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how long without water

M

Mash

New member
Hey all, I have a question that is really bothering me, My corn Herman, is about 39" long at 1 1/2 years old, he eats and drinks well. here is my problem, last thursday the 16th, I had to leave home on an emergency. I fed Herman and left him with two smallish "butter" dishes with Water. I am not going to be able to get home until the 27th. he drinks a lot and I am afraid that by now he is out of water. I am going to leave sunday evening as soon as I can but its a 7 hour trip, will he be ok?
thanks
Mike
 
It will be okay if you consider not drinking the "WHOLE" time your away. It's not good for an animal or human. Since he drinks alot...I would be calling up a friend to go replace the water. Always have a plan for when you have to leave on such quick notice.

In the meantime you need to find one of these… The bigger ones are deep and can also be used as a hide. I was also just looking and I thought it would be a really interesting idea to use this. For emergency situations all you need to do is make room for it...even find a smaller one. You can also make a smaller one…such as this. I might even try making a smaller version to keep around.

I'm not real positive about how long snakes last without water but I'm sure they can. I still wouldn't want to find out your way. I think a human depending on size can only last a week in average temps without liquid. A snake is depending on the temps and humidity. No more than 2 weeks or you will cause dehydration....Not good at all and I hope you figure out what to do fast.
 
Mash said:
Hey all, I have a question that is really bothering me, My corn Herman, is about 39" long at 1 1/2 years old, he eats and drinks well. here is my problem, last thursday the 16th, I had to leave home on an emergency. I fed Herman and left him with two smallish "butter" dishes with Water. I am not going to be able to get home until the 27th. he drinks a lot and I am afraid that by now he is out of water. I am going to leave sunday evening as soon as I can but its a 7 hour trip, will he be ok?
thanks
Mike
Click to expand...


Yep! I live in the desert and have a pretty good idea how long a snake can go w/o water, as long as the humidity isn't awefully low in his cage. In this case it would seek out a humid hide.

I keep two water jugs in the cage, partially for emergencies like these. In this case the snake would have water as long as I was gone, no matter how long, and if it dirtied one jug, it would still have one more with pretty good water. I normally don't let the water go for more than two weeks.

With water containers like you have it should be changed much more often though.

TC :santa:
 
I think there's probably more of a danger of the water evaporating before your snake will be able to drink all of it.

Does any one know how quickly water standing still in a small bowl will evaporate? I'd think that after a week the shallow bowls might be empty. Perhaps I'm wrong though, maybe someone can chime in and give more of an accurate estimation.

I'm sure your snake will be fine.. he got moisture from his food items as well. For your piece of mind, if there's anyone that can refill the water containers, call them, but if it's not possible.. try not to worry.

Clean your snake's water bowl and give him/her fresh water as soon as you get home. Unless your snake was already sick or dehydrated, I highly doubt you'll be coming home to a dead snake.

Next time if you're going away, use deeper bowls as your water dishes. That cat water dish linked above looks like a good idea. I'd be afraid that somehow the snake would get into the water container part and not be able to get out, but that might just be me being paranoid. Anyway, it was a smart idea to put two water containers in with him, but if they are shallow, they will evaporate more quickly.

Good luck, update us!
 
Jessica, it depends on the level of humidity in the room.

Here in AZ in winter, we often have low humidity, although it's even lower in spring and fall. But I have to watch my snakes that have shallow containers quite closely. They can dry out in about two weeks. These are deli cups. Also, if we're dealing with juvenile snakes, they can't go w/o water as long as adults, because they have less reserves. Adult corns, like most snakes, are adapted to go w/o drinking for lengthy periods. Think about how long we go w/o rain sometimes. It helps to have a humid hide in the tank too.

Cheers...Terry
 
Jessicat said:
Does any one know how quickly water standing still in a small bowl will evaporate? I'd think that after a week the shallow bowls might be empty. Perhaps I'm wrong though, maybe someone can chime in and give more of an accurate estimation.
Click to expand...

I have seen my water evaporate quite quickly. I have a shallow waterdish from the pet store...similar to the depth of these
Average room temp is about 68 now because of winter and the humidity isn't really high..but the water dish is pretty shallow.

I filled it three days ago because I fed my snake. He drinks some and I looked at it this morning and it was near empty. I'm sure why it is almost empty is because he loves to drink after a meal and because of evaporation. So I say a week is pretty much going to take out a shallow bowl. I plan to upgrade it but I have no need to as of now because I'm always home and I always clean and refill it before I leave for hours.
 
Skully23 said:
I have seen my water evaporate quite quickly. I have a shallow waterdish from the pet store...similar to the depth of these
Average room temp is about 68 now because of winter and the humidity isn't really high..but the water dish is pretty shallow.

I filled it three days ago because I fed my snake. He drinks some and I looked at it this morning and it was near empty. I'm sure why it is almost empty is because he loves to drink after a meal and because of evaporation. So I say a week is pretty much going to take out a shallow bowl. I plan to upgrade it but I have no need to as of now because I'm always home and I always clean and refill it before I leave for hours.
Click to expand...

lol sorry...posted wrong link to that "these"....it is this one ---> http://s.petco.com/Assets/product_images/0/097612923308C.jpg
 
Skully23 said:
lol sorry...posted wrong link to that "these"....it is this one ---> http://s.petco.com/Assets/product_images/0/097612923308C.jpg
Click to expand...


Yep, those are way too shallow, imho. I use something like that for my lizards that don't want to go in the water. Snakes often times want to soak and they will go in the water. Just passing through gets water on them which is then spread to other areas of the tank. Water spill can cause a tank to become too moist or even harbor pathogens in extreme cases; so I try to avoid having any water spill. A large enough container won't ever tip over either, not that yours would.

Terry ;)
 
When we leave for a few days I leave some heavy ceramic bowls for the snakes, just to be sure. The corns are still too small to tip them and I haven't had them go dry yet. Grandma stops by to check on the pets, I know she'll give the snakes water if they're out, but I also know she doesn't want to stick her hands into the tanks.
 
ratsnakehaven said:
Yep, those are way too shallow, imho. I use something like that for my lizards that don't want to go in the water. Snakes often times want to soak and they will go in the water. Just passing through gets water on them which is then spread to other areas of the tank. Water spill can cause a tank to become too moist or even harbor pathogens in extreme cases; so I try to avoid having any water spill. A large enough container won't ever tip over either, not that yours would.

Terry ;)
Click to expand...

I'm going to try to find something nice for a water bowl instead of a plastic bowl but mine works for now ;)
 
Skully23 said:
lol sorry...posted wrong link to that "these"....it is this one ---> http://s.petco.com/Assets/product_images/0/097612923308C.jpg
Click to expand...


hahaha, yea I looked at that first link and thought, "hrmmmm, unless I have the scale totally off, those things would take quite awhile to dry out.."

I third that those things are bad water dishes. I've only used them for my Tarantulas before, but they seem to evaporate in days. I've kind of given up on them and chosen functionality over looks.
 
Jessicat said:
hahaha, yea I looked at that first link and thought, "hrmmmm, unless I have the scale totally off, those things would take quite awhile to dry out.."

I third that those things are bad water dishes. I've only used them for my Tarantulas before, but they seem to evaporate in days. I've kind of given up on them and chosen functionality over looks.
Click to expand...

I laughed when I clicked the first link to check it. Quite big for a snake ;) I was going to go to a store today but all mostly closed. They work if you are around it enough to fill it.
 
hey y'all just got back last night, herman is fine, he still had some water in one bowl, he is eating now and very happy.
mike
 
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