Woma python tub condensation

[Stormer]

Hi everyone, i've never dealt with woma's before only smaller python's like Stimson's etc, anyhow yesterday I got my first Woma hatchling at roughly 4 months of age which I was told was NT locality and looks like it could be an Uluru due to his dark banding and dark spots over his eyes.

Anyhow i'm keeping him in a tub enclosure for now until he grows a bit and I move him into a 4 ft tank. I have everything he needs including thermostat etc to check tempertatures which is sitting around roughly 33 on his warm side. Only thing I don't have is a heat lamp, are these necessary for woma's? He's located in a seperate room with no real distractions but there is a window with open shutters across the room from him which let's sunlight into the room, is this also an issue?

He seems to just always hide on the cold end of his tub inside a hide and wouldn't accept food this morning only opting to strike defensively, which I could understand due to being in a new enclosure so just left his mouse infront of his hide which looks like he ate anyhow.

My biggest concern is that the tub seems to constantly fill up with condensation on the top and side of the tub, could this be due to not having enough ventilation holes or is there something i'm missing? If anyone could give me advice on this i'd really appreciate it as I only want to give this guy a good life.

Edit: He also won't come out of his cold side of the tank hide?

 

[Ceaz-]

Hi,

Any pictures of the setup?

Wouldn't worry about having a heat lamp if your already using a heatcord or mat (way safer for tubs) I gave my Woma a couple weeks alone before I fed her as she was fairly defensive in the first couple of weeks.

Does your water bowl have any contact with the heat source at all? Could be causing the condensation but ventilation could also be causing it, a picture of the setup might be able to help determine that.

Is there a suitable hide on the hot end of the enclosure?

 

[Ewan]

As mentioned. It's usually condensation. When building a tub rack/setting up a tub, I always start with low ventilation on the cool side only and add more holes until it stops misting up. Keeping the water bowl on the cool end and to a minimal size helps.

Doing it this way, you can look at the tub from the outside and if it is misted up, the python has done a 1 or 2 or turned over the water bowl.

You mentioned the Woma is always seen in the cool side even though you are recording 33 degrees on the warm end. How are you recording the temperature? If you are measuring ambient air temps then the floor temp could be much higher.

The other condition could be lack of suitable hide on the warm end as mentioned. Provide both if you can or just warm hide only. Once my guys get familiar with the tub rack I notice they rarely use the hide but it is safer to provide it for new arrivals. They will often use it when in shed as well.

Any questions let us know.

Cheers. E.

 

[Ryan-James]

I gather from your post you've only had him for a day or two? let him settle in until he gets a bit of a system going, once he is comfortable you should see him basking mid morning or late afternoons/ evening etc.
He is just a hatchy too so it's inbuilt in his genes that everything wants to eat him, for the time being a piece of fake plant to give him some cover to move from area to area safely and be vigilant about condensation, let the sub dry out a bit or add more ventilation etc, respiratory issues with womas and blackheads are best avoided.

 

[Stormer]

Hey guys, thanks for all the responses and sorry for the late reply, I just really wanted to sort his tub out ASAP.

Just a bit of an update, I rearranged his tub a bit and added more ventilation etc and the tub barely gets condensation anymore if not any at all, my theory was the substrate was a bit too moist from the store to start with so I dried it out a bit etc.

I monitor his temperatures with a thermostat plugged to the bottom of his tub under his warm hide and generally have it set from 31 to 34 degrees, he doesn't really venture out much but at least he's on the warm side with no condensation now, he does have a very curious personality and will often see him poking his head out when I come into the room to see what's going on, and with time he slowly comes out and explores on his own, which is when I pick him up when he comes over the edges into my hands with no issues.

I have noticed he's a very defensive snake though, if I lift his hides in the enclosure he instantly bends into an S shape and yesterday when he slithered off my hands onto the couch he instantly went into defensive position, it seems like unless he's in my hands he doesn't calm down, will this pass over time? He's never bitten me yet so I don't see it as aggression, I was told he's roughly around 4 months old and he looks to be an Uluru Woma, either way i'm absolutely happy with him and expect to learn as he grows.

 

[Ramsayi]

Measure temps with a thermometer,both hot and cool sides.A thermostat will most likely not be accurate at all.

As far as humidity goes there is nothing wrong with just supplying a water bowl for a day once or twice a week.