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Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

Ok Comboomer posted:

oh word, you watch Clint on YouTube too?
I don't think so? I'm not really sure who you're talking about there, but if the guy talks about interesting exotics like that a lot, I might want to.

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trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Cardiovorax posted:

I don't think so? I'm not really sure who you're talking about there, but if the guy talks about interesting exotics like that a lot, I might want to.

https://youtu.be/kWMLWUzlvc4

He sort of straddles the line between being for newbies/general interest folk and being for more experienced hobbyists, and his vibe is very...erm...”family friendly” which can become tiring for adults at times I think, but he super knows his poo poo.

mango sentinel
Jan 5, 2001

by sebmojo
He's the most adorable goober.

TwystNeko
Dec 25, 2004

*ya~~wn*
So today, I upgraded Cupcake's living space:



He's currently hiding under all the substrate, but I think he'll like it. Bigger hide on the warm side, a branch to climb on, cypress mulch as the bedding.

mango sentinel
Jan 5, 2001

by sebmojo
My garg deigned to let her face be visible this evening.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!
https://youtu.be/jz_4ztA5Zhs

Clint’s great

mango sentinel
Jan 5, 2001

by sebmojo
Does anyone in here keep Rainbow Boas? I've heard conflicting stuff about them being skittish and bitey, but also people saying they have great temperaments so long as you do a little work when they're younger. I'm curious to hear more about temperament and handling.

Cowslips Warren
Oct 29, 2005

What use had they for tricks and cunning, living in the enemy's warren and paying his price?

Grimey Drawer

mango sentinel posted:

Does anyone in here keep Rainbow Boas? I've heard conflicting stuff about them being skittish and bitey, but also people saying they have great temperaments so long as you do a little work when they're younger. I'm curious to hear more about temperament and handling.

we had a group of them years ago: high humidity is a must, and they were okay for handling. Nowhere near as chill as the ball pythons but less fast-jerky motions of the corns or hognose.

That said, we lost most of them when treating for snake mites. The few that made it never were as active as before, and one had a rather horrible miscarriage. Prevent-a-Mite has good reviews, so we must have hosed it up in treatment, but none of the sand boas or ball pythons were affected at all.

Viperidae
Feb 7, 2007
Arf!
I have had my Colombian Rainbow Boa Percy for at least 25 years now. He has only bitten me once and that was because I was messing with him when he was about to shed. Felt like somebody flicked me on the hand.

When he was a little baby I spent a ton of time with him though. He would sit in my shirt pocket for hours.

snake and bake
Feb 23, 2005

:theroni:

TwystNeko posted:

So today, I upgraded Cupcake's living space:



He's currently hiding under all the substrate, but I think he'll like it. Bigger hide on the warm side, a branch to climb on, cypress mulch as the bedding.

This looks pretty good, I hope he's enjoying it :h:

TwystNeko
Dec 25, 2004

*ya~~wn*
he seems to be!

OneSizeFitsAll
Sep 13, 2010

Du bist mein Sofa
Is this the thread for general spider chat? I see tarantula stuff in the OP and no other obvious thread so assuming so.

Just entered the hobby today - bought a juvenile T sabulosum (Guatemalan Red Rump). Don't know the sex as yet - think it's about an inch or maybe a fraction bigger. Anway I'm delighted to have it - maybe now I will stop talking to my wife about spiders all the time. Or maybe it will get worse, who knows. It'll probably get worse and I'll probably buy more tarantulas. Anyway, here's my new little buddy:





Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.
Going by the size of the abdomen I would be inclined to say female, but it's hard to say from a shot like that.

OneSizeFitsAll
Sep 13, 2010

Du bist mein Sofa

Cardiovorax posted:

Going by the size of the abdomen I would be inclined to say female, but it's hard to say from a shot like that.

Could it not also just mean it's full? It did refuse a locust after I got it home. Would be lovely if it were a female for sure.

If you can suggest a more useful angle shot I can try and procure one.

Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

OneSizeFitsAll posted:

Could it not also just mean it's full? It did refuse a locust after I got it home. Would be lovely if it were a female for sure.

If you can suggest a more useful angle shot I can try and procure one.
On average, males have smaller abdomens than females. I looked up some reference pictures first, but I admit it's just an educated guess. It could be that your new spider just needs a big ol' spider poop.

If you can get a shot that shows of their pedipalps, sexing them would be easier. The pedipalps are one of the primary sexual organs of spiders and males usually have a distinct and different shape to theirs. There are species where you basically can't tell unless you put them under a microscope, though, so take that as the generalized statement that it is.

Cardiovorax fucked around with this message at 19:27 on Jan 23, 2021

mango sentinel
Jan 5, 2001

by sebmojo
Thank you for the rainbow boa talk.

Here's my garg B'Ellana actually fired up for once.

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

Has anyone ever heard of a crested gecko changing sex? Female to male. I've done some googling but I'm not finding anything, except for a single case of someone whose vet identified their cresty as hermaphroditic, being possessed of both male sex parts and developing eggs.

I've had two females, named Fire and Sulphur, caged together for 12+ years. I have a male, Brimstone, who lives in a separate enclosure, I'm pretty confident in my ability to tell the difference between males and females. I originally put these two girls together because I had a larger tank and they seemed to get along fine - I know sometimes they won't, and I have a third female Ghost who was too aggressive to a tank-mate and has been kept solitary, but when we first housed these two together we watched them carefully for weeks and they never fought each other so we decided it was fine. In all this time, 100% of the eggs I've removed from that enclosure have been of the sort of caved-in, wrinkled-lookin 'dud' variety.

But last week I caught them in the act, en flagrante delecto. I could not see a hemipene, but Fire was unquestionably mounted on Sulphur, with a good bit grip on the neck, vents pressed together, etc. I decided not to disturb them, I didn't want Fire to panic and maybe hurt Sulphur. But then this week I found an egg that sure as hell looks like a full proper ripe egg, you know?

So there's three possibilities:
1. Fire's always been a male, despite having no enlarged area at the base of the tail, and despite there never having been a fertile egg shown in the tank
2. Fire's still a female, that was some kind of dominance behavior despite looking exactly like mating, and this "fertile egg" isn't really
3. Fire was female and is or is becoming male, perhaps due to being stuck with only a female partner for 12+ years

I haven't had a chance to grab Fire and really inspect what's going on there, my geckos are not accustomed to being handled, but I fully intend to soon. Of course I could resolve the big question with a visit to the vet, perhaps with x-rays or something, but I'm loathe to inflict unnecessary stress (and pay lots of money) unless it's really necessary.

Any opinions?

OneSizeFitsAll
Sep 13, 2010

Du bist mein Sofa

Cardiovorax posted:

On average, males have smaller abdomens than females. I looked up some reference pictures first, but I admit it's just an educated guess. It could be that your new spider just needs a big ol' spider poop.

If you can get a shot that shows of their pedipalps, sexing them would be easier. The pedipalps are one of the primary sexual organs of spiders and males usually have a distinct and different shape to theirs. There are species where you basically can't tell unless you put them under a microscope, though, so take that as the generalized statement that it is.

Yup I'm aware of the palp differences - I think it's a bit early with this one though. I did look and they're pretty skinny at the moment. I believe (though still learning) the most usual way with tarantulas is to look for spermatheca after a molt. Hopefully within a molt or two I should be able to get it confirmed for sure!

HungryMedusa
Apr 28, 2003


Leperflesh posted:

Has anyone ever heard of a crested gecko changing sex? Female to male. I've done some googling but I'm not finding anything, except for a single case of someone whose vet identified their cresty as hermaphroditic, being possessed of both male sex parts and developing eggs.

I've had two females, named Fire and Sulphur, caged together for 12+ years. I have a male, Brimstone, who lives in a separate enclosure, I'm pretty confident in my ability to tell the difference between males and females. I originally put these two girls together because I had a larger tank and they seemed to get along fine - I know sometimes they won't, and I have a third female Ghost who was too aggressive to a tank-mate and has been kept solitary, but when we first housed these two together we watched them carefully for weeks and they never fought each other so we decided it was fine. In all this time, 100% of the eggs I've removed from that enclosure have been of the sort of caved-in, wrinkled-lookin 'dud' variety.

But last week I caught them in the act, en flagrante delecto. I could not see a hemipene, but Fire was unquestionably mounted on Sulphur, with a good bit grip on the neck, vents pressed together, etc. I decided not to disturb them, I didn't want Fire to panic and maybe hurt Sulphur. But then this week I found an egg that sure as hell looks like a full proper ripe egg, you know?

So there's three possibilities:
1. Fire's always been a male, despite having no enlarged area at the base of the tail, and despite there never having been a fertile egg shown in the tank
2. Fire's still a female, that was some kind of dominance behavior despite looking exactly like mating, and this "fertile egg" isn't really
3. Fire was female and is or is becoming male, perhaps due to being stuck with only a female partner for 12+ years

I haven't had a chance to grab Fire and really inspect what's going on there, my geckos are not accustomed to being handled, but I fully intend to soon. Of course I could resolve the big question with a visit to the vet, perhaps with x-rays or something, but I'm loathe to inflict unnecessary stress (and pay lots of money) unless it's really necessary.

Any opinions?

If you want to see if the egg is for reals, you can candle it and see if it has veins.

I don't know a lot about cresties, but shining a flashlight on the little egg could at least answer that part.

A quick google seems to say that there HAVE been reports of parthenogenesis in crested geckos, so the egg question won't necessarily answer the gender questions if that is what happened, but I suspect that is rare and you probably have a pair.

HungryMedusa fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Jan 23, 2021

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

OneSizeFitsAll posted:

Is this the thread for general spider chat? I see tarantula stuff in the OP and no other obvious thread so assuming so.

Just entered the hobby today - bought a juvenile T sabulosum (Guatemalan Red Rump). Don't know the sex as yet - think it's about an inch or maybe a fraction bigger. Anway I'm delighted to have it - maybe now I will stop talking to my wife about spiders all the time. Or maybe it will get worse, who knows. It'll probably get worse and I'll probably buy more tarantulas. Anyway, here's my new little buddy:







cool, now get a scorp

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Leperflesh posted:

Has anyone ever heard of a crested gecko changing sex? Female to male. I've done some googling but I'm not finding anything, except for a single case of someone whose vet identified their cresty as hermaphroditic, being possessed of both male sex parts and developing eggs.

I've had two females, named Fire and Sulphur, caged together for 12+ years. I have a male, Brimstone, who lives in a separate enclosure, I'm pretty confident in my ability to tell the difference between males and females. I originally put these two girls together because I had a larger tank and they seemed to get along fine - I know sometimes they won't, and I have a third female Ghost who was too aggressive to a tank-mate and has been kept solitary, but when we first housed these two together we watched them carefully for weeks and they never fought each other so we decided it was fine. In all this time, 100% of the eggs I've removed from that enclosure have been of the sort of caved-in, wrinkled-lookin 'dud' variety.

But last week I caught them in the act, en flagrante delecto. I could not see a hemipene, but Fire was unquestionably mounted on Sulphur, with a good bit grip on the neck, vents pressed together, etc. I decided not to disturb them, I didn't want Fire to panic and maybe hurt Sulphur. But then this week I found an egg that sure as hell looks like a full proper ripe egg, you know?

So there's three possibilities:
1. Fire's always been a male, despite having no enlarged area at the base of the tail, and despite there never having been a fertile egg shown in the tank
2. Fire's still a female, that was some kind of dominance behavior despite looking exactly like mating, and this "fertile egg" isn't really
3. Fire was female and is or is becoming male, perhaps due to being stuck with only a female partner for 12+ years

I haven't had a chance to grab Fire and really inspect what's going on there, my geckos are not accustomed to being handled, but I fully intend to soon. Of course I could resolve the big question with a visit to the vet, perhaps with x-rays or something, but I'm loathe to inflict unnecessary stress (and pay lots of money) unless it's really necessary.

Any opinions?

It’s not unheard of for parthenogenic/all-female/hermaphroditic self-fertilizing species to engage in pseudo-coitus (or real coitus, I guess) for both dominance hierarchy purposes and, it appears, to induce ovulation/fertilization. In many cases this kind of breeding behavior appears necessary in order to trigger reproduction.

I don’t know if that kind of relationship between behavior and egg-laying extends to animals that aren’t parthenogenic and kept in same sex groups.

There’s also a bit of a chicken+egg problem— does ovulation and impending egg-laying trigger confusing/unexpected horny behavior between your animals? Or does the horny behavior trigger egg-laying? Is it a bit of both?

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

HungryMedusa posted:

If you want to see if the egg is for reals, you can candle it and see if it has veins.

I don't know a lot about cresties, but shining a flashlight on the little egg could at least answer that part.

A quick google seems to say that there HAVE been reports of parthenogenesis in crested geckos, so the egg question won't necessarily answer the gender questions if that is what happened, but I suspect that is rare and you probably have a pair.

Yeah I did find parthinogenesis info, but that's generally just a female laying a fertile (always female offspring? I assume?) egg, rather than a female growing male parts.

I do think the most likely option is that it's either dominance behavior and an infertile egg, or, she was always male somehow.


Ok Comboomer posted:

It’s not unheard of for parthenogenic/all-female/hermaphroditic self-fertilizing species to engage in pseudo-coitus (or real coitus, I guess) for both dominance hierarchy purposes and, it appears, to induce ovulation/fertilization. In many cases this kind of breeding behavior appears necessary in order to trigger reproduction.

I don’t know if that kind of relationship between behavior and egg-laying extends to animals that aren’t parthenogenic and kept in same sex groups.

There’s also a bit of a chicken+egg problem— does ovulation and impending egg-laying trigger confusing/unexpected horny behavior between your animals? Or does the horny behavior trigger egg-laying? Is it a bit of both?

Right. I suspect this isn't well studied. Despite their ubiquity in the hobby, there's not much science done on these geckos. But most likely you guys are right.

I've never candled an egg, I can give it a shot. Not sure how much will show up just a few days after laying, but I could check it again a few times.

Most folks remove eggs they intend to hatch, right? Because adults predate on hatchlings?

ZarathustraFollower
Mar 14, 2009



Real quick - yeah, you can't sex spiders via pedipalps until males do their ultimate molt. The....frig, it's been too long, the fold thingy on the underside of the abdomen is reliable, as is looking at molts if they don't get too damaged.

Just wait till you have 30+ and a roach colony to feed them.

OneSizeFitsAll
Sep 13, 2010

Du bist mein Sofa

ZarathustraFollower posted:

The....frig, it's been too long, the fold thingy on the underside of the abdomen is reliable

Spermatheca I assume you mean?

Not arrived at roaches yet. The idea of accidentally letting one loose in the house is less pleasant than with locusts or crickets. But hey, spider's gotta eat.

OneSizeFitsAll fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Jan 24, 2021

Cowslips Warren
Oct 29, 2005

What use had they for tricks and cunning, living in the enemy's warren and paying his price?

Grimey Drawer
Crickets make noise and loving reek. At least feeder roaches are clean.

Hakarne
Jul 23, 2007
Vivo en el autobús!


Hello, herp people! I'm working towards being a first-time ball python owner and I'm hoping to get some advice with heating. Right now I'm establishing a stable terrarium ahead of introducing a snake into the environment. The humidity is fine but the UTH we bought doesn't seem to be cutting it for creating a warm side... or really any heat at all. I'm guessing they aren't designed to heat through an inch or two of substrate, so I'm guessing that leaves us with an overhead heat source. I was looking at ceramic heaters (I already have a full-spectrum light for the plants and want a day/night cycle), but googling around I read an overhead heat source isn't the greatest for ball pythons. So I'm not sure what's best at this point.

So is a ceramic heater ok for a ball python? If not, what's a good heat source that won't mess up plant growth? I appreciate any advice I can get!

Cowslips Warren
Oct 29, 2005

What use had they for tricks and cunning, living in the enemy's warren and paying his price?

Grimey Drawer

Hakarne posted:

Hello, herp people! I'm working towards being a first-time ball python owner and I'm hoping to get some advice with heating. Right now I'm establishing a stable terrarium ahead of introducing a snake into the environment. The humidity is fine but the UTH we bought doesn't seem to be cutting it for creating a warm side... or really any heat at all. I'm guessing they aren't designed to heat through an inch or two of substrate, so I'm guessing that leaves us with an overhead heat source. I was looking at ceramic heaters (I already have a full-spectrum light for the plants and want a day/night cycle), but googling around I read an overhead heat source isn't the greatest for ball pythons. So I'm not sure what's best at this point.

So is a ceramic heater ok for a ball python? If not, what's a good heat source that won't mess up plant growth? I appreciate any advice I can get!

What kinds of plants do you have? Balls are clumsy climbers and are nocturnal overall.

Hakarne
Jul 23, 2007
Vivo en el autobús!


Cowslips Warren posted:

What kinds of plants do you have? Balls are clumsy climbers and are nocturnal overall.

Nothing exotic, tall, or expensive! Small ferns and other simple, resilient plants. They're more ground cover and not anything to climb on, and they should be fine when he inevitably falls/slithers over them. If not they're easily replaced. I put some driftwood in there so the snake will have something sturdy to climb on.

To clarify, the terrarium was intended from the beginning to hold a snake. I wanted a snake and creating a full terrarium for it is what helped get the wife on board with the idea. I'm not just randomly deciding to throw a snake into a terrarium. :)

Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.
I've never tried to keep them in a terrarium, but in my experience ferns are usually somewhat well-suited to heat and humidy, but less so to intense direct light since they're mostly underbrush plants. If you're going to use a heat lamp, I'd try to place it not directly over them.

Cowslips Warren
Oct 29, 2005

What use had they for tricks and cunning, living in the enemy's warren and paying his price?

Grimey Drawer

Hakarne posted:

Hello, herp people! I'm working towards being a first-time ball python owner and I'm hoping to get some advice with heating. Right now I'm establishing a stable terrarium ahead of introducing a snake into the environment. The humidity is fine but the UTH we bought doesn't seem to be cutting it for creating a warm side... or really any heat at all. I'm guessing they aren't designed to heat through an inch or two of substrate, so I'm guessing that leaves us with an overhead heat source. I was looking at ceramic heaters (I already have a full-spectrum light for the plants and want a day/night cycle), but googling around I read an overhead heat source isn't the greatest for ball pythons. So I'm not sure what's best at this point.

So is a ceramic heater ok for a ball python? If not, what's a good heat source that won't mess up plant growth? I appreciate any advice I can get!

What does the thermostat on your UTH show? Perhaps it's just a bad one? I use UTH on almost all my balls and it seems to work good. Then again I also sweep some of said bedding away from the heater side so the snake doesn't have to dig to get to it.

Hakarne
Jul 23, 2007
Vivo en el autobús!


Ok I apologize and should clarify. My wife picked out the plants and it's a mix of stuff that's fine with full light and the type of environment a snake would thrive in. My main concern regarding overhead heat and the plants was more having a 24 hour source of light and energy that might throw off their growth by disrupting a day/night cycle. The ceramic heat lamp sounded great because it doesn't throw off visible light but I wasn't sure if it would mess with plants.

I guess I'll rephrase: Will an overhead ceramic heat emitter be ok for a ball python? If not, what might work when dealing with a thick layer of substrate? I'd like to know if it will mess with plants too, but I'll focus on getting adequate heating for a snake first.

Edit:

Cowslips Warren posted:

What does the thermostat on your UTH show? Perhaps it's just a bad one? I use UTH on almost all my balls and it seems to work good. Then again I also sweep some of said bedding away from the heater side so the snake doesn't have to dig to get to it.

It's showing a max of 74 in the substrate right above the pad, only about 6 degrees warmer than the "cool" side. The probe is buried and touching the glass. Maybe it's just a garbage UTH?

Hakarne fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Jan 24, 2021

OneSizeFitsAll
Sep 13, 2010

Du bist mein Sofa

Cowslips Warren posted:

Crickets make noise and loving reek. At least feeder roaches are clean.

True. Locusts don't seem to smell though, at least in my limited experience. Still, I'll do whatever's best for the spider (though it's a bit small for roaches right now anyway). Still working out the logistics of this. I would imagine running a breeding programme may be excessive for a single or even two or three spiders. How long is it realistic to try and store live food for? I'm under the impression right now that I'll need to restock every couple of weeks.

Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.
Plants absolutely need a dark rest period for healthy growth. A 24-hour exposure to a heat lamp may mean constant visible light, but it's still the kind of light that stimulates their metabolism (particularly fruiting behaviour) and it would probably kill them long-term. The need for periods of darkness as well as periods of light is called photoperiodism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoperiodism

You should look up what kind of lighting periods your plants can tolerate long-term, there's probably gardening literature that can give you at least rough figures on that. For keeping your snake warm at night, 24-hour heat lamps aren't a good option in a terrarium with living vegetation

Cowslips Warren
Oct 29, 2005

What use had they for tricks and cunning, living in the enemy's warren and paying his price?

Grimey Drawer
Sounds like the UTH might be broken.

A ceramic heat emitter will be fine too, no light produced, but not sure if it would still gently caress with the plants.

Hakarne
Jul 23, 2007
Vivo en el autobús!


Cardiovorax posted:

Plants absolutely need a dark rest period for healthy growth. A 24-hour exposure to a heat lamp may mean constant visible light, but it's still the kind of light that stimulates their metabolism (particularly fruiting behaviour) and it would probably kill them long-term. The need for periods of darkness as well as periods of light is called photoperiodism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoperiodism

You should look up what kind of lighting periods your plants can tolerate long-term, there's probably gardening literature that can give you at least rough figures on that. For keeping your snake warm at night, 24-hour heat lamps aren't a good option in a terrarium with living vegetation

Yeah that's what I was worried about with the ceramic heater. The light isn't visible to us but is it still going to screw with the plants? And I worry about getting a UTH that's strong enough to penetrate the substrate. If it's strong enough to get through it that'd probably mean it's too hot for the snake if it burrows down and gets right on it.

I think the ceramic heater is probably my best bet if that's generally ok to use with ball pythons, I'll just have to research further if it will mess with plants.

Bingemoose
Mar 24, 2014

Hurr Durr muts saf gotam cety

OneSizeFitsAll posted:

Is this the thread for general spider chat? I see tarantula stuff in the OP and no other obvious thread so assuming so.

Just entered the hobby today - bought a juvenile T sabulosum (Guatemalan Red Rump). Don't know the sex as yet - think it's about an inch or maybe a fraction bigger. Anway I'm delighted to have it - maybe now I will stop talking to my wife about spiders all the time. Or maybe it will get worse, who knows. It'll probably get worse and I'll probably buy more tarantulas. Anyway, here's my new little buddy:







Never thought i'd say this but thats kind of cool. what the hell do you feed Tarantulas?

snake and bake
Feb 23, 2005

:theroni:

Hakarne posted:

Hello, herp people! I'm working towards being a first-time ball python owner and I'm hoping to get some advice with heating. Right now I'm establishing a stable terrarium ahead of introducing a snake into the environment. The humidity is fine but the UTH we bought doesn't seem to be cutting it for creating a warm side... or really any heat at all. I'm guessing they aren't designed to heat through an inch or two of substrate, so I'm guessing that leaves us with an overhead heat source. I was looking at ceramic heaters (I already have a full-spectrum light for the plants and want a day/night cycle), but googling around I read an overhead heat source isn't the greatest for ball pythons. So I'm not sure what's best at this point.

So is a ceramic heater ok for a ball python? If not, what's a good heat source that won't mess up plant growth? I appreciate any advice I can get!

Two things:

1. Mount the UTH on the side of the enclosure. UTH + glass enclosure + substrate creates a really dangerous scenario. Ball pythons are famous for burning their bellies. Side mounting it is much less likely to result in burns. Just put one side of the warm hide against that wall of the enclosure. You are using a thermostat to monitor and adjust the temperature, I hope? A ceramic heater is not ideal.

2. Maybe consider another snake species, because it sounds like you want a display snake, and ball pythons are not a good candidate for that. For one thing live plants need light, but ball pythons aren't baskers and get stressed out by too much light. Honestly your enclosure sounds better suited to a colubrid or something else active and diurnal.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Cowslips Warren posted:

Crickets make noise and loving reek. At least feeder roaches are clean.

I will never keep crickets

I will never loving keep crickets

OneSizeFitsAll
Sep 13, 2010

Du bist mein Sofa

Bingemoose posted:

Never thought i'd say this but thats kind of cool. what the hell do you feed Tarantulas?

Crickets, locusts, roaches and different kinds of worms are the staples I believe, but younger ones tend to be fed with flies and titchy stuff, and bigger adults can also eat small mammals and reptiles, but I'm not anticipating feeding those, myself.

I took another one last night that I liked under some overhead light:



Got a deeper tank coming on Wednesday so it can have a fresher (and higher) substrate with a bit more depth for burrowing if it wants to.

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Dapper_Swindler
Feb 14, 2012

Im glad my instant dislike in you has been validated again and again.
whats good for a leo bedding wise. I use repti carpet for both of my (separate 20 gallons with heat emiters, both healthy etc) maybe tile but i never fully trusted that either.

i use paper towls for my frogs and my crested.

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