Please help! Newbies with TWO jungle hatchies, thermostat help

[kawasakirider]

Hi everyone, my GF and I purchased two jungle python hatchies yesterday, they are 4 months old and they are very nice they don't mind being handled (if they weren't a snake, I'd say they love it, but I know reptiles only tolerate it, lol) and I have only been bitten once.

Today we went to the pet store and found that our enclosure wasn't adequate (yet we payed $150 for it from the snake dealer -.-) so we bought an enclosure and all the gear from the pet store.

The enclosure is a 45x45x45cm Exo Terra Glass Terranium
We got a UV lamp to suit the set up
a heat lamp to suit
a hide
a water bowl
Aspen snake bedding
and other assorted gear INCLUDING

a thermostat made by eco tech.

The box says
"Advanced reptile thermostat - electronic thermostat with timer"

It plugs into the wall and the head probe comes out of the main unit and another cord comes out of the main unit and it has its own black powerboard, so if the temp gets too hot, it shuts off.

The problem is, the powerboard lights won't come on, and when I plug the heat lamp into it, it won't turn on.

Anyone have any insight on this? I love the new enclosure and the snakes seem to love it, too. But I won't always be home to monitor temps and turn the heat lamp on and off, so I need the thermostat to work. Maybe I've missed something, but I doubt it.

Thanks in advance,

Trent

 

[Jen]

Just a question, you have them in the one enclosure?

 

[beeman]

What was the enclosure that come with the snakes?
You do know that UV is not required.

 

[saximus]

It just sounds like a dud mate. Try taking it back to the place you got it and get a new one

 

[GeckoJosh]

Wont take them long to outgrow that.....

 

[Serpentess]

Pet shops will tell you anything to make you spend money.

Sounds like it could be either; a faulty thermo, or that it's not set properly or best case scenario it could just be a faulty globe.

Also you may find that just plain newspaper or butchers paper is easier and cheaper than aspen bedding.

Hatchlings should generally not be kept in the one enclosure because snakes can try to be cannibalistic... Not a risk you want to take.

Personally I would recommend a simple $10 52lt starmaid tub set up. Easy, cheap and great for hatchlings up until they get to about 12months+ old.

 

[dale1988]

pet shop strikes again i doubt any breeder from this site (if you bnought it from here) would sell you something thats not suitable for something they have breed in my opinion. pet shops will always try squeeze money out ofpeople again my opinion

 

[kawasakirider]

Nah, the pet shop was actually right. Our enclosure wasn't adequate. It is a very poorly made wooden box lol. Apparently the snakes will outgrow the enclosure that they sold us within 18 months (they were upfront about this), but we bought it anyway because we can sell it on, and at the moment the size is perfect for our bedroom (we rent in a share house).

Yeah, the snakes are in the same enclosure. They also told us this wasn't the best idea, but we have seperate tubs to feed them in and I know never to feed them together or in their main enclosure. I was also told that the UV light isn't essential, but it won't hurt and could provide the snakes with vitamin D....

I know the lightbulb isn't a dud, because it works when I plug it into the wall. The thermostats heat monitor works aswell, I have been turning the lamp off when it gets to 33 and turning it on when it gets back to 30.

I'll take the thermostat back tomorrow... I'm kicking myself because I was going to get the guy to give me a demo in the store of how to use it, but I was running short on time. I woulda known it wasn't working lol.

When I go to sleep tonight, will it be OK to leave all the lights off? Or will they get too cold? I don't want to cook them lol.

Also, in regards to the aspen bedding, the people at the pet store said that you can take the excrement out, along with the bedding that was soiled, but the rest of the bedding is fine. He said that he has used his for 15 months.

 

[saximus]

You're better off leaving them a bit cold (as long as they haven't eaten recently) than overheating them.
Also I've heard UV is for metabolising calcium not vitamin D. I don't know if they are linked though (maybe someone who knows biology can explain). But yeah either way not needed for snakes

 

[beeman]

The snakes will out grow that enclosure inside of 12 months, Keeping 2 juveniles together is not good as canabalisim in juvies is a great risk, even when fed in seperate tubs, If it moves they grab it!

 

[kawasakirider]

What was the enclosure that come with the snakes?
You do know that UV is not required.

It was a 71cm by 30cm box. 71cm long, 30 deep, and 30 high.

It has lots of gaps around the light cage, and the light was just a regular light. Fair few gaps in it, lol.

 

[hrafna]

Nah, the pet shop was actually right. Our enclosure wasn't adequate. It is a very poorly made wooden box lol. Apparently the snakes will outgrow the enclosure that they sold us within 18 months (they were upfront about this), but we bought it anyway because we can sell it on, and at the moment the size is perfect for our bedroom (we rent in a share house).

Yeah, the snakes are in the same enclosure. They also told us this wasn't the best idea, but we have seperate tubs to feed them in and I know never to feed them together or in their main enclosure. I was also told that the UV light isn't essential, but it won't hurt and could provide the snakes with vitamin D....

I know the lightbulb isn't a dud, because it works when I plug it into the wall. The thermostats heat monitor works aswell, I have been turning the lamp off when it gets to 33 and turning it on when it gets back to 30.

I'll take the thermostat back tomorrow... I'm kicking myself because I was going to get the guy to give me a demo in the store of how to use it, but I was running short on time. I woulda known it wasn't working lol.

When I go to sleep tonight, will it be OK to leave all the lights off? Or will they get too cold? I don't want to cook them lol.

Also, in regards to the aspen bedding, the people at the pet store said that you can take the excrement out, along with the bedding that was soiled, but the rest of the bedding is fine. He said that he has used his for 15 months.

personally i would give it a total clean once a month, fresh aspen. i believe it is ok to do spot cleans (once you notice the excrement) with aspen but i am not 100% sure on that.

 

[kawasakirider]

The snakes will out grow that enclosure inside of 12 months, Keeping 2 juveniles together is not good as canabalisim in juvies is a great risk, even when fed in seperate tubs, If it moves they grab it!

They seem to be fine with each other. I REALLY don't have the cash for a new enclosure right now, and the breeder told us they would be fine. Is there anything I could do to minimise the risk of canabalism? Right now they are wrapped up together in a tree <3 haha

personally i would give it a total clean once a month, fresh aspen. i believe it is ok to do spot cleans (once you notice the excrement) with aspen but i am not 100% sure on that.

That's fine, I'm happy to do it once a month. As long as within the month, if I see any stuff I can get rid of it.

You're better off leaving them a bit cold (as long as they haven't eaten recently) than overheating them.
Also I've heard UV is for metabolising calcium not vitamin D. I don't know if they are linked though (maybe someone who knows biology can explain). But yeah either way not needed for snakes

The male ate 2 pinkies yesterday, I couldn't get the female to eat.

 

[Serpentess]

Spot cleaning works for poop, but believe me snakes can give out a large amount of liquid with some urates and 15 months of that would be absolutely disgusting. I would never EVER reduce my snakes to living in those conditions.

A 45x45x45 exo terra enclosure is what I had for my juvenile spotted python, your two jungles will not be able to live comfortably together in there for long at all (if they even do last together without one trying to eat the other).

Edit: You say you dont have enough money for another enclosure? Like I said earlier a $10 starmaid tub set up is perfect for hatchies. $2 piece of dowel and either a soldering iron or small drill bit to make air holes and you're done. Can't get cheaper than that.

 

[kawasakirider]

Spot cleaning works for poop, but believe me snakes can give out a large amount of liquid with some urates and 15 months of that would be absolutely disgusting. I would never EVER reduce my snakes to living in those conditions.

A 45x45x45 exo terra enclosure is what I had for my juvenile spotted python, your two jungles will not be able to live comfortably together in there for long at all (if they even do last together without one trying to eat the other).

Edit: You say you dont have enough money for another enclosure? Like I said earlier a $10 starmaid tub set up is perfect for hatchies. $2 piece of dowel and either a soldering iron or small drill bit to make air holes and you're done. Can't get cheaper than that.

You don't have the used enclosure f/s do ya? I'm in Ipswich and if its a reasonable price I might be able to swing it in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for your advice

 

[Serpentess]

You don't have the used enclosure f/s do ya? I'm in Ipswich and if its a reasonable price I might be able to swing it in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for your advice

Although it's not being used, unfortunately it's not for sale. Planning on getting some sandswimmers or geckos in there sometime.

I'll attach a pic of a starmaid jungle set up I did, they really are great for hatchies.

 

[Jarden]

Nice little setup chantelle, I like how u have mounted the light box in a elevated position for the hide, good thinking

 

[Serpentess]

Nice little setup chantelle, I like how u have mounted the light box in a elevated position for the hide, good thinking

Haha, thanks. Yeah. That was probably his favourite spot in the whole tub. He was only on the dowel if he was hungry, rest of the time he'd be on top of or inside that little box. When he started getting older I had to upgrade it to some stronger cardboard because the lid of the box started to sink with his weight, but the whole box always stayed up.

 

[wranga]

the snake deal sold you an enclosure that wasn't adequate, so did your pet shop. your new enclosure wont even last a year with one snake let alone two. you would of been better off fixing the gaps in the light cage of the enclosure that the snake dealer sold you, its a more adequate enclosure.

 

[kawasakirider]

Well if it lasts a year I'll be happy.... If not I'll upgrade when need be.

There are two elevated spots in the enclosure at the moment, one is a bushy thing on a suction cup close to the roof, and the other is a shrub at ground level.

The male was in the bushy thing close to the top for a while, and the female went up there, too. They were both curled up next to each other for around an hour or more, and then the female moved to the lower one, where she's stayed.

Could this be a sign of the male displaying dominance over the female because she moved, or could it just be that she was sick of it up there? He was fine with her up there for hours, and I didn't see any aggression or him move at all really.