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mickdundee

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Have a coastal carpet python (female I'm told) just trying to learn the tricks of the trade, she's had her first rat (with me) about 4 days ago or so so I guess when do I feed her next? Do I turn the thermostat down as we get closer to winter (or up even) etc, not even sure I can actually :)
 
need more info, age, size, enclosure details, temps ect...
 
7 days is the general rule of thumb before feeding again. So say you feed on a Friday, you will feed her next Friday. It would also depend on her size and the food size. The food item should leave a nice decent lump in her tummy, but more info from you would help :).

When it comes to winter don't turn her heat down or off or anything. The only time you should really turn it off or down is when it's a really hot day. Those are just basic details but to help you in more detail, we in turn need more detail. Give us her age, her rough size, what her temperatures are (hot end of tank and cool end). The size of rats she is eating. Adult, sub adult etc.

If you can post a picture of her enclosure that would help lots too :D
 
Cynthia.jpgAge 3 to 4 I'm told, about a metre long, she has indeed got a nice bulge n her stomach from the last rat, a small one, thinking a medium one next, pics to come, no thermometer in her enclosure (2 ordered today) so can't give temps sorry.
 
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that is a very nice looking enclosure from what we can see, but could i just make 1 little suggestion, seeing as Coastals are not really a terrestrial snake it might be a nice added touch to give it some sort of structure to climb on i.e some branches or a small platform off the ground, it helps to give them a feeling of security to be able to get off the ground, At about a metre in length it should be able to take 150gm rats with ease, it has been said here on many occasions a good rule of thumb is 15-20% of the snakes body weight is a good guide to feed size. A thermometer or an IR heat gun as well as a thermostat is almost a must with the colder weather almost upon you in Victoria, also something to remember is as the weather starts to cool down your snakes metabolism will start to do the same and will not require feeding quite as regularly. Keep a good heat gradient, give it something to climb on and only feed it what ?T"wants and you should have a nice happy and healthy Coastal. I hope this has been of some help with the limited info you have given. :) .....................Ron
 
Yeah defs get her something to climb on she would love that. Other than that, Basically what Ron said xD
 
Hard to tell from that pic but there is a ****load of plastic foliage hanging from wire attached to the back of the enclosure, she escaped about the 2nd day I had her (got out between the Perspex doors) so I keep them clipped together now, the other day I thought she had escaped again, looked in my stereo speakers (where she was last time) and no sign of her, sitting on the couch wondering, saw movment from the corner of my eye, she was there the whole time, I was looking on the ground, she is curled up quite comfortably at the top of the cage.

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Next question folks, what equipment do I need? Ordered 2 thermometers for the enclosure, do I need a snake hook, tongs?
 
Next question folks, what equipment do I need? Ordered 2 thermometers for the enclosure, do I need a snake hook, tongs?

A snake hook and tongs aren't 'needed' so to speak, but they do make things easier!

I use my snake hook a lot for getting animals in and out of enclosures. Tongs I use on an animal per animal basis. Eg. I always use tongs for my chainsaw jungle when feeding so he doesn't accidentally take my hand off!
 
Alrighty, last time I fed her I just put the rat on the floor and she did the rest, hasn't taken a dump yet so that has me worried a little, thanks again

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Gave her a medium rat just now, that went down pretty fast so we up it to a large rat next week :) I'm happy now, she's eating and drinking, all good
 
Wouldn't worry about the not seeing any poo part. It depends on a few things, with that... for example. How warm the snake is depends on how fast it will digest. Also the size of the meal. If it was a small meal you can expect a small sized poo pretty quickly. If it was a big meal, you wont expect a poo for maybe a few weeks. So in regards to poop. Just forget about it. Minimum time before you should handle after a feed is about 48 hours, a good majority of the people here who handle their snakes leave it for at-least 3 days or so to be sure. Reason for this is you don't want the snake spewing its dinner up. Hooks and tong usage is meh really. It comes down to what you prefer. I have never used a hook before because my snakes haven't been nasty or overly scared. If however your snake is rather skittish and freaked out, a hook can be a good idea. As for tongs, that's neither here nor there. If you are scared of getting bitten when feeding, go ahead and use tongs. If you don't really care hold the food by the tail or just drop it in and walk away. Of course if you were feeding vens tongs are needed. Lol.
 
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