool. It doesn't need to be anything special either, an old cardboard box would do the job with an entrance cut out for Victor to get in and out of.
Here's a link from our sister site thecornsnake.co.uk about setting up for a first snake. You'll probably find this quite helpful as a rough guide, however remember it is for corns so things like temperatures will be slightly different for your King.
http://thecornsnake.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9878
Hope this all helps, and if anyone can think of something I haven't mentioned or needs to correct anything I have feel free to as I don't consider myself an expert in any way! |
|
|
