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5 ways to heat your snakes cage

PetSnakes — Tue, 18 May 2010 05:58:13 +0000

Properly and adequately heating a snakes cage is paramount to its well being. There are several methods that can be used to ensure the proper temperatures are reached and maintained. You want to avoid going to extremes either higher or lower than the optimal temperature ranges for the species of snakes you are keeping. It should also be noted that regardless of the type of heating you decide to use the temperatures must be carefully monitored to ensure that it is maintained. A properly operating thermostat is essential for all methods of heating described below.

#1 – Ambient room temperature
If you are able to raise the air temperature of the room that the snake’s cage is setup in that is a great way to heat the cage. This is best accomplished by using a space heater in a smaller space to avoid forcing the rest of the house to endure unseasonably warm temperatures in the summer. During the winter people don’t seem to complain quite as much about the extra heat. Be certain to read and understand all safety precautions related to any space heater you decide to use. We can not be held responsible if anything goes wrong. Also beware of your heating bill. I’ve found a small space heater with a thermostat and an overheat safety is a good method of heating small room such as a guest bedroom, or walk-in closet.

#2 – Heat Lamp
A heat lamp situated to focus in the cage can provide your snakes with additional heat. If you decide to use a heat lamp to keep the cage warm you’ll need to either get to decide if you want to use two bulbs; one for night and one for day, or just one bulb for both. ‘Before you decide either way consider the implications of each approach.

Get two of them. One for day time and one for night time. The night one provides heat and lets you observe your snake but the light is filtered through a coating that makes it invisible to your snake’s eyes. You can get either red or blue. The red ones provide a marginal amount of UVB benefits, which is wasted on snakes because they don’t need it. The UVB won’t harm the snakes it just isn’t an additional buying point.

Get one bulb, a red or blue one, and use it for both day and night. During the day the light provided to your snakes is natural sun light that gets into the room, or whatever overhead lights you use are. The heat lamp still has to be left on to help maintain the proper temperatures.

Whatever setup you decide here is some information about the bulbs themselves.

Incandescent Bulbs:
These bulbs are what you generally see in overhead lights in a room. They are cheap, provide a high heat output and are easily obtainable. Their heat output can be significant so it is important to monitor your temperatures closely.

Compact Florescent Bulbs (CFLs):
CFLs are those energy saver bulbs that look like spirals and the manufacturers often claim to last much longer than traditional light bulbs. I’ve not had as many hours out of them as the claims I’ve heard others make but they definitely cut down on my electrical bills when used. They are often significantly more expensive than incandescent bulbs. They also contain mercury which complicates disposal.

Fluorescent Bulbs:
These lights require special hoods to be fitted on the top of a snake’s cage in order to be used. They are the long bulbs often found in classrooms and office buildings. They are precursors to the CFLs. There are a multitude of issues with these types of bulbs that go beyond the fact that they also contain mercury. For instance -
- Frequently turning them off and on leads to much shorter lifespans
- They hum, an effect caused by minor faults in the electromagnetic ballast, which could could disturb your snakes
- Air temperature effects their operation. The cooler the air is the less efficient they are at heating, the longer it takes them to come on, and sometimes if it’s cold enough they won’t work at all. But if it’s that cold chances are it’s too late to help many types of snakes anyhow.

Heat lamps have a few disadvantages that you should keep in mind as well.

They dry out the air making humidity more of an issue
In order for them to heat they have to be left on 24/7 which can be stressful on your snake
They can be expensive both in terms of bulb cost and electricity

#3 – Ceramic Heat Bulbs (CHB)
I’ve separated this kind of heating element from the rest of the heat lamps because they give off heat but no light. This allows your snakes to take advantage of natural light cycles (photo periods). CHBs use Infrared (IR) to heat the objects in the tank. This is how sunlight works, it mainly heats objects and to a lesser extent the air around us. They become extremely hot and require a special light fixtures designed for the high amount of heat they generate. Due to this extreme heat they should never come into contact with your snakes or any other object. These bulbs dry out the air in your terrarium like the others do so you’ll need to compensate for that as well.

#4 – Radiant Heat Panel (RHP)
These employ the same concept as the ceramic heat lamps in that they both take advantage of infrared (IR) heat to heat the air inside of your snake’s cage. Unlike CHBs the surface of the RHPs do not get nearly as hot. They can still put off a great deal of heat. Don’t be fooled by their relatively cool exterior. The temperature inside the cage, particularly the objects being heated by the IR can be significantly higher. There are several claims made about the RHPs made by pro-products.com that one can’t help but consider. Some of them include:

Can’t catch on or cause a fire, period
Can be safely mounted directly against any type of surface
Made from completely non-combustible materials
Safe to the touch for both humans and snakes
80% more efficient than any other kind of heating source
10 year warranty, with a 50+ year expected life

#5 – FlexWatt heat tape
For a long time FlexWatt has been the standard used in heating snake racks. It’s not seen in most homes unless the person happens to have a rack or a larger cage that it came pre-installed in. In order to use it safely you MUST use a thermostat to regulate the output otherwise it just gets hotter and hotter until it burns out, causes a fire, kills your snakes, and sometimes all of the above. It is very effective and safe when used properly. If you chose to use FlexWatt you should request the supplier wire it for you unless you are comfortable working with electrical components.

Addendum:
Like to thanks Kaorte for pointing out that I left off under tank heaters (UTH). Not sure how that happened, but it did. Anyhow a UTH is heater that adheres to the bottom of the snake’s tank and provides belly warmth. This heat is in addition to keeping the ambient air temperature in the cage at proper levels, and helps the snake to digest its meals. While they get very hot and should be regulated with a thermostat they can’t be relied on to heat a tank without any other devices helping. The principle is similar to FlexWatt except each cage requires it’s own UTH and each UTH it’s own power receptacle. They work great for one or two tanks, but if you have much more than that it makes sense to go with FlexWatt as one piece can be used with multiple tanks. I you watch my video on building your own snake tank you’ll see a UTH in it.

3 reasons Ball Pythons make great pet snakes

PetSnakes — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:38:53 +0000

Ball Pythons (aka royal or regal pythons) are great pet snakes for several reasons. In this article we will focus on 3 of those reasons.

Ball Pythons are affordable
Due to their popularity Ball Pythons can be found for very little money. I’ve seen male wild types selling for as little as $15. They were most likely wild caught specimens. Ball Pythons are famous for their wide assortment of morphs and those can cost tens of thousands of dollars each if they are one of a kind animals. The average pet owner, or even hobby keeper won’t have any need to buy a snake that expensive.

Ball Pythons are easy to keep
They are considered great snakes for novices for several reasons:

They are docile. Ball Pythons rarely show aggression towards people
Their small size makes them easy to house. Only the largest of female ball pythons will get over five feet.
Small cages are perfect for them. They don’t need to climb as they are terrestrial snakes and they spend most of their time in their hides instead of moving about their enclosure.
Small rats or large mice will feed even the largest Ball Python. That means you won’t have a huge food bill trying to buy it chicken and guinea pigs every week or two.

There are some disadvantages to having a Ball Python. For example they can be finicky eaters especially during the winter months. It’s not uncommon to have one of these snakes that refuses to eat for several months. This can be frustrating for an experienced keeper let alone a novice. Another issue with keeping Ball Pythons is that they are a native to a wide variety of sub-tropical and tropical locations and the temperature and humidity in their cages needs to be regulated to mimic their natural environment.

Ball Pythons are great with kids
I mentioned before that they rarely show aggression towards people. This is a great trait around children. In fact a staple of live reptile shows featuring snakes being handled by kids has always been the Ball Python. They tolerate a lot of poking, prodding, and other kinds of abuse. If you have kids this is a great snake to get them to start out with.

It would be wrong to leave you with the impression that they never become aggravated. As docile as they are 99 percent of the time they are still wild animals. From time to time they can and do bite, strike, and hiss at people. For instance when they are in the middle of shedding they can be more sensitive than normal.

Ball Pythons are great pets for both the first time snake owner as well as the seasoned keeper. They make a good learning tool to teach children about these amazing animals, are easy to keep, and affordable. Here is more information about the ball python.

How to check your snakes gender

PetSnakes — Thu, 06 May 2010 05:02:45 +0000

There are several old wives tales going around about how to determine what sex your pet snake is. In this article we will lay those myths about snakes to rest and explain how to accurately determine gender.

Snake gender myth 1: Vestigial legs: Some people claim that the gender of a snake can be determined by looking for vestigial legs. If they are clearly visible with the naked eye then the snake is male. If hidden then the snake is female. This is not true as many species of snake don’t even have vestigial legs at all!
Snake gender myth 2: Length of the tail: This is more like a half myth as there as some species, such as corn snakes, where the size of the tail can give a pretty good idea of gender but by no means is it considered to be full proof. Female snakes are said to have longer, thinner tails than the males.

Accurate methods

Popping: This method is best done on juvenile snakes. In the video below, Kathy Love shows how to properly pop a snake.

This is generally a safe method to check the sex of your snake, but it has been known to cause a condition known as prolapse.
Probing: This method is often considered the most accurate and is best done by a vet or when you’ve been properly trained by an expert in how to do it. Because you are inserting something inside of your snake’s body it can do damage if you are not careful!

Getting pet snakes at a reptile expo

PetSnakes — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 03:41:18 +0000

There are many places to get a new pet snake, but one of the best places is at a reptile expo if you have a chance to go. If you’re new to the world of herping you might not know what a reptile expo is. That’s simple. It is gathering of reptile and amphibian enthusiasts in a specific location. There are reptile expos held throughout the United States as well as many other nations throughout the year. It’s like a giant flee market where everyone is there for one purpose. To buy, sell, or just browse snakes, lizards, frogs and any other manner of reptiles and amphibians you can think of.

What makes a reptile expo a good place to get a snake? That’s simple.

You get to meet the breeder face to face

You get to ask them questions about the snake. You get to pick their brain a little bit. But best of all you actually get to see and handle the snake before you buy it. When you order online you don’t get to do this. You don’t get to do that with a snake you order online. Sure a good breeder will answer your questions but it’s hard to get a feel for them. And that is just as important as the snake you buy.

You might end up with two

It’s happened to me. Went in with enough money to buy one snake, talked to the breeder and ended up buying two others that had the potential to breed and produce the one I came in to get. Haven’t bred them yet, but that potential is there. I look at it as a two for the price of one with a 50% chance of getting what I wanted originally. That’s 50% per clutch (they’re ball pythons) so eventually… who knows.

You can network with others

Fact is that you’ll meet a lot of people at expos. Into a lot of different snakes (and other creatures) you never thought anything about. Probably never heard of a lot of them. You’ll get to promote yourself in the hobby as an enthusiast, make contacts and all that kind of good stuff. Finally let’s face it. While snakes are gaining in popularity they aren’t exactly everyone’s first choice as a pet. So the more people you know who keep them, the better.

Yep, going to an expo to get a snake is a great experience. Unfortunately there are some downsides to it as well.

The early bird gets the worm

If you want the pick of the litter get there first thing. Before the doors open. The first few expos I went to I’d arrive a few hours after they opened and a lot of the one of a kind stuff was already sold. Granted I didn’t go there with the kind of money needed to buy those snakes, but I would have missed out if I did.

Lots of people

Remember earlier I said you can pick the breeders brain? I lied. Sorry. What you can do is listen while 5, 10, 15, 20+ other people are picking their brain. You can get the answers to questions you’ve never even thought to ask. But fact of the matter is that you aren’t going to be able to get them one on one for very long.

Things run out

The animals run out. The supplies run out. Time runs out. A person has a finite amount of space to put their reptiles at an expo which means they generally bring a limited number of animals with them. I’ve found that they will generally bring a decent amount of mid-range snakes, a few higher end snakes and a nice helping of the low-level pet quality snakes.
The snakes are stressed

Snakes are solitary creatures. An expo has a ton of people running around and handling them. It’s hard to really gauge their temperament until they are out of that environment and settled in for a while at home.

Have you ever been to a reptile expo? If so did you buy anything while you were there?

If you are interested in attending a reptile expo in your area check out this list of reptile expos maintained at the Reptilechannel.com

What to look for when you pick up a pet snake at the store

PetSnakes — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 03:26:05 +0000

After you have decided on what species of snake to get, and where to get it you’ll need to pick the specific snake. This short guide (and video) will help you to know what you are looking for. If you are planning to order your snake online and can’t see it in person a reputable dealer will handle all of this on their end and ship you a healthy animal.

The initial once over

The point of this is simply to observe the snake you are considering taking home as a pet. It takes very little time (10 to 15 seconds) and is meant only to give you a moment to see if there are any obvious issues. For instance a badly kinked spine.

The reaction test

A snake should have an interest in you and your scent. When you put your hand in its cage its tongue should be flickering and it should be moving around. Sometimes instead of moving around it will start to hiss. That’s fine just as long as it notices you and reacts to your presence.

The face and head exam

We’re going to assume that you can pick the snake up at this point. Now look at its head carefully. You want to look for the following:

Clean clear eyes. Unless the snake is in the middle of a shed and the eyes are opaque they should be clear
Properly shut mouth. Make sure the jaw isn’t hanging half open or anything.
No wheezing or clicking sounds coming from the snake. In fact no sounds at all (unless it is hissing)
No odors coming from the snake’s mouth/face area

The overall body exam

Make sure the snake is well fed. Healthy. Not obese, but not emaciated. Judge based on the size and type of snake. If you can see or feel ribs and/or spine something is very wrong. Could be poor feeding, could be parasites, could be something else altogether. The scales should be in good shape. Some people say a snake feels like fine leather, some say it feels like silk. Whatever, as long as it doesn’t have scabs or boils or any other issues like that. Also look at the belly from tip of the nose to tip of the tail. You want to watch for scale rot, or discharge around the cloaca area.

Please watch the video for more information and details