Rats - Corns

[bfckarlos]

Hi there,
I was just wondering if Rat Snakes feding habits differ to Corn Snakes.
I have three Baird's Ratsnakes
1 - missing for nearly two months now
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14826
1 - all fine and dandy,
and now just recently aquired a third 4 days ago.

The situation is that my existing one has not fed now for a month, he shows no sign of illness or problems, just doesn't want to feed. However strangly, the new arrival, before I got him the friend where I got all of them from, has said that he aslo is not interested in feeding (yet his corns are going barmy and wanting to feed more frequently).
I was just wondering if Ratsnakes slow down their eating habits if the temperature cools down.

They are still both active, and show no problems.

[cornman1979]

the main differance is that rats grow slightly bigger (not much) and are slightly more aggresive (not saying thier aggresive just a little more of a handful while young). food wise they both eat the same medium to large mice, day old chick's etc.

[cornman1979]

Sorry forgot to mention, rats do have a hibbit of slowing a down when it becomes coolder, but so do corn's (mine have slowed down, but the U.k. weather isn't as warm as most of the US).

[bryxbry]

I have a WC Black Rat. It has not slowed down eating one bit, nor have my corns. The temps here have dropped, but my cage temps are right around 80 degrees. Are you using anyhting to heat you cages? Do you jsut keep the cage temps and the current room temp?

[bfckarlos]

I have a WC Black Rat. It has not slowed down eating one bit, nor have my corns. The temps here have dropped, but my cage temps are right around 80 degrees. Are you using anyhting to heat you cages? Do you jsut keep the cage temps and the current room temp?

I use UTH and tank temp is around 70f constantly. We in the uk obviously have lower temp but the heating is always on.

[cornman1979]

Is 70 for the warm side of the cool side of the viv? if it's the warm side then unless your burmating this winter and intend dropping the temp further, it's a little cold. I also live in the UK but can still keep a warm side at 28-30 deg c (82ish f if you prefer farenhight) in the winter for the warm side.

[bfckarlos]

Is 70 for the warm side of the cool side of the viv? if it's the warm side then unless your burmating this winter and intend dropping the temp further, it's a little cold. I also live in the UK but can still keep a warm side at 28-30 deg c (82ish f if you prefer farenhight) in the winter for the warm side.

That is an ambient temp at warm end of tank, i do know that at ground level the temps do go up, cos the last time I took reading using a digital thermometer the temps were around 34-37 C.

I have considered using a heat lamp for bring up the ambient temp, is this a good idea?

[cornman1979]

I was going off floor temps, so i guess were roughly the same temp.
i do use a 25watt bulb to help with the ambiant temp and also to show off my snakes better, your temps (going off your floor temp's) are fine as i would use them myself, and have done in the past for rats. The heat bulb is up to you if you want to up the air tamp slightly for the winter when the air temp generally drops but the floor temps remain stable.

[bfckarlos]

I do use a table 40w lamp which i point at the side of the tank to give some extra warmth and as you say to show them off better and now as the days are now getting darker it also helps them get some light.
On a couple of occasions when I felt the temp had gone too low I open the lid and let the light's heat go into the tank, but unfortunatley the last time I did that, I had an emergency phone call and left it open like that for 4 hours and one of them escaped, and he/she is stll missing.

[cornman1979]

Thats the down side to doing it that wy and i'm sorry for the loss (you may still find him, just don't give up hope). My light is actually internally screwed into the viv and is inside the viv and is on a timer for on and off time (9am on, 11pm off), but i do know people who do use an external light to shine in and warm the glass on the front of the viv slightly (not to close or the glass will get hot) and this works for them with misting to raise the humidity.

[bfckarlos]

Thanks, I still keep looking, cos some of the stories I've read tell of finding snakes months later, so hopefully come spring he/she will reappear, being not too worse for the experience.

[cornman1979]

maight be a bit thin but appart from that i bet s/he has burmated so their's always a chance at this time of year that it will reapear, thats what i tel myself about my little one that got out. But if i don't see him/her by march april I i don't think i will.

Anyway hope you find him/her and it work's out.