Fisrt time keeping a snake i need advice asap

[lochie]

okay first of all can i say thanks!! to everyone who gave me a list of items that i needed to get setup for my hatchie. and i built a click-clack its a 8L tuppaware container with holes all through it from a soldering iron with 2 peices of dowling through it with a hole cut of of the lid with a picture frame with the glass taken out and fly screen in its place. it has A toilet roll in there and a rock and a tile.(thanks to the diy click-clack guide )

Now im getting my snake on saturday and im so excited, all ive done is read read read and read some more and im pretty confident in how im going to be with my spotted python hatchie but there is one issue that i cant find any guides for anywhere.

HEATING CORDS, now from what ive read most people use heat mat's or lamps BUT those who use heat cords said they will never use anything else every again.
so today when i was buying my tongs i bought a cord and figured ill take the plunge and go for it. so i need to know how to use it a heat pad is pretty self explantiory but a heat cord. its a 4.3m 14W heat cord.


1st. how do i use it?? do i coil it up under the tile and leave the slack just running out of the plastic??? and can i cut it to length??(im a sparky but i dont know how they work so yeah)

2nd. ive been told i need a thermostat, and im going to get one on friday to make sure i dont cook my little hatchie. is it really needed? (money isnt an option i refuse to be stingy when it comes to careing for an animal i just want to know if it really is needed)

3rd. ive gotten some pinky rats today i poped over to see kevin from kevins rodents!! props to that guy gave me a bunch of stuff free good guy. now my mate who is a snake fanatic told me to feed it every time it ****s. is this true?? if not how often should i feed him.

4th.how often can i handle my new hatchie cause i dont want to over handle him, but i do want him to be familiar with me. (ive read hatchies can be bitey when young but chill out and tbh im looking forward to being bitten). hwo often should i handle him???


thanks to anyone who helps

 

[abnrmal91]

1) I use heat pads so someone else can answer that
2) I would use a thermostat as a click clack has a small volume of air and heats up very quickly. Everyone has an opinion or the use of thermostats but I believe they are a must.
3) I would think pinky mice would be more suitable for a hatchie.
4) They can be handled every couple of days. But let the snake settle in for a couple of weeks before before you try handling just so it settles in and feeds properly.

 

[saximus]

1) I use heat pads so someone else can answer that
2) I would use a thermostat as a click clack has a small volume of air and heats up very quickly. Everyone has an opinion or the use of thermostats but I believe they are a must.
3) I would think pinky mice would be more suitable for a hatchie.
4) They can be handled every couple of days. But let the snake settle in for a couple of weeks before before you try handling just so it settles in and feeds properly.

^ that
Plus for the first one the way most people use heat cord is to rout grooves into a sheet of mdf or plywood then you can lay it in a zig zag pattern in the grooves and sit the enclosure on top

 

[shellfisch]

1/ We just sit one third of the tub straight on to one or two strands of the cord - you cannot cut them - DON'T DO IT

2/ at the risk of being flamed, we have never used a thermostat with hatchies on heat cords, however we do use an Infrared Temperature Gun to monitor temps.

3/ we feed ours every 7-10 days.

4/ we leave ours alone for the most part until they are eating well.
Get 2-3 feeds into it before you start trying to play with it?

 

[sutto75]

I have all so used a few nails in some ply and then wraped the cord around them if you dont have a router..

 

[lochie]

okay guys thanks heaps, ill get a thermostat and ive just bought a bunch of pinky rat's. should i be looking at getting some pinky mice and saving the pinky rats till he's bigger or will pinky rats be fine?? i dont wanna hurt him and im not money shy

 

[saximus]

Just ask the breeder what he's on at the moment. If it's anything bigger than fuzzy mice the pinky rats should be ok

 

[Elapidae1]

The problem with the heat cord is the length as you are only going to need 10-20cm of it under a third of your click clack. You probably won't need a thermostat but if you feel more comfortable using it then it's not a prob and you can always use it on your next snake enclosure upgrade ETC

 

[lochie]

yeah well i went out today and bought, some pinky mice that should last him long enoguh to go onto pinky rats and also am getting a thermo stat express delivered before saterday

 

[J-A-X]

DO NOT coil a heat cord so it looks like a spiral, you will have overheating problems and possibly melt a hole in your tub.
You can either get a piece of melamine and route grooves in it or just use a bit of aluminium tape and tape it down,
The best thing about cords is their flexability, the further apart the cord the, lower the heat, so if you start the cord 1/3rd point of the tub, and have the strands spaced further apart there than you do towards the outside edge it will give a gentler gradient, you can space it reasonably close on the outside edge (or even up the outside edge) because it will have to compensate for the extra cool air from the wall of the tub, I hope that makes sense,

dont allow the cord to touch itself either, it gets hot enough to melt the coating, and no cutting as already mentioned. I dont run thermostats but if you feel more comfortable then go ahead.

feed what ever the breeder is using,
let it settle in and establish a good feeding routine before worrying about handling.

 

[hugsta]

okay first of all can i say thanks!! to everyone who gave me a list of items that i needed to get setup for my hatchie. and i built a click-clack its a 8L tuppaware container with holes all through it from a soldering iron with 2 peices of dowling through it with a hole cut of of the lid with a picture frame with the glass taken out and fly screen in its place. it has A toilet roll in there and a rock and a tile.(thanks to the diy click-clack guide )

Now im getting my snake on saturday and im so excited, all ive done is read read read and read some more and im pretty confident in how im going to be with my spotted python hatchie but there is one issue that i cant find any guides for anywhere.

HEATING CORDS, now from what ive read most people use heat mat's or lamps BUT those who use heat cords said they will never use anything else every again.
so today when i was buying my tongs i bought a cord and figured ill take the plunge and go for it. so i need to know how to use it a heat pad is pretty self explantiory but a heat cord. its a 4.3m 14W heat cord.


1st. how do i use it?? do i coil it up under the tile and leave the slack just running out of the plastic??? and can i cut it to length??(im a sparky but i dont know how they work so yeah) Leave the heat cord outside of the tub, the easiest way to use them is to just run a length along under the tub, the tape it down and the run it back under the tub, so you end up with an 'S' configuration running back and forth, keep them around an inch apart. To far will give a hot cold hot sensation, so keep it closer and more uniform.

2nd. ive been told i need a thermostat, and im going to get one on friday to make sure i dont cook my little hatchie. is it really needed? (money isnt an option i refuse to be stingy when it comes to careing for an animal i just want to know if it really is needed) A thermostat is ideal, as this is something you can use when you build or buy him/her their adult enclosure. Also get a thermometer so you know exactly what temp it is in the hot end of the enclosure. The probes for both can be inserted into the back of the tub and hung just above the base.

3rd. ive gotten some pinky rats today i poped over to see kevin from kevins rodents!! props to that guy gave me a bunch of stuff free good guy. now my mate who is a snake fanatic told me to feed it every time it ****s. is this true?? if not how often should i feed him. Do you eat after every time you ****? No. Feed your snake every week, don't be afraid to feed an extra pinky if the snake is looking for more. Feeding extra will only increase the rate of growth and will have no detriment to the snake.

4th.how often can i handle my new hatchie cause i dont want to over handle him, but i do want him to be familiar with me. (ive read hatchies can be bitey when young but chill out and tbh im looking forward to being bitten). hwo often should i handle him??? Let him settle in to a nice feeding regime, and then start to handle, a little at first and you can then increase if you like. I would personally leave the pretty much alone till they got some decent size on them. Make sure you give him a few days to get his last meal down as well before you handle him.


thanks to anyone who helps

Hope this helps.

Forgot to mention, there is a blue line, generally, that indicates where the heating element starts and finishes on a heat cord, no point putting the non heating part under the tub.