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Excessive Bathing??

M

michaele

New member
My female Okeetee yearling seems to like to bath A LOT. I just fed her about 15 minutes ago and after putting her back in the viv she went right for the water dish and immersed herself. She seems to be healthy and everything, but my male Okeetee hatchling does not bath at all, so I have the two extremes here. Is this normal or OK? :shrugs:

Also, how long can snakes hold their breath? (she keeps her head under water for a long time -- a couple of minutes or more)

Thanks
 
Snakes can hold their breath for a *really* long time...well the adults can at least. I know that when we gas our massasaugas for surgery it takes about and hour for them to go down. They can smell that there's something not quite right with the air and will hold their breath for as long as possible. In fact, I heard tell of one large male that took THREE HOURS to go down for surgery. I wasn't there for that one though. Anyway, hope that puts your mind at ease some.
 
Maybe Ready To Shed...

Spirit said:
Is she in shed?
Click to expand...

She might be getting close; has not had the blue eyes yet but her belly is a little faded/milky. My male was about a week from shedding when he was like this.
 
Temps Good No Mites...

MegF. said:
Are your temps too high, or could she have mites?
Click to expand...

The temps are good (I have a UTH) which runs 85-87 or so. I have not seen any evidence of mites.
 
I'd say your temps are a bit high in my opinion. And there's probably your answer for the snake bathing quite a lot.

I generally try to keep temps between 75 - 80.

Quigs
 
To be honest...

For all we know, that particular snake may just like hanging out in the water more than others.

Quigs
 
85-87 is high?? I'd say 85 is optimal (though 90 would be on the high side for sure).

As for the soaking, Quigs is right. Some snakes just like to soak. I'm guessing that the reason for her soaking now is to aid in shed, but she could just like the water.

Either way, it's good to rule out other problems (like mites) before deciding she's like me and just looooooves her baths. :D
 
i also agree with some snakies who just love bathing. my 3 girlies never bath, they sure can drink an awful lot though. however my male loves getting in his water bowl and just laying in there for ages, and he does hold his head under the water for quite some time, so i wouldnt think there was anything wrong with that either. :)
 
Hi There! You got some good thoughts from the others about snake swimming ;) I just wanted to ask... regarding the temps, is the entire cage 85-87, or is it just on the warm side? and where is the water in relation to the heat. I like to keep the warm side (belly heat) about 85 degrees however, the cool side could be mid to high 70's. I think Quigs might be on to something. Most of mine like to soak too (usually before a shed). Good Luck! :)
 
Quigs said:
Venomoids?

What other reason would you consistantly do surgeries on a rattle snake for?

Quigs
Click to expand...


To put radio transmitters in them. Then they are released back into the wild and we track them each every day. See where they're going, and what types of habitats they seem to frequent. Its a pretty fun job, if I do say so myself...lots of time outside in the summer. :) Although, its quite a bit colder now (they're hibernating so we just take data on the groundwater near the hibernacula - since they hibernate in it)
 
KatieL said:
To put radio transmitters in them. Then they are released back into the wild and we track them each every day. See where they're going, and what types of habitats they seem to frequent. Its a pretty fun job, if I do say so myself...lots of time outside in the summer. :) Although, its quite a bit colder now (they're hibernating so we just take data on the groundwater near the hibernacula - since they hibernate in it)
Click to expand...

:-offtopic
That sounds fun! How do you get a job like that?? :)
 
I was on a natural science career listserve before I graduated, and that job popped up one day. Well, I applied, interviewed, and got the job, woohoo! Talk about good luck, and timing.

Also, sorry Micheale for getting so off topic. How's your girl Miss E doing? Showing any more signs of shedding yet?
 
WhiteLips said:
I just wanted to ask... regarding the temps, is the entire cage 85-87, or is it just on the warm side? and where is the water in relation to the heat.
Click to expand...

There is a warm side and a cool side; the warm side only runs 87 degrees when the heat comes on in our house first thing in the morning. Once the temperature in the house stablizes then the viv stablizes. The cool side is 70-72.

About 1/3 of the water dish is over the UTH.

Still no signs of mites or shedding. She's in the process of getting out of her afternoon bath right now...
 
:-offtopic
What a great job Katie...

You are very lucky to have walked right into a job doing field work!!

Keep us posted on the interesting things you do!
 
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