I made a muck up!

[viktoria333]

Silly old me posted a new thread on the wrong forum page!I put my new thread by accident on the gallery and meant to put it on here! so here goes! I got my two amels last weekend,both housed separately,cool side between 70 and 80,hot side 80 and 90.both sides of thier enclosures have a hide in.I left them be until they needed feeding, which was three days ago.I have observed both drinking and noticed one is more outgoing than the other.I fed both separately in empty plastic containers as i keep both on beech chip now as i found kitchen roll to intrusive to clean when they pooed.Both had eaten thier pinkies and were put back in thier enclosures when the pinkie was bout half way down.I haven't had any regurges and last night was the first night i got them out to handle them I must say i was surprised as they weren't fidgety much and had settled within a couple of minutes.Niether looks like they are going into shed,how often is this supposed to happen.my hatchlings were hatched on the 27 july,so are very young,was also wondering when they will need to go onto two pinkies?also am i better off thawing them in warm water or just leaving them to thaw naturally for a few hours[the latter is what i did]any comments?if i had i camera would post some pics so can see for yourselves!Am hoping that I took the best advice given.And does anyone know of any reptile shows like the daytona one in england?would love to see one!Cheers! :cheers: :cheers:

 

[graffixcs]

It sounds like everything is going fine, I personally don't like the warmest spot to go above 87F, 90F is flirting with danger IMO.

I don't know about beech chips for substrate, have a look for aspen, this is great for corns, easy to clean, innexpensive (in the USA any way) and corns will often burrow into it.

You should have a couple of months before they go onto 2 pinkies, however every snake progresses at their own rate and cannot be given a "time" to step up. That has to be judged individually. I step mine up when they have a minimal bulge from one pinkie, this usually is at approximately 3-4 months of age. (very rough guesstimate)

To thaw pinkies out the warm (never hot) water works if you are in a hurry, I thaw mine by sitting them on top of the screen near the lamp, not too close though. This takes about 45 mins to completely warm 16 pinkies (for my lot).

As for English shows, I have no clue at all ....... sorry.

Hope this helps some ..... welcome btw.

 

[viktoria333]

Thank you!

Your concern for the higher end of the temperature is the same as mine,all i'm using is a heat mat to provide the heat gradient for the viv,and on hotter days this has obviously resulted in higher overall temps gor the viv,so am going to invest in a thermostat that will hopefully cut the heat down when needed.I was told by the chap that gave me the hatchlings that I would only need the mat..So off to the reptile shop i go..The reason why I asked for advice about feeding pinkies is that when I fed my hatchlings they certainly didn't need encouragement they both snatched the pinks from the tongs before i could get them in there!Both had swallowed them down to about halfway in 10 mins then they were looking about like they wanted seconds.I wondered whether it may be worthwhile offering maybe half a pink on top of the one I am giving them and leaving a day or two longer before feeding again?Defo don't want a regurge!Cheers!

 

[graffixcs]

I am feeding right now, so I did a quick comparison, the young ones that are eating 2 pinks are approx 18 inches now and have been on 2 pinks for 4 weeks now. The ones on a single pinky are between 12 and 15 inches. The one at 15 inches in my thoughts "should be on 2, but he refuses the second one, go figure, but smacks the first. (just to give you some idea)

It sounds like you are blessed with great eaters (as most corns are generally).

It is always better to be on the safe side, I thoroughly recommend a thermostat, especially with a heat mat.

 

[viktoria333]

Yes,I was very pleased when they snatched off the tongs,in a clear plastic geo tub each,in full view of everyone[i did try to keep the kids away but had to settle in the end for complete silence!]I think they were going to eat anyway,as one had been cruising for a couple of days so assumed it was hungry and it had also been five days since it was fed and then subsequently ensconsed at my abode.I have been looking at various threads on this forum and I KNOW I have been very lucky!Hope all goes as well net time,will be wed.I can't find any aspen in any of the reptile shops here,so will probably settle for reptibark.Would it be wise to offer a half pinky for seconds?

 

[graffixcs]

Reptibark works fine, do a search on it in these forums as there are alot of tips on that subject.

One tip on the pinkies, if you can, get say, a dozen at once, more is better. From this group of mice you will get slight size differences, and in some cases, very slight. I split my pinkies into one feed amounts into little ziplock bags and freeze them. (currently 17 pinks per feeding) When you split them pick out 4 smallest pinks (2 each snake) and offer 2 that way. 2 small pinks is a larger meal than 1 larger pinky. This will ease them into 2 mice at a time. Plus the "individual" bagged amounts means you can just grab 1 bag from the freezer and your done, instead of picking out mice from a clump of frozen solid blobs.

Personally I don't like half pinks, I find it messy when they are thawed, but that is just personal preference.

 

[DdotSpot]

Just a few things...

This is of course my opinion. I always thaw my mice out in very warm water to avoid any possible collection of bacteria from leaving a dead mouse sit out in the open air too long(plus its MUCH quicker and warmer).

Also, try not to take the temps above 85 if possible, a thermostat is nice, but a rheostat with a thermometer will work fine too. I've got a thread explaining how to make one for fairly inexpensive: How to make your own Rheostat.

On the topic of substrate...I avoid reptibark because I have had problems with it. It is very dusty and will stick inbetween the scales. I've also had a snake get injured in her cage from scraping her head on something, and that dust is NEAR impossible to get out of an open wound. It also sticks in the nostrils. If you can find aspen...great, but I believe that beech chips work very well also. Over here in the U.S. its not quite as available.
Here's a picture taken after my snakes head injury. You can see all the dust particles...such a pain...

Click to enlarge

Welcome to the forums! You will find tons of great people here always willing to help and we love new folks. Make sure to post some pics of your new baby when you get a chance so we can all 'oooh' and 'ahhhh'.

 

[colinmcc]

Beech chips are fine.

If you're happy with them, you don't need to switch over to repti-bark.

I did eventually manage to track down somewhere selling aspen (imported from the US) over here and have just started using that. Having used repti-bark for 13 years up to now, I'm quite happy with the aspen and will be sticking with it.

Not much in the way of shows in the UK.

There is an IHS show this month in Doncaster (I think) but it's not a sale show and is members only. Thats the only one I know of still to come in the UK this year.

 

[DdotSpot]

Oh and on the topic of size and amount of food items. I can attest that every snake is different...One of my hatchlings that was on pinks when I got her in January is now on good sized hoppers. Whereas some that are the same age are still on fuzzies. They all grow at different rates. Judge that lump size and the girth of your snake like grafix suggested...if there isn't much of a noticeable lump after eating...switch up to 2 for a couple feedings before moving up a size(i.e. pinky to fuzzy).

 

[viktoria333]

Nice One!

Thanks for all the good info,will be checking out some more equipment for the viv,my hatchlings are not free inside it,but are in separate containers on a heat mat inside it.I have already bought a spot fitting and a blue 40 watt bulb,will get a fair size cage to go round it.I haven't installed this yet as i haven't got a therm for that and i definately don't want cooked hatchlings!I was led to believe by the chap that gave me them that all i would need was the heat mat.I have looked into equipment and can get a "dimmer thermostat"which is what I'm looking at getting.I think this would probably be better than a light going on and off all day and night..A normal thermostat for them and i think I'm done.I also wanted to know if they need a certain amount of humidity,I'm used to misting the dragon quite a lot,and this made me wonder if i should be misting the snakes at all?They have a water bowl each that is large enough for them to bathe in and i thought that this may help with shedding but i haven't a clue what to look for other than blue eyes.Any thoughts on this?Should I get a humidity gauge?The chap I got them off didn't use them for his adults and they were very healthy looking I held all off them.They were all in very good condition apart from one that he had rescued which had a nasty burn from an unguarded ceramic bulb.Thats another story though..How long should I wait before letting them into thier vivs?Have got to purchase another viv but will have all the equipment ready for them.At the mo they are in separate boxes.. :grin01: