Help with woma temps

[DanNG]

Hi all,
Just after some advice with setting up a tub for my new Woma hatchling. My other python is a children's in a melamine enclosure with a heat lamp.. So this is first time using a tub with heat mat.
I've put a temp prob in the side of the cold end and also the hot end.. At the moment it's measuring 26 hot and 25 cold end. Last night it dropped to 22/20. However... If I use an infared heat gun the temps on the floor at cold end are 26 and the hot end is between 30/32 over the heat mat. Do I go off surface temperature or ambient? (maybe the probs need to be further in the tub for more accurate readings)
Thanks for any help/advice
Dan

 

[deebo]

Try putting the temp probe for the thermometer under the paper, or plonk a hide down at the hot end and put the probe in the hide. A heat mat wont really heat up the air too much but will heat the floor of the enclosure up nicely.

What wattage heat mat are you using?

Cheers,
Dave

 

[abnrmal91]

As has been said heat pads don't heat up the air very much. Just place the probe on were the heat pad is placed. I place the probe on top the heat pad as thats the temperature you want to monitor (you lose heat from the heat pad depending how thick the paper is) thats just how I set it up.

Does your woma have hide? Plus your woma looks very cool, I want 1

 

[DanNG]

Thanks guys, its a 10w heat mat, just a temp solution until I sort out a heat cord / tile set up. It's on a thermostat and I'll put a hide in tonight.
It's one of David Evans hatchies, very happy with it, took awhile to build up enough courage to pick it up - they sure are fiesty/funny when young.

 

[deebo]

A 10w heat mat should be fine for while its in a tub - no need to change to a heat cord etc unless you really want to change the set up. I find heat cords more useful and always come in handy again down the track though!

A hide will help it settle in and feel secure and hopefully calm down! haha!

Glad you are happy with her and she should grow into a nice animal like her mum i think.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Bluetongue1]

Like Dave said, your set up looks fine. The probe should be where the python would be – on the floor, as Bucky pointed out, and not in the air. Preferred body temperature for adult womas is 26oC but they will happily bask until their body temperature exceeds 35oC. I am not sure about hatchies. Irrespective, place the probe in the middle of the enclosure and set it to preferred body temperature for woma hatchies. (I suspect your temps are actually fine but can’t confirm that). Have a hide at each end and the hatchy will then do the rest – moving between the two to thermoregulate.

Cheap hides: Unscented toilet rolls are good. Simply squeeze together in your hand and then sticky tape one end together. For larger animals cut out and tape a disc of card to cover one end of the roll. Cardboard packets that medicines come in, like Aspirin, are great. Just cut or tear out an entry hole and Bob’s your uncle. With the above when they get soiled you can simply chuck them out and replace. For larger hatchies, small plastic plant pot trays are great. Cut or melt (soldering iron or heated length of heavy wire like a coat hanger) an entry out of the side and turn upside down. You can often find similar plastic bowls in the kids “tea set” sections of the toy department in supermarkets.

Blue

 

[DanNG]

Thanks for the tips blue, I'll put an extra hide into the cold end. I've been keeping an eye on surface temps and it seems to be spot on, she also fed tonight (my first attempt) no problem.. Very ferocious compared to my childrens, smashed it into the floor a couple of times... She still coils up and hisses whenever I go near.. But tolerates me holding her when cleaning the enclosure. I'll leave her alone as much as possible over the next couple of weeks

 

[Bluetongue1]

Womas have an amazing feeding response. They get really excited at the prospect of food and will wag their tail and even head bob in anticipation. Once they realise that food is not on the agenda they usually settle down to be the most placid of all pythons. You can train your snake to distinguish between feeding and maintenance. Always feed at the same time of day, preferably after dark when they would naturally be out hunting and from the one side of the viv. Maintenance and handling should obviously be done at a very different time to this. Present the food in the same place, even if the snake is on the other side of the enclosure. When you want to clean the viv, always do so from the other side of the viv, Make certain that you or your clothes do not smell of food items, remembering just how acute their sense of smell is.

If you are worried about her striking when you want to take her out, open up the enclosure and let her start to make her way out. Use a small hook (commercially available or fashioned out of stiff wire) to hold her head end sufficient distance from your other hand so she cannot reach you as you reach in and lift her out. She should then settle and can be handled or put in another container. Note that the hook is should not take any real weight – it is simply to control the bitey end while you lift her out and can then be dispensed with.


Blue

 

[Carnelian]

We have done pretty much applied that routine with our little Woma Bluetongue1

We feed on a Monday evening between 8 - 9 pm, although one night I was about half an hour late & he was out looking. We give him thru to Wednesday to digest & then start handling as normal which is only done thru the day. We have never had a problem, he never hisses or strikes...well, until my son broke the routine over the holidays. He decided to get him out one evening, well the Woma reacted with a total food response bite.
We haven't done the feeding from one side part, we just put the mice in the middlish of the enclosure & leave him be but I am able to clean the cage while someone else is holding the snake thru the day.

We have stuck to this routine since day 1 when we got him in early Feb & he settles really well. He shed about 3 days after arriving, offered him a fed that evening & started handling about 3 days after that.

Good luck with your little one, they are definitely an adorable snake.

 

[xxMelissaxx]

Cheap hides: Unscented toilet rolls are good. Simply squeeze together in your hand and then sticky tape one end together.

Just something to consider: I personally do not use any form of adhesive tape in any enclosures to avoid injury to animals if they manage to come in contact with it. I find that a toilet roll cut in half length-wise does the job..