| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| lotabob |
Posted - 03/11/2010 : 20:54:43
Yesterday I cleaned out the vivarium, washed down the walls, water bowl etc. When I put Spot back he had a little explore then went back to his favourite hide, He didn't come out again that night and again tonight he is just looking out of the hole in his hide. Do they go shy after cleaning them out, changing their environment etc? I also fitted a heat mat yesterday, its under his favourite hide, could this also be a reason for him staying hidden, enjoying the warm belly feeling? |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Mort13 |
Posted - 05/11/2010 : 00:34:37
I used aqua sealant too as my snakes are too small to have hides heavy enough to hold the mat down
If you touch another surface,then the mat you should notice a difference in temp. Thats what I did as I got paranoid Lokis mat wasn't generating any heat to begin with. |
| lotabob |
Posted - 04/11/2010 : 22:29:29
I will invest in a tube of the sealant as soon as possible.
Not feeling heat because its not as hot as body temperature isn't exactly true, think of hot days, tepid water etc, our sense of touch/nervous system is far more sensitive and sophisticated than that. |
| kdlang |
Posted - 04/11/2010 : 22:13:44
Aqua sealant would be fine and i used it to secure one of mine. It did work loose eventually tho and it makes cleaning trickier. Now I just weigh my probes down with a heavy hide or a stone.
As regards the heat of the heat mat, remember our body temperature is about 36degrees so it wont necessarily feel warm to us. |
| lotabob |
Posted - 04/11/2010 : 22:04:41
Yeah I'm going to leave it 6 weeks or so inbetween cleans, he's not exactly messy by any means, I could get away with only cleaning the cold side as thats the only corner he goes to the toilet in. There have been a few changes to his routine, I've switched him to a heat mat instead of the bulb, he didnt like the bulb, never came out when it was on, he was out and about at lunch time today which is new for him and he's still a bit nervous but I handled him today and then he decided my hoody pocket was a great hide so spent about 30 minutes in there, had to fish him out, he was toasty warm and quick as a flash. I'm gonna give him a bit of time to get used to just dealing with natural light, see how that goes.
Heat mats are very confusing to me, with the bulb when I opened the door I was hit with the heat of the air, now with the mat its room temperature inside and as far as i can feel not even warm yet the thermometer tells me 27-29 degrees on the heat mat, Spot was in the cool end so he must be able to feel the heat but on my part its blind faith. I haven't secured the mat as Spot getting stuck terrifies me and I'm also worried about the stat probe going walk abouts as its weighed down by a section of hide but not fixed to the mat.
Would aqua sealant be ok to fix the probe to the mat? |
| drchino |
Posted - 04/11/2010 : 15:28:52
I do mine every 4 to 6 weeks depending on how messy it gets. Izzy tends to have a good explore for the night after, especially if she's hungry.
If you find yours is particularly quiet or nervous after a clean try not cleaning one of the hides. The new smells might make him nervous |
| lotabob |
Posted - 03/11/2010 : 22:57:45
I'll just leave him to it then, he'll come out eventually, he ate on Sunday and hasn't been for a number 2 yet so that will be something to look forward to. I annoyed him today I needed to move his hide to resecure a thermometer probe to the floor, he's so good natured, even though he was clearly miffed he still just let me pick him up and pop him to the other side of the viv for a few minutes. |
| kdlang |
Posted - 03/11/2010 : 22:43:22
I have just done a full clean on all mine. Took a while as I couldn't do them all in one go as only have 3 spare tubs. I usually try to do a full clean about every 6 weeks but sometimes it ends up being longer. Most of mine do their poops out of the viv anyway so it doesnt really get mucky.
Mine vary regarding activity after a clean out. Carmellia and Peanut love to explore, Alice has a good look round to find the best hide and then settles down for a couple of days. Izzy just goes and hides straight away (what's new). And I'v discovered Swayze likes to explore too. He has now been out for 3 hours. |
| lotabob |
Posted - 03/11/2010 : 22:16:43
I will be cleaning once a month but spot clean every day make sure you've no stinky piles in there. I've heard every three months but I didn't like the sound of that
Oh and dont do what I did, I got bored of scooping out the old substrate so I hoovered up the rest, :) |
| JackHutchy979 |
Posted - 03/11/2010 : 22:12:43
My question about the 'big clean' is how often do you clean it out? |
