more questions

[chad]

my new sw carpet python is in its click clack.

i have noticed it behaving just like a normal snake, only i havent seen it drink.
the water bowl that was filled 75% on monday, was at about 2% on friday night, i re filled it. now is the water going down coz the snake is drinking it? or is it going down coz of evapouration? i did lose abit of water due to spilliage a couple of times. how much/often does a snake drink? i havent seen it drink at all, ive only ever seen it use the water bowl and a stand, for when its trying to cool down it uses that as a 1/2 way point to the top of the click clack

also, lets do some aging please. by process of elimination i believe that it is only 5-7 months old. because it is around 30cm long i reckon, and very very thin, with a tiny head. and i belive that if it wasnt from this hatching season, then it would be last years, and thus be more like 18 months old, and much bigger.
thats pretty correct isnt it?

it has a loverly temperment, i handled it yesterday, took some pics on my phone, very inquisitive about what was infront of it, and it hid on my right hand, trying to avoid the evil left hand .

im going to attempt feeding on sunday night... around duskish or abit later. b4 i dangle the food in, im going to place a flat (cleaned) rock into the centre of the click clack, as something the snake can use, ill bury it so its just like poking up as a small plateu, if the snake doesnt take the mouse immediatly, is it ok to leave it lying on the rock over night? and remove in the morning?

if i begin this process, will it become harder to hand feed my snake? will it only want to eat when i leave it overnight? or is it just a stepping stone to accepting food from me?

its only a young fella, so it needs to eat often, it was due for a feed on monday, so id say its close to 2 weeks now, should it be pretty hungry now?

[chad]

also another question. what water do i give my snake? we have one of those fridges that have a tap in the back, that then has water coming out of the fridge at the front, the water comes out filtered from the fridge and chilled.

i noticed a very fine layer of slime on the inside of the water bowl, i rubbed this off with my hands, what else can i do to prevent anything like that building up? is there special water i should give my snake?

[waruikazi]

Well i ddn't read th elong q's but just tap water is fine for your snake. don't bother with any fandagled stuff just a waste of money imo.

[chad]

lol, thanks for that, maybe u could have a read and answer the other annoyingly long questions i mannaged to ramble out

[waruikazi]

should be hungry by now. leaving it in the tank overnight is fine. just don't let it rot in there. age would probably be about 5-7 months judging by your description and i don't think a snake that size could drink that much water. they do like swimming so maybe it displaced all that water by going for a swim.

Think that covers it all

[chad]

yeah, so i wrote a page... and u mannaged to answer it all in a paragraph, thanks. good, i hope its pretty peckish by now, coz it would realy set my mind at ease to see it eat.

another thing, it hasnt used the cardboard box hide we put in, well it uses it, to climb on and to hide behind. should i replace it with a different box? coz it was in that box b4, it was constricting its prey when we arrived at the shop,a nd the owner took it off it so we could have a look and purchase the snake. maybe he disrupted its feed and now it doesnt want to go back in there. when i place the rock in its enclosure 2moro ill put a diff hide in i reckon

[serpenttongue]

Chad, snakes dont drink that often and go for long periods without water. You'll find that snakes will most often drink when fresh water has just been provided. They tend to dislike water that is warm/stale. The water you've provided is evaporating and thats normal. To avoid the slime build-up i use plastic lids as water bowls for my hatchlings and just throw them out and replace them with each water change. I suggest you do the same.

You say you'll slightly bury the rock. Does that mean you're using BC cat litter? I would be careful feeding a hatchling on that stuff. It can stick to food and accidentally be swallowed. I think you should keep your snake on paper towels or newspaper.

When offering food just use a pair of forceps and slowly show the food to the snake. Let it give the mouse a few tongue flicks and then slowly pull the mouse back. With any luck the snake should follow it with interest. If not then place the mouse in the tub and leave it overnight. If it's still there in the morning then throw the mouse. I hand feed all my hatchlings with forceps during any time of the day.

Leaving the food in the tub overnight will just be a stepping stone. In time your snake will take prey from you and will await feeding time with enthusiasm.

I would forget about the cardboard box. I never give my babies hiding boxes. I just make sure theres enough layers of paper for them to go under and they seem much happier under layers of paper towels than in a box.

[chad]

yeah, it is bc litter. thats why i decided to put a feed rock in so the litter doesnt stick. coz i had it stick once b4. maybe ill place some paper towls over the top of the litter , coz otherwise id have to reset all my heating equipment. only thing is, then it iwll use the litter paper as a place to hide

[chad]

its not realy a hatchling is it.. its 6 months old and 30cm long

[serpenttongue]

Thats still a hatchling as far as i'm concerned.

[chad]

yeah, cool thnx for the classification, that makes me feel better, coz i wanna baby snakey

[Adandiluvsmyreptiles]

Just be careful with using tap water. Some pple say tap water is fine but i know a mate who lost his BHP to tap water. Can't remember the name of the problem. It turns out the pipes in his house were rusty and old so contaminated the drinking water. Was diagnosed by Vet Bob at West Toowoomba Vet Surgery. When i had my BHP i always used spring water but now i just use tap water.

[chad]

yeah, like i said, our fridge is connected to like a normal tap, and the water comes thru the fridge, via a filter, and then gets chilled. best thing for summer, highly recomended .

so what if i have a water bowl, to use for my snake, how do i stop the film developing at the bottom of it

[Julie-anne]

Originally Posted by chad

so what if i have a water bowl, to use for my snake, how do i stop the film developing at the bottom of it

I don't think you can, this will always happen when water is left for awhile.
Just change the water everyday (take the bowl out, give it a wash and put fresh water back in), it only takes a second, your snake will have fresh water everyday and it prevents the slimy build up.

[chad]

ahaha, my snake has used the hide now. i heard it rummaging around last night, it pushed it across from the back tot he front of the enclosure.

its had a field day last night, the thermomiter stuck the glass is all skewed, and the cardboard hide has been pushed from the back left, to the middle front, and it has been tipped over onto the 45 degree. its leaning on the water bowl.

what does this mean... is it bored? is it hungry now, like searching for food?

i plan to feed it tonight anyway.

i dont want to try now because if it doesnt eat the mouse now, then i cant leave it over night.