getarealdog
Well-Known Member
Works for me.
How to care for lots of snakes.. Efficiently:)
- Thread starter JezJez
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Works for me.
graffix
Not so new Member
Not everyone will agree with my method but tough, it works for me.
To me anything that is not a tub is a display enclosure. Snakes in these I feed in tubs. While they are eating is when I do any additional cleaning that is needed. I spot clean as I see it to keep maintenance down.
Water bowls I have double what I need, this way i use a bucket to empty the old water into and put the used bowl into 60ltr tubs. I replace the bowls with clean ones and fill them. The used tubs I soak overnight in a mild bleach solution then rinse them off well and leave in the sun to completely dry. Then they are ready for the next rotation. I just find this is quicker in the long run than washing each individual bowl and replacing it.
Hatchy tubs I use a similar method to the water bowls, set up a new tub, swap the hatchy into it and slot it back into place, done with minimal fuss.
I keep my records in an excell spread sheet. One because it's easy and secondly if I do move any animal on I can quickly print off the relevant information to that animal.
Example of simple record system .......
Cage 1
XYZ Python
Hatched DD/MM/YY
Date;
DD/MM/YY Blue
DD/MM/YY Shed
DD/MM/YY Pinky Mouse
DD/MM/YY Pinky Mouse
DD/MM/YY Pinky Mouse
DD/MM/YY Blue
DD/MM/YY Shed
etc etc
This system is simple, quick to update and can include any detail you feel the need to record, such as pairing dates, egg laying etc.
I keep records on all my animals for the simple fact I can't tell what will happen next week, next year, 10 years time. I may have to part with animals I do not plan on moving so I keep records.
To me anything that is not a tub is a display enclosure. Snakes in these I feed in tubs. While they are eating is when I do any additional cleaning that is needed. I spot clean as I see it to keep maintenance down.
Water bowls I have double what I need, this way i use a bucket to empty the old water into and put the used bowl into 60ltr tubs. I replace the bowls with clean ones and fill them. The used tubs I soak overnight in a mild bleach solution then rinse them off well and leave in the sun to completely dry. Then they are ready for the next rotation. I just find this is quicker in the long run than washing each individual bowl and replacing it.
Hatchy tubs I use a similar method to the water bowls, set up a new tub, swap the hatchy into it and slot it back into place, done with minimal fuss.
I keep my records in an excell spread sheet. One because it's easy and secondly if I do move any animal on I can quickly print off the relevant information to that animal.
Example of simple record system .......
Cage 1
XYZ Python
Hatched DD/MM/YY
Date;
DD/MM/YY Blue
DD/MM/YY Shed
DD/MM/YY Pinky Mouse
DD/MM/YY Pinky Mouse
DD/MM/YY Pinky Mouse
DD/MM/YY Blue
DD/MM/YY Shed
etc etc
This system is simple, quick to update and can include any detail you feel the need to record, such as pairing dates, egg laying etc.
I keep records on all my animals for the simple fact I can't tell what will happen next week, next year, 10 years time. I may have to part with animals I do not plan on moving so I keep records.
nagini-baby
Very Well-Known Member
i brought myself a petty cash book as its already ruled into colums and each snake has a double page spread feed, shed and notes. i tried individual cards but it didnt work for me cos i never had a pen handy when i was feeding ect but this is working well
saximus
Almost Legendary
I have a spreadsheet that a member sent me a little while ago and I modified slightly.
This is a couple of screenshots. As you can see I only have six snakes at the moment but it's expandable to just about any size you want. The "overview" sheet at the front is good because it gives you a snapshot of how your collection is going. You can change the times between feeds so for adult snakes you can make it 14 or 28 days and for hatchies you can make it something like 7-10. I've also set it to turn them red when a feed is overdue. There used to also be a column for dates that they pooped but I found that unnecessary.
This is a couple of screenshots. As you can see I only have six snakes at the moment but it's expandable to just about any size you want. The "overview" sheet at the front is good because it gives you a snapshot of how your collection is going. You can change the times between feeds so for adult snakes you can make it 14 or 28 days and for hatchies you can make it something like 7-10. I've also set it to turn them red when a feed is overdue. There used to also be a column for dates that they pooped but I found that unnecessary.
Fantazmic
Very Well-Known Member
I only have four snakes......it is easy to keep up with all their needs and honestly four snakes is less work than one dog.
However, I can see that as a collection increases there is more work and essentially I cannot see how you can reduce it other than being very systematic in what you are doing with the snakes.....
Someone earlier in the thread said 'know your limits' and I think that is really important.
For some people owning snakes becomes their 'job' and they can have lots of animals because they can afford the time to look after them because that is what they do....bit for others like me.....it is important to realise that if you have other things in your life then you really have to think of the animals best interests and not let your collection get so large as it not be able to care for them.
In addition.......to be healthy I really beleive snakes need space to move....a large collection with everything in plastic trays is probably not fair on the animals....
Just my opinion.
However, I can see that as a collection increases there is more work and essentially I cannot see how you can reduce it other than being very systematic in what you are doing with the snakes.....
Someone earlier in the thread said 'know your limits' and I think that is really important.
For some people owning snakes becomes their 'job' and they can have lots of animals because they can afford the time to look after them because that is what they do....bit for others like me.....it is important to realise that if you have other things in your life then you really have to think of the animals best interests and not let your collection get so large as it not be able to care for them.
In addition.......to be healthy I really beleive snakes need space to move....a large collection with everything in plastic trays is probably not fair on the animals....
Just my opinion.
Hi Saximus,
I hadn't really given thought to keeping my records this way but I must say it looks really simple & efficient & probably the only way to go as a collection grows.
Would you be willing to email me the template that you use??
Cheers,
Jez
saximus
Almost Legendary
Yeah I'd be happy to. Just PM me your email
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