FAQ: Herp Help

[Hawkeye]

This FAQ is for topics that have come up in Herp Help that people have summarised the general feel of the topic. It is designed for new snake owners to look at topics already discussed so that they can access help easily and then ask specific questions to the forum members.

Any member can write a FAQ but the topic should be sent to one of the moderators of the forum who will include it in the FAQ list.

PLEASE DO NOT POST REPLIES DIRECTLY TO THIS LIST

TOPIC:

1) FEEDING LIVE VS DEAD RODENTS
2) COOLING SNAKES

 

[Hawkeye]

Feeding live vs dead rodents

This is an interesting topic that has been brought up on several occasions. What is the best thing to feed snakes?

Most people have the consensus that the best feed for snakes is probably thawed frozen rodents for several reasons:

1) Easy storage
2) Dead animals have no chance of harming snake
3) Long term freezing probably kills parasites and worms that may be infesting the rodents

There are some disadvantages however with thawed frozen. They include tissue damage from things like freezer burn and formation of frozen fluid crystals in cells damaging the cells. Degradation of the tissue also occurs over time and a storage life of 6 months is expected for frozen rodents in a standard freezer.

Also there needs to be thorough thawing, preferably in hot water to a decent temperature (remember the snake will determine its prey by taste end heat differential). I use maximum heat tap water (55 degrees celcius) and change the water 2-3 times to ensure a high temperature when thawing until the rodent is fully thawed and warm.

Fresh killed rodents have all the good attributes of frozen thawed with the guarantee of good scent of the feed and also warm very fresh prey. The disadvantage is that the parasites and worms may not be destroyed prior to feeding and may infest the snake. If your colony is clean and regularly wormed however this should not be a problem. There is also the small issue of being able to keep a litter of rodents the same size when you are only harvesting a few at a time when the snake is not growing as fast.

Feeding live animals may be required to get the snake to react to maximum scent and movement cues. During this time the snake and the prey should be closely watched as damage to the snake may occur with the prey struggling to survive and it may even kill the snake. Live prey being fed to snakes is also seen as cruel by some people just giving the practice of keeping snakes a bad reputation in the wider world.

Prepared for APS by Hawkeye

 

[Slateman]

written by mystic herpsYou will only have to cool your Coastal throughout winter,not put it into a state of comotose hibernation that Diamond pythons need.
The daylight photo-period should be reduced down to 5-6 hrs a day at this time and feeding stopped for the 3 month period.
Temps should range from:
24 day - 16 night in June
20 day - 16 night in July
24 day - 18 night in August

Give your snake its last feed 2-3 weeks before June so it fully digests its last meal before being cooled.Your snake wont lose too much condition during this time as it will be in a state of low metabolism,so not much energy is being used at this point.

PS
The table of temperatures above is a rough guide and can be modified to suit (experiment and use a cooling regime that suits your requirements)
However I do not give a sudden temperature drop in June but slowly reduce and raise my temps to a certain regime throughout the entire year.

EDIT:
I made this post awhile ago on APS as well as another site:

I cool during june,july,august.
I introduce them during july,august,september.
Once mating has been observed I continue introducing the male on and off again untill no further interest is shown.This I feel is to ensure a viable clutch.I have a time table that I drew up in one of my record keeping books that I try to stick to.I'll post it here and hopefully it may help a few members that are new to breeding.

Jan 15 hrs daylight 32* night 24* (eggs hatch)
Feb 15 hrs daylight 32* night 24* (eggs hatch)
Mar 10 hrs daylight 30* night 22*
Apr 10 hrs daylight 28* night 20*
May 10 hrs daylight 26* night 18*
Jun 5 hrs daylight 24* night 16*
Jul 5 hrs daylight 20* night 16* (introduce)
Aug 5 hrs daylight 24* night 18* (introduce)
Sep 10 hrs daylight 28* night 20* (introduce) (eggs layed)
Oct 10 hrs daylight 30* night 22* (eggs layed)
Nov 10 hrs daylight 30* night 22* (eggs layed)
Dec 15 hrs daylight 32* night 24* (eggs hatch)

PS
This is generally a basic schedule that I have used (to give you a rough idea).I will often make changes in temps or daylight hours etc depending on the situation.Once females are gravid you may wish to raise temps to 32* (personal choice)