We have a juvenile Stimsons (or should that be Childrens?) python - he's 6 months old & we've had him for a couple of months (he's called Aspheera - named by my 8 year old son). Bought from a reputable breeder.
I'm finding it tricky to keep the ambient temperature in his enclosure high enough without putting the heating on in the bedroom he's in. Currently he's in a plastic box, suitable density breathing holes for cool/warm ends, paper for substrate, water in the cool end (as recommended by the breeder). We've used a LOT of insulation - he's in a wooden box, fleece around (but not touching) the box, and foil around the bit of the warm section that doesn't have holes in. He has a cardboard toilet roll for a hide under the paper His temps are between 28-30 ambient warm end temps and around 33-35 at the base of the box (we're using a heat mat), then between 22-24 at the cool end. At night and sometimes on a cold day, his ambient warm temps can drop a couple of degrees to 26-27, which I think might be too low? He didn't eat for 2 weeks because of shedding, then he ate 3 pinkies, but on his last feeding day (and the day after), looked interested in the mice, but then decided that exploring was far more interesting! So now he's not eaten for another couple of weeks (feeding day will be Wednesday, as I don't want to stress him out too much by trying to feed him too often). I'm a bit concerned that that's too long of a gap for a python of his age?
I'm thinking of creating a larger box (or getting a larger enclosure - one that he'll grow in to), putting his existing box in it and getting the ambient temperature of that box higher using a ceramic "globe" over the warm end, so that his ambient warm end temps are always over 28. Does this sound like a good idea? We have some reflective insulation we could put around a standard glass enclosure, or I guess we could try and make a wooden enclosure, but I'm not sure how to make it hygienic? Is it a good idea to have LED lights on during daylight hours (and maybe some UV - I've read that it isn't necessary, but a good idea), and then make sure he's quite dark at night? Ideally, we want to move him into our son's room, but he has lights on at night, so we would need to make sure we can cover him and still maintain his temps.
Re: substrate, we were advised to use paper, even for an adult. Is this a generally good idea? What does everyone else use? To me, Aspheera looks like he wants to have a bit of space where he can explore a bit, or find different hides. I wonder if I'm reading human desires into his actions though. I believe they like small enclosures, but how do you know when they can go up a bit in size, or when they should have a few more hides/branches/different substrate?
I've been reading the forums & the information is really helpful - thanks! I hope I'm not duplicating too many questions (or asking too many - just want to do the right thing for our little guy!)... Thanks for reading, and hope you can help!
I'm finding it tricky to keep the ambient temperature in his enclosure high enough without putting the heating on in the bedroom he's in. Currently he's in a plastic box, suitable density breathing holes for cool/warm ends, paper for substrate, water in the cool end (as recommended by the breeder). We've used a LOT of insulation - he's in a wooden box, fleece around (but not touching) the box, and foil around the bit of the warm section that doesn't have holes in. He has a cardboard toilet roll for a hide under the paper His temps are between 28-30 ambient warm end temps and around 33-35 at the base of the box (we're using a heat mat), then between 22-24 at the cool end. At night and sometimes on a cold day, his ambient warm temps can drop a couple of degrees to 26-27, which I think might be too low? He didn't eat for 2 weeks because of shedding, then he ate 3 pinkies, but on his last feeding day (and the day after), looked interested in the mice, but then decided that exploring was far more interesting! So now he's not eaten for another couple of weeks (feeding day will be Wednesday, as I don't want to stress him out too much by trying to feed him too often). I'm a bit concerned that that's too long of a gap for a python of his age?
I'm thinking of creating a larger box (or getting a larger enclosure - one that he'll grow in to), putting his existing box in it and getting the ambient temperature of that box higher using a ceramic "globe" over the warm end, so that his ambient warm end temps are always over 28. Does this sound like a good idea? We have some reflective insulation we could put around a standard glass enclosure, or I guess we could try and make a wooden enclosure, but I'm not sure how to make it hygienic? Is it a good idea to have LED lights on during daylight hours (and maybe some UV - I've read that it isn't necessary, but a good idea), and then make sure he's quite dark at night? Ideally, we want to move him into our son's room, but he has lights on at night, so we would need to make sure we can cover him and still maintain his temps.
Re: substrate, we were advised to use paper, even for an adult. Is this a generally good idea? What does everyone else use? To me, Aspheera looks like he wants to have a bit of space where he can explore a bit, or find different hides. I wonder if I'm reading human desires into his actions though. I believe they like small enclosures, but how do you know when they can go up a bit in size, or when they should have a few more hides/branches/different substrate?
I've been reading the forums & the information is really helpful - thanks! I hope I'm not duplicating too many questions (or asking too many - just want to do the right thing for our little guy!)... Thanks for reading, and hope you can help!
Maybe it was too cold in his feeding box yesterday (even though I did warm it up for him).
