Holiday Preparation (not food related) :-)

Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

-Adam-

Active Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2019
Messages
285
Reaction score
133
Location
Victoria
Just wondering what people do regarding medium term unattended care for their pythons, when going away for a few weeks holiday.

From a food point it seems simple. Feed the snake a week before you go. Clean up the mess, and then feed again when you get back. (I searched this forum and found a wealth of information on that).

What I struggled to find though was what people do regarding both water, as well as humidity control.

Are there any 'tricks' of the trade that can be used, or for those who can't get people to come in every few days. Is there particular water distributors that work well, or do people use automated humidifiers. (I'm assuming that is why the Microclimate Evo has a humidity setting - but I'm interested to know if there's cheaper solutions of what people do).

TIA
 
Adam it's pretty simple. There's a couple of options. 1. - Leave a large bowl for the snake to soak and drink from if required. 2. One large bowl to soak and a smaller one to drink from (making sure the smaller bowl can't be tipped over). If it's in summer just turn the heat off for the period your away and if it's winter use a timer to just turn the heat on for an hour or so in the morning and again for an hour or two just before and after dark. I can only presume that you're aware that snakes do drink water occasionally but get the majority of their required fluids from eating whole food items.

Whether you're going away or not, you don't need to waist your money on a humidifier at all as long as there is water for a snake to drink and remain hydrated and the enclosure is set up okay. The need to set humidity at specific levels for most, if not all Aust species currently kept in captivity in Australia is rather misleading. As long as the temps are right and water is provided the humidity will take care of itself. You'll find that a lot of people will bang on about how humidity is needed to assist with shedding, others will go on about soaking and/or misting the cages to assist shedding but the truth is that when a snake has a problem with shedding it more often than not has nothing to do with humidity but a result of dehydration as a result of failing to provide appropriate sized food items or water on a regular basis rather than any other factor.

Please don't take this the wrong way but I've been following your Threads for the last couple of weeks and from what I've read I believe you're over thinking things. Keeping snakes is pretty simple if you just follow the basic rules - provide; a suitably sized enclosure dependent on the age/size of the snake, a basking spot/heat source and heat gradient, suitable substrate, water and cage furnishings including a hide.

As far as taking them outside...that's totally up to each individual keeper... but don't be mislead...they are simple creatures with a simple mind and have no reason or need to "connect" with their keeper and will take off at the first opportunity.

Cheers,

George.
 
Thanks GBWhite, and I don't take that the wrong way. I know I can over think at time - however I like to be as prepared as I possible can and if that means err'ing on the side of overthinking as opposed to stuffing up - I'll take it - as long as I'm not annoying you or others with my questions. (Not to mention overthinking has saved me quite a few $'s in the past by not being 'lead astray' by retailers trying to sell me more than I need by researching first. ;) )

But all round, it sounds like Aussie pythons are a lot more robust than I've been imaging so I'll take a step back and have a breather. The two bowls sound like a good idea - thank you!
 
Mate I'm fully aware that there is a lot of conflicting and often misleading info out there and there is definitely nothing wrong with asking questions if you're not sure about something. I'm a firm believer in the sayings..."Fail to plan then plan to fail" and "Piss poor preparation leads to piss poor performance". There are a lot of very experienced keepers on here that you'll find are only too willing to help, so ask away if you're not sure about something and need it clarified. I only chimed in because I noticed you appeared to be getting some advice from some novice keepers on your other threads. All the best.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top