New addition! Rescued Russian Tortoise named "Zoom"

[Sarahmooo]

Foofy;;
Agreed.
My lizard and snake both have heat pads, but my lizard also has a basking lamp.
My snake does too, but his bulb is blown and I haven't had a chance to stop by Petsmart yet.

 

[Shanna66]

i always have it at the lowest setting then raise it up to the proper temps over time. i adore my UTHs. though most of them i keep on carpet but they are raised off the floor because i use bunched up towels on the sides of the tank. this is only for my 10gals, a few 20gals, and my 40gal sized bin  

[Foofy_Miru]

Skittle-- What kind of lizard? I find heat pads dangerous for anything that isn't equipped to use it... For example, I'm afraid my beardie would burn himself on a heat pad because he's used to getting his heat from a light rather than an artificially warmed floor. On the other hand, a leopard or fat tail gecko (for example) would do fine--being nocturnal rather than basking species.

I really don't believe in basking lamps for snakes--in fact, I LOATHE them. They suck up all the humidity and create the perfect conditions for terrible sheds and constipation... Had that problem with one of my corns, actually. I could see using basking lamps for arboreal and extremely active semi-arboreals (like my Taiwan beauty--her ideal enclosure would be 8x3x3 ft and equipped with at least two "basking spots"... She's a "display snake" by nature), but, even then, radiant heat panels can be used instead to preserve humidity and cut down on light (since the vast majority of snakes prefer more darkness). If a basking lamp works well with your snake, that's great... If it were me, I'd scrap it in an instant. The only snake I use a basking lamp (actually, a CHE) for is my big female BCI, and that's because her heating pad doesn't work and I have more important things to put my money into right now than replacing it.

Sorry, got off on a tangent again... As you can see, I kind of have a very firm opinion on basking sites for snakes. xP

Shanna-- Most of my thermostats are shitty Reptitemp 500Rs, so I have to go through the careful adjustment thing most of the time, too. That's why I love my Ranco and Herpstat (especially the Herpstat).

Do you not have problems with the carpet? That's one thing I worry about a little bit when dealing with heat pads... My mom and grandma insist that I try to use a thick cloth (rug, towel, whatever) underneath the enclosure whenever I use one of our antique pieces as a stand (we have a lot of antiques...), but I always hesitate to do so since a thick piece of cloth is a lot more likely to suck up heat and cause problems than a bare piece of wood (aged or otherwise).

Oh yeah, for sake of being semi-on-topic, Zoom is doing well. She managed to smear poop quite literally ALL over her enclosure yesterday (and then squirted poop at me while I was cleaning her), so obviously she's got some energy (despite the diarrhea)... And today she chowed down quite happily on a large collard leaf, a mustard green leaf, a chunk of squash, and a strip of cactus. The little glutton! Normally she just gets organic Spring Mix from the store with maybe some hawkbit/dandelion from the yard thrown in, so I think she enjoyed today's variety... =)  

[Shanna66]

enever had an issue to be honest. the tanks that are on tables and things fluctuate temp wise alot more than the ones on the carpet.

my sister uses a heat lamp for her corn but we have found a solution to the humidity issue, we gave him a humid hide just like with the leos. he loves it and always sheds in it. we had a bad shedding accident with him before that made us want to use a humid hide. because of the morph he is he is super pale so you cant tell if he has stuck shed and he is a baby who isnt used to being held (we got him at 6 weeks old and we didnt want to drop him) so he wont hold still if you need a closer look. well for a few weeks he was the pissiest little thing you ever saw then one day he was nice again. later while cleaning out his tank we found an inch of tail, not tail skin, but tail. phe is fine now and everything is all healed up perfeclty, you can hardly even tell he is shorter than he should be unless you look really hard.

but yeah, we have had no issues with shedding since the humid hide. i love those things to death ^.^ i want to use one with my ball because i hate spraying her bin all the time but i know she would be too stupid to use it, but thats ellie for you

and as for ways of controling the UTHs, im cheap so i buy the really crappy light dimmer like things. they get the job done and work fine for the most part. the only downside is that i have to check the temps every once in a while


i know with rats gatorade helps with runny poops and is pretty good for them (my boys love the stuff). maybe you should see if she can have some?
you need topost pics of her eating too  

[Sarahmooo]

Foofy_Miru

Skittle-- What kind of lizard? I find heat pads dangerous for anything that isn't equipped to use it... For example, I'm afraid my beardie would burn himself on a heat pad because he's used to getting his heat from a light rather than an artificially warmed floor. On the other hand, a leopard or fat tail gecko (for example) would do fine--being nocturnal rather than basking species.

I really don't believe in basking lamps for snakes--in fact, I LOATHE them. They suck up all the humidity and create the perfect conditions for terrible sheds and constipation... Had that problem with one of my corns, actually. I could see using basking lamps for arboreal and extremely active semi-arboreals (like my Taiwan beauty--her ideal enclosure would be 8x3x3 ft and equipped with at least two "basking spots"... She's a "display snake" by nature), but, even then, radiant heat panels can be used instead to preserve humidity and cut down on light (since the vast majority of snakes prefer more darkness). If a basking lamp works well with your snake, that's great... If it were me, I'd scrap it in an instant. The only snake I use a basking lamp (actually, a CHE) for is my big female BCI, and that's because her heating pad doesn't work and I have more important things to put my money into right now than replacing it.

Sorry, got off on a tangent again... As you can see, I kind of have a very firm opinion on basking sites for snakes. xP

Shanna-- Most of my thermostats are shitty Reptitemp 500Rs, so I have to go through the careful adjustment thing most of the time, too. That's why I love my Ranco and Herpstat (especially the Herpstat).

Do you not have problems with the carpet? That's one thing I worry about a little bit when dealing with heat pads... My mom and grandma insist that I try to use a thick cloth (rug, towel, whatever) underneath the enclosure whenever I use one of our antique pieces as a stand (we have a lot of antiques...), but I always hesitate to do so since a thick piece of cloth is a lot more likely to suck up heat and cause problems than a bare piece of wood (aged or otherwise).

Oh yeah, for sake of being semi-on-topic, Zoom is doing well. She managed to smear poop quite literally ALL over her enclosure yesterday (and then squirted poop at me while I was cleaning her), so obviously she's got some energy (despite the diarrhea)... And today she chowed down quite happily on a large collard leaf, a mustard green leaf, a chunk of squash, and a strip of cactus. The little glutton! Normally she just gets organic Spring Mix from the store with maybe some hawkbit/dandelion from the yard thrown in, so I think she enjoyed today's variety... =)

Actually, I'm glad you told me.
I can't find ANYTHING about the correct basking places for my animals, so I just kind of put what little info I have to use.
So I'll probably just leave his heating lamp off?
And my lizard is a Beardie.

 

[Foofy_Miru]

Shanna-- Really good to know, thanks! We have a potential contagious health problem in the snakes right now, so I'm moving them to my grandma's house as they get "cleared"... She demands that I use a thick towel between the top of her antique wood file cabinet (or whatever it is) and the tubs once I get heat over there, because she's afraid it'll ruin the antique.

I use humid hides a lot of the time, too. I still don't believe in the use of heat lamps for snakes... But, if it works for your sister, that's fine--her choice. What morph is he? Snow, I'm guessing? It's usually easy enough to see stuck shed by looking for flaps of shed skin sticking up on the snake's side or back. You can take advantage of his squirminess, too, by using pressure when you hold him... Not so much that he can't move, but enough that any stuck skin will begin to come off as he slides through your grip. I use that method with my female BP, whose bad sheds are pretty much chronic... I have to "help" her shed off whatever remains every single shed cycle.

It sounds like he had a chunk of shed skin stuck on his tail that you didn't get off... That's the only explanation as to why it would fall off unless it got smashed THAT hard or cut. You probably know this already, but snakes cannot drop their tails like a gecko or skink. I've heard of it happening before, and it's not a good thing. It usually happens only when there's several layers of shed stuck on the tip... If you don't already, inspect his sheds to make SURE he sheds off EVERYTHING--eyecaps through tail tip. It sounds like scrapping the heat lamp might be a good idea, anyway, if he has enough stuck tail tip shed to make his tail tip fall off! =/ Introduce your sis to this forum: CornSnakes.com It's THE best corn snake forum, and a good resource and community for new and old, serious and casual keepers alike. =)

I don't trust light dimmers. The temps in my house fluctuate WAY too much, so I opt to put my money into crappy $25 thermostats instead of crappy light dimmers and rheostats. =P

Not too sure about gatorade. I can see the electrolytes being helpful, but mammals and reptiles are very different animals, and I'm not sure how well a tortoise would take to everything else that goes into our sugary energy drinks.

Skittle-- I'm glad I could help, lol!

Yeah, scrap the snake's heat lamp... I'd say scrap the beardie's heat pad while you're at it, too. With a heat lamp and a high enough wattage bulb, he shouldn't need the heat pad. If you use it to up his night time basking temps, just install a ceramic heat emitter... Beardies certainly don't need the humidity heat lamps and CHEs suck up, and, IMO, it's a lot smarter to use a heat lamp/CHE than any sort of belly heat for a basking animal.  

[Sarahmooo]

Foofy_Miru

Shanna-- Really good to know, thanks! We have a potential contagious health problem in the snakes right now, so I'm moving them to my grandma's house as they get "cleared"... She demands that I use a thick towel between the top of her antique wood file cabinet (or whatever it is) and the tubs once I get heat over there, because she's afraid it'll ruin the antique.

I use humid hides a lot of the time, too. I still don't believe in the use of heat lamps for snakes... But, if it works for your sister, that's fine--her choice. What morph is he? Snow, I'm guessing? It's usually easy enough to see stuck shed by looking for flaps of shed skin sticking up on the snake's side or back. You can take advantage of his squirminess, too, by using pressure when you hold him... Not so much that he can't move, but enough that any stuck skin will begin to come off as he slides through your grip. I use that method with my female BP, whose bad sheds are pretty much chronic... I have to "help" her shed off whatever remains every single shed cycle.

It sounds like he had a chunk of shed skin stuck on his tail that you didn't get off... That's the only explanation as to why it would fall off unless it got smashed THAT hard or cut. You probably know this already, but snakes cannot drop their tails like a gecko or skink. I've heard of it happening before, and it's not a good thing. It usually happens only when there's several layers of shed stuck on the tip... If you don't already, inspect his sheds to make SURE he sheds off EVERYTHING--eyecaps through tail tip. It sounds like scrapping the heat lamp might be a good idea, anyway, if he has enough stuck tail tip shed to make his tail tip fall off! =/ Introduce your sis to this forum: CornSnakes.com It's THE best corn snake forum, and a good resource and community for new and old, serious and casual keepers alike. =)

I don't trust light dimmers. The temps in my house fluctuate WAY too much, so I opt to put my money into crappy $25 thermostats instead of crappy light dimmers and rheostats. =P

Not too sure about gatorade. I can see the electrolytes being helpful, but mammals and reptiles are very different animals, and I'm not sure how well a tortoise would take to everything else that goes into our sugary energy drinks.

Skittle-- I'm glad I could help, lol!

Yeah, scrap the snake's heat lamp... I'd say scrap the beardie's heat pad while you're at it, too. With a heat lamp and a high enough wattage bulb, he shouldn't need the heat pad. If you use it to up his night time basking temps, just install a ceramic heat emitter... Beardies certainly don't need the humidity heat lamps and CHEs suck up, and, IMO, it's a lot smarter to use a heat lamp/CHE than any sort of belly heat for a basking animal.

Thank you!
Will do, next time I can get someone to help me with it.
Their tanks are huge xD

 

[Foofy_Miru]

You could just unplug the heat pad... Which is usually what I mean when I say "scrap". I so understand massive, heavy tanks... xP  

[Sarahmooo]

You know.
I don't know what I'd do without you.
I have no common sense what-so-ever..

 

[Foofy_Miru]

Skittleo

You know.
I don't know what I'd do without you.
I have no common sense what-so-ever..

Aww, I feel so loved! whee  

[Sarahmooo]

Foofy_Miru

Skittleo

You know.
I don't know what I'd do without you.
I have no common sense what-so-ever..

Aww, I feel so loved! whee

Haha
I'm glad I know who to come to for reptile questions ;D
Which is really good considering I have no other reliable sources -__-

 

[Foofy_Miru]

Skittleo

Haha
I'm glad I know who to come to for reptile questions ;D
Which is really good considering I have no other reliable sources -__-

Can't say I know everything, but I think I have all of the basics down right... So, yeah, I'm happy to answer (or try to answer) any questions. wink

Here's a good beardie forum, if you want to take a look... BeardedDragon.org I'm not a member of it (yet, anyway), but, from what I've heard, it's a good, reliable site with good, knowledgeable people. I can't find any king snake forums, but kingsnake.com and faunaclassifieds.com should both have king snake forums, and local herp societies (google "herp society" and your location/nearest big city/state) are always a great resource, even if you can only participate through the forum.  

[Sarahmooo]

Foofy_Miru

Skittleo

Haha
I'm glad I know who to come to for reptile questions ;D
Which is really good considering I have no other reliable sources -__-

Can't say I know everything, but I think I have all of the basics down right... So, yeah, I'm happy to answer (or try to answer) any questions. wink

Here's a good beardie forum, if you want to take a look... BeardedDragon.org I'm not a member of it (yet, anyway), but, from what I've heard, it's a good, reliable site with good, knowledgeable people. I can't find any king snake forums, but kingsnake.com and faunaclassifieds.com should both have king snake forums, and local herp societies (google "herp society" and your location/nearest big city/state) are always a great resource, even if you can only participate through the forum.

Thank you!
I'm gonna go check them out lol

 

[Foofy_Miru]

Welcome! =)

Ew. I think I smell reptile poo.

Oh, wait. That's the dog. The tortoise isn't even in the room... o.O  

[Shanna66]

dont worry, we always check his tail now, and ever since we started using the humid hide he has perfect sheds now. im still trying to talk her into using a heat mat but she hates them. and im pretty sure his tail came off because of so many bad sheds. he isnt a snow but he is some sort of albino. i cant remember the name to save my life though


i love how gecko poo doesnt really smell at all. the ball pythons poo didnt used to smell bad but after she started eating rats..... well its very stinky, ill leave it at that lol XD and beardy poo smells too. my old beardy used to stink up my room all the time. plus when she was in her advanced age she started getting bad gas.

beardy farts and rat farts really stink. i recently made the mistake of giving my rats pepper seeds and my god i couldnt go in my room that night. i have such stinky stinky boys XD