Show us ya Woma's

[yommy]

I agree squinty.

I waited and bred my boodaries at 4 and 5 years and got 11 eggs each season though yellow girl is over 2kgs easy. red girl would be just on 2kg. i didn't think she was the right wieght last season being w/c and a tempermental feeder (doesn't like people watching her ).

She is my main effort this season........

 

[pythonmum]

Thanks for the advice Squinty and Yommy. It is hard to find good advice for different woma locales and they vary so much in size across the species range! At the moment I feed medium rats, because I want them to have a lean meal and not get too fat. They would happily eat a something larger. The biggest rats I buy are size large because I prefer leaner prey with more muscle and bone ratio. Some XL rats are lean, but some are fatty. I don't breed my own - they stink and the dogs would go mental!

 

[Squinty]

The largest I feed all my animals is 110 - 120g rats. My males are on a 2 - 3 weeks feeding and females 1 - 2 weeks depending on size and how close breeding season is.

Plus I may feed the females 2 at a time for a few feeds just after they lay and just before I start cycling them. I believe the leaner rats are better and your animals will still grow steadily.

 

[yommy]

I think your both spot on with the smaller rat options, mine range from 150-250g rats.
If i am going to breed, females are weekly, males fortnightly. if im not going to breed all 2-3 weeks between feeds.
I also alternative week feed with 3 week old jap quails also. Being a reptile eater in the wild to many fatty food items are not good for them IMO.
That the reasoning behind smaller leaner prey items and birds to mix it up. I think the results speak for themselves

 

[reptalica]

Yommy, squinty and pythonmum - is this rule of thumb for womas generally or when breeding season is approaching??? And the time between feeds???

Thanks folks :---)

Oh and is there a guide that I will be able to use for feeding purposes i.e. size of mice/rat ----> size of snake???

 

[Squinty]

I only worked it out by experimenting and watching their weight. You don't want a woma to be round or plump in the tail unless they haven't pooped. If they start growing too fast or look plump back it off. It's not that hard. A healthy woma looks like an arched window. Flat and square on the bottom then straight up the sides with an arch on top.

 

[yommy]

I think Squinty hit the nail on the head. There is no hard and fast rules..................

 

[dee4]

Some good advice on feeding, it's hard to explain to people sometimes what sizes to use for their animals.

Yommy, is that a typo or do you feed up to 250g?

 

[Boondocker]

I think your both spot on with the smaller rat options, mine range from 150-250g rats.
If i am going to breed, females are weekly, males fortnightly. if im not going to breed all 2-3 weeks between feeds.
I also alternative week feed with 3 week old jap quails also. Being a reptile eater in the wild to many fatty food items are not good for them IMO.
That the reasoning behind smaller leaner prey items and birds to mix it up. I think the results speak for themselves

Now me, I feed large but infrequent meals. I never feed the fat retired breeder male rats, but I will feed large male adult rats before they start getting old and fat, and I'll feed retired female breeders. My female rat breeders rarely if ever get all fat and punched out; I suppose all that nursing keeps them from it. It's some of the males who stack it on with age.

 

[yommy]

no i have fed 250g rats before but if i do i will give them a fortnight to digest or go off the body buldge/poo cycles

 

[Squinty]

I haven't seen any full hook ups yet but I can tell that they have been up to it while I havent been around. Fingers crossed.

 

[Sezzzzzzzzz]

Few updated pics of worm! Hes coming along beautifully.

 

[Bryce]

I got my Female RHD back that i produced.

 

[dadaman]

Mine started hooking up about 2 weeks ago. Going hard at it now.

 

[Alexpython]

hey guys
i got an amazing little woma last week (ill put a photo up soon after she sheds) and was wondering if my hot spot temp was high enough? it gets to around 32-33 degrees? i know they like a good hot basking spot is all, this okay?

thanks

 

[GeckoJosh]

hey guys
i got an amazing little woma last week (ill put a photo up soon after she sheds) and was wondering if my hot spot temp was high enough? it gets to around 32-33 degrees? i know they like a good hot basking spot is all, this okay?

thanks

Its ok but going 2-3 degrees higher wont hurt

 

[benjamind2010]

Its ok but going 2-3 degrees higher wont hurt

I'll second that. Mine can get to 39 degrees, but generally stay around the 35-36 degree mark. I've recorded temps as high as 40 degrees at the hot end, on a particularly warm day. My RHD womas seem to crave higher than usual temps, they sit on their hot spot for most of the day these days since it's gotten a bit colder now that we're heading into the cold weather.

I'll also add to Josh's comment and say that having a cool end (ambient) temperature of around 25-28 degrees can also help. 28 may seem a bit high but that's the maximum it reaches during the day.

I, along with Ramsayii and a few others, think cool end temps are more important than hot end temps. I found out that was the reason why my womas went off their food last year in November...providing a hot end that ranges from a max of say 35 to 38 degrees and a cool end of at least 24 degrees will be perfect for womas. Some say 38 is too high, but I'm not sure if I agree. My RHD womas love it when it gets that hot especially Dickyknee's female who appears to have an endless appetite when kept at those temps, sometimes she can be seen with her head held up towards the front (window) of the tub, as if to say "where's my RAT?!".

 

[reptalica]

With regards to temps and on going debate as to whether 35-38 is ideal as some others have mentioned, 32 would local climates/locale have a say on determining how u set up your thermal gradients???

I am in Melbourne and given it's cooler climate, especially this week, would this need to be factored in????

I am guessing location in the house, set up and type of enclosure and the like is all relevant as well.

 

[Squinty]

As long as they have a hot spot of about 36+ degrees they will be fine.

 

[benjamind2010]

I recorded my ambient temps today, they ranged from 23 to 29 degrees, this may seem volatile, but nothing compared to before, if I didn't use the heat cords, it would range from outside temps+2C and indoor temps max which in winter gets to about 25 or 26, outside temps can get as low as say 5 degrees, so 7 degrees indoors, not good for a snake, which is why I use heat cords. The heat cords bring the minimum up very nicely to at least 20, but of course they also increase the maximums too, but that is controlled with a thermostat so the maximums cannot get to a level beyond the optimal ambient temp maximum range (26-30C). Womas, particuarly RHD and Boodarie St womas can take very high temps, by that I mean 40C+ - BUT of course in saying that they also require a cool end where they can thermoregulate. If they cannot thermoregulate they can suffer heat stress and indeed die...it can happen...I've set up my rack system with careful attention to detail, so if a snake ever got cooked in my setup it would likely be caused by a faulty heat panel, faulty heat cord, faulty thermostat, etc.

BOTH heat cord and the heat panels in my rack system are controlled by independent thermostats. Heat cord thermostat is set at 28 degrees, and heat panel is set to 34 degrees.

Right now, as I type, the hot end is exactly 35.3 degrees as measured with IR gun. Cool end is 27.2......not bad at all.