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Substrate, burrowing, and poop!

Kyle M

Kyle M

New member
Hey guys, long time no see :)

So I've had my little boy, Tesla, for just over 2 weeks now. I've fed him twice, seven days apart. His first meal was a small f/t pinkie mouse, and his second was a very small fuzzy (that was yesterday). I keep him on about 4 inches of aspen (I used nearly all of an 8qt bag to cover the bottom of his tank) to allow him to burrow and thermoregulate in any way he could ever want to.. that's also why I have two hides and some large sticks for climbing, but that's pretty standard. Anywho! I haven't been able to find his poops. I know he has proper temperatures for digestion, the tank almost never falls below 75 except when I leave for a night and my computer/tv aren't generating heat. Even then, it still doesn't fall below 70 at the very least, and I always turn his heater on when I get home. No thermostat yet :( Sorry, I'm rambling a bit. Lemme try this in a simpler way.. my brain is just not working this afternoon lol.

Snake has tons of bedding
Snake has tons of hide/climb options
Temperatures are maintained as best I can with what I have
Snake spends nearly all his time burrowed
Temp on top (surface) of substrate is ~73-78 cold side, ~80-90 hot side
Below it is hotter, obviously
Snake spends nearly all of his time burrowed
I usually find him on the cold side
I sifted through ~6qt of aspen bedding and found no poop
This was a week after first feeding
I think I either missed the poop or he just hasn't pooped

Now those questions: Did I screw up by feeding him again without seeing poop?
Should I move him to his smaller tank with a newspaper/paper towel lining to monitor for poop? <-- I know, that seems obvious, but I feel like I might just be freaking out and that may not be necessary.

Thanks guys. Sorry if this all was covered somewhere, I searched around with the search bar but couldn't find anything.
 
You probably missed it. He is just a little guy. Does he look fatter just before his vent?
 
Myca said:
You probably missed it. He is just a little guy. Does he look fatter just before his vent?
Click to expand...

No, I kept an eye on him through the whole week and the area before his vent actually got smaller recently. I remember looking at his tail and thinking "Oh, someone got thinner." So I guess he did poop? He's doing what corns are supposed to do; hide most of the day and explore at night.
 
Your temps need to be taken from the bottom of the tank, directly on the glass, below the substrate. The high should be 85 there, the cool side should be 75. You really need to get this regulated, not just turn it on when you get home, if he is on the cool side more often and the top of the substrate is 90, it has to be probably over 100 underneath!

Even if you just get a cheap plug-in dimmer switch it will completely regulate the temps. It isn't good for him to have the changes like that, he uses the heat to help with digestion.

Since he is so little, you may want to put him in a smaller viv with paper towel so you will know for sure. Little guys do have little poops, it is easy to miss. Just get those temps regulated!
 
smigon said:
Your temps need to be taken from the bottom of the tank, directly on the glass, below the substrate. The high should be 85 there, the cool side should be 75. You really need to get this regulated, not just turn it on when you get home, if he is on the cool side more often and the top of the substrate is 90, it has to be probably over 100 underneath!

Even if you just get a cheap plug-in dimmer switch it will completely regulate the temps. It isn't good for him to have the changes like that, he uses the heat to help with digestion.

Since he is so little, you may want to put him in a smaller viv with paper towel so you will know for sure. Little guys do have little poops, it is easy to miss. Just get those temps regulated!
Click to expand...

I know I need a dimmer and I've been meaning to get one, but the last couple weeks have been extremely hectic because of some personal stuff with my mom. I hate making excuses and I feel like a bad dad/caretaker for not getting a dimmer sooner, but it's just been hard. I'm gonna be getting one this week though, I know how important it is.

I think I'm going to move him back to his 5 gallon viv for a few weeks or a month or two so I can get a better feel for him. I'm terrified of screwing up. I've mentioned before that this is my first snake ever, and I've done research til my eyes bleed..but research doesn't ever give you the experience of actually caring for a specific animal. I'm trying to do the best that I can for the little guy..which is why I'm here asking for help :)

I know it's been mentioned in several posts and I curse myself for not bookmarking or writing down the name of a dimmer...could you please recommend one?

And thanks a bunch, Smigon, for your help. You've been on pretty much every one of my posts, I really appreciate it. And so does little Tesla ;)
 
Unplug the heat mat and don't feed him until you have something to regulate the temperature.
 
Some heat is better than none. Too much heat isn't good, but based on the temperatures you listed and the size of the tank and hide availability, I personally wouldn't have worried too much. But that's just me.

On the topic of the poop, he probably already did it and you missed it. Baby corn poop is pretty small, like bird poop really. And if well hydrated, most of it could have come out fairly fluid making it even harder to find. If you're still curious, double check around corners and edges. For some odd reason most corns I've seen and read about tend to go in the corner.

If you're anything like me, these things will drive ya bonkers... so I totally second the notion of moving him back to the smaller viv and using paper towels/newsprint until he gets a bit bigger and easier to monitor.
 
Nythain said:
Some heat is better than none. Too much heat isn't good, but based on the temperatures you listed and the size of the tank and hide availability, I personally wouldn't have worried too much. But that's just me.

On the topic of the poop, he probably already did it and you missed it. Baby corn poop is pretty small, like bird poop really. And if well hydrated, most of it could have come out fairly fluid making it even harder to find. If you're still curious, double check around corners and edges. For some odd reason most corns I've seen and read about tend to go in the corner.

If you're anything like me, these things will drive ya bonkers... so I totally second the notion of moving him back to the smaller viv and using paper towels/newsprint until he gets a bit bigger and easier to monitor.
Click to expand...

Yeah he does have a lot of options. I was going to post a picture but I can't from my cell cut the files are too large.

Yeah it's been driving me insane lol. I've been worrying about it since I fed him first. I am going to get a dimmer, though because if I leave the uth on for too long it gets insanely hot on the glass. That's why I've been turning it on and off. I'd also like to clarify that I'm usually there all day monitor the temperatures.. I check them habitually every 20 minutes to and hour and turn the uth on or off accordingly and trying to keep it in a reasonable range of variance... like a few degrees. I'm not just leaving this little guy and hoping everything is okay... I'm a total worry wart.
 
Kyle M said:
I know I need a dimmer and I've been meaning to get one, but the last couple weeks have been extremely hectic because of some personal stuff with my mom. I hate making excuses and I feel like a bad dad/caretaker for not getting a dimmer sooner, but it's just been hard. I'm gonna be getting one this week though, I know how important it is.

I think I'm going to move him back to his 5 gallon viv for a few weeks or a month or two so I can get a better feel for him. I'm terrified of screwing up. I've mentioned before that this is my first snake ever, and I've done research til my eyes bleed..but research doesn't ever give you the experience of actually caring for a specific animal. I'm trying to do the best that I can for the little guy..which is why I'm here asking for help :)

I know it's been mentioned in several posts and I curse myself for not bookmarking or writing down the name of a dimmer...could you please recommend one?

And thanks a bunch, Smigon, for your help. You've been on pretty much every one of my posts, I really appreciate it. And so does little Tesla ;)
Click to expand...

You are so welcome! I want to see you and Tesla succeed. Here is the dimmer I bought from Home Depot and have just ordered another from Amazon for my newest addition.

http://www.amazon.com/Lutron-TT-300...391434107&sr=8-2&keywords=slide+dimmer+switch
 
Just in case anyone was wondering; he pooped, I found it and a new one. I just ordered a dimmer for his UTH and it'll be here in a few days. Thanks again for all the help. :)
 
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