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watet/poop/heat questions

RepLover1022

RepLover1022

i love my little alice
Ok first my little girl is acting totally fine, healthy, etc I'm the one whose being a worry wart...

Ok few questions...

First she ate 5 days ago and after she spent the next 24 hours buried. Never saw her. No big deal she's digesting...well I never found poop. Idk if this is something to be extremely worried about and start digging through the cage or just let it be and assume she did her business underground...

Also, I've never ever seen her drink or get in her water dish. Yes I've woken up at 3am to see her out exploring so its possible I've just never seen her but it does worry me. That water is in the middle and a little cool to my touch so maybe its too cold?

Last, I can't seem to get the hot and cold side more than 5-6 degrees apart. She is only in a ten gallon. But my hot side is at 82-86 and the cold side is usually 78-80. I use a uth and have a standard 25w bulb up top. Is that ok? Or any suggestions?


Thanks.
 
First she ate 5 days ago and after she spent the next 24 hours buried. Never saw her. No big deal she's digesting...well I never found poop. Idk if this is something to be extremely worried about and start digging through the cage or just let it be and assume she did her business underground...
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It's not really a big deal if you haven't seen it. My girl usually does her business under the substrate and I don't find it unless I actually go hunting for it (on days I spot clean her viv). If you're really concerned, you can put her in a small amount of water, I do just enough to cover the tip of the tail and usually within 5min or so she does her business. I use room-temperature water, not warm, not cold (it will feel cool to you if its at room temp). (I've only done this twice and it was because her first two sheds were bad (I'm still learning!) but happy to say her last shed was PERFECT!) haha

Also, I've never ever seen her drink or get in her water dish. Yes I've woken up at 3am to see her out exploring so its possible I've just never seen her but it does worry me. That water is in the middle and a little cool to my touch so maybe its too cold?
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Again, nothing really to worry about. I've had my girl for 2 months now and only seen her drink once, and it was just a few beads of water that had dropped of the mouse packaging into her feeding bin. If you've had her for more than a week, and she's still alive, she's drinking :) I keep my water on the cold side to keep it from evaporating too fast and raising the humidity. If her cold side is 78-80, its definitely not too cold for her to drink. Temperatures feel cooler to us than they do to snakes because our overall body temp is much much higher than theirs.

Last, I can't seem to get the hot and cold side more than 5-6 degrees apart. She is only in a ten gallon. But my hot side is at 82-86 and the cold side is usually 78-80. I use a uth and have a standard 25w bulb up top. Is that ok? Or any suggestions?
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I would imagine that a 5-6degree difference is ok, but I'm really not sure on this one... I use a 20 long and it stays about 10 degrees different from side to side. I think that a 5 degree difference will be ok for them to thermoregulate... but I really don't know. Maybe someone more experienced can help you out with that question. Sorry!
 
Don't say sorry! Thank you! And yes actually its been exactly a week since I've had her! Haha. Her humidity is usually around 45% and is placed in the middle of her tank as well...I'm glad your little one goes "underground" as well. I wasn't really sure if that was normal....and she spends about 60/40 cool/hot so I'm hoping that's doing good since its almost even amount of time on each side. Thanks again
 
RepLover1022 said:
..if no ones replying I guess that means I'm doing ok?
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^^ It's fine. My girl has never pooped in her cage. She likely will when you are handling her. Put a heating pad under half the cage to help w/ digestion.
 
Oh, and the poop thing.. mine only go about once a week or so. She probably just went under the aspen. You can also tell when they are about to "go" because they'll get a little lump near their cloaca. I usually will put mine away if I see that when I'm handling since I don't enjoy getting pooped on haha.
 
First she ate 5 days ago and after she spent the next 24 hours buried. Never saw her. No big deal she's digesting...well I never found poop. Idk if this is something to be extremely worried about and start digging through the cage or just let it be and assume she did her business underground...
Click to expand...
You can have a thorough check when she's next due to be fed (if you feed in a separate container). Otherwise, it's pretty difficult to spot hatchling poop in substrate. You wont have any problems once she's bigger!

Also, I've never ever seen her drink or get in her water dish. Yes I've woken up at 3am to see her out exploring so its possible I've just never seen her but it does worry me. That water is in the middle and a little cool to my touch so maybe its too cold?
Click to expand...
I rarely see mine drink. Don't worry - that's normal. If a Corn gets dehydrated, their bodies start to seem wrinkled and saggy and their eyes sink in. I've only ever seen it in Corns which have been neglected and were left without water for long periods. None of mine get dehydrated, so it's logical to assume that they drink when I'm not looking. I'm sure the same is true of yours.

Last, I can't seem to get the hot and cold side more than 5-6 degrees apart. She is only in a ten gallon. But my hot side is at 82-86 and the cold side is usually 78-80. I use a uth and have a standard 25w bulb up top. Is that ok? Or any suggestions?
Click to expand...
If the UTH is controlled by a thermostat, then put the probe on the floor of the tank and set it until the temperature on the floor is 85. Then switch the bulb off - the UTH alone is fine. I suspect the bulb is causing a general overheat. Remember to monitor the temperature on the floor of the tank, as that's where the snake is. Taking the temperature of the air in the tank is a waste of time (the snake isn't up there) and will give a false reading - if it's 86 in midair, then the floor will be significantly hotter, as a UTH is designed to heat the floor surface and not the air above it.

Having said that, if you're measuring the temps at floor level with a digital thermometer (the plastic dial and cardboard strip types can be 20 degrees wrong either way), then that temp gradient shouldn't cause harm. A cooler cool end would be better though, so you could perhaps try switching off the bulb and seeing what happens.

Hope that helps!
 
..if no ones replying I guess that means I'm doing ok?
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I think you're doing great! It's good to ask questions when in doubt. It shows you care about your girl's health! :)
 
You are right I didn't respond right away cause I was not to worried. Ha ha I wouldn't worry to much about not seeing poop give her 6 months to a year and you won't be able to miss it. As far as very little difference in the hot and cool side. I am not surprised it is hot but like Bitsy said try turning off the bulb and see if that gives you a little more difference in temps.



BTW Love the new avatar.
 
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You should see the profile pic too :) she's been so good. I've turned the bulb off before to just see and it only got two or three degrees cooler and the cold side stayed the same...so it made even less of a difference. My uth isn't controlled by a switch or stat so I can't set it. The thermometer is a digital one tho.

Thanks everyone.
 
Just to be on the safe side I would go pick up a thermostat :)
The UTH, without regulation, can get around 130 degrees. Is your digital thermometer one with a probe? You'll want to place the probe right onto the glass of your tank. If it's still around 85 then that's perfect!
 
make sure the uth is only 1/4 or so under the tank. with mine I only use the uth at night and bulb during the day. if your are using just a bulb you can try to point it to just the hot side, or put a piece of paper or something on just like a 1/4 of the top to shade the cool side. hope that helps.
 
My boy always does his business under his substrate. I've had him for almost three months and he has always done it that way >< At first it really worried me and i have replaced his substrate with shredded newspaper, that didn't even fix it ^^ So I just clean his entire tank once a month, it doesn't seem to hurt him in any way when I do it this way :) So no worries you're doing just fine.
 
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