[bev1]

I've just given my new royal her first meal and she has completely ignored it, can anyone tell me how long I should leave the mouse in there, its been in there about 2 hours, should i just leave it or take it out? Any advice would be greatly recieved, this is really new to me.

Thanks

 

[Dan]

Leave it in there over night and remove it in the morning if it hasn't been eaten.

Some snakes prefer to eat when nobody is around.

(it is dead i assume)

 

[spit]

Just as the man aboves says,if you leave it in longer then it gonna smell

 

[bev1]

its definitely dead! Thanks for the advice, this is my first snake so I've got a lot to learn. I'm worried that I haven't got her viv warm enough, I live in a really really cold house, I've turned the heat mat up to around 90 degrees but the temp in the viv is only in the high 60's any thoughts?

thanks for your help

 

[scottiedog]

have had that problem before as has been said before leave it in over night if you check in the morning and it hasn't been eaten remove it.just double check you have temps and humidity correct too,might even be an idea to leave the royal for a few days no handeling as they get a bit stressed at times also

 

[wohic]

It sounds like you need to upgrade your heating to a ceramic heater, with out a warm enviroment your Royal will not be able to digest her food properly, heat mats are great (on a thermostat) when the room temps are warm, but in a chilly house you need something to heat the air as well.

 

[Cara]

if its not getting hot enough I would suggest getting a heat lamp on a dimming thermostat for day, and leaving the heat mat on for nights.

 

[Cara]

It sounds like you need to upgrade your heating to a ceramic heater, with out a warm enviroment your Royal will not be able to digest her food properly, heat mats are great (on a thermostat) when the room temps are warm, but in a chilly house you need something to heat the air as well.

Damn you getting there first - :lol2:

Great minds think alike

 

[bribrian]

Where do you have your thermometer, it should be reading the temp on the viv floor directly above the mat........

 

[slitherin]

hi, i know this might upset a few people but if this is new to you please dont buy a ceramic heater ,,unless there on a trusted stat they can do all sorts of damage!! the light on a stat is easy to set up, reliable and pretty much does every thing itself.
Also most royals (not all by any means) like a bit of privacy when eating,
id place the mouse near its hide turn the lights off and leave it alone for the night especially if she is new to you and your place... if its still there in the morning try again in a few days....gl
(plenty of hidey kinda places r a must for royals)

 

[bev1]

Thanks everyone, I'll be off to the shop on Saturday to get some improved heating and I'll stop handling her for a few days. Maybe I've handled her too much, shes just so gorgeous I can't leave her alone!! I don't want to stress her out.

 

[bev1]

Doh! got the thermometer in the wrong place, I put it near the top of the viv, I'll move it, I think it may still be too cold though.

 

[400runner]

i'd recomend a ceramic too. there not hard to set up at all. you need a ceramic bulb (about 100 watts will be fine assuming your royal is in 2 foot viv) and a ceramic bulb holder with a heat resistant wire. round that you will need a cage to stop the snake touching the ceramic which will get very hot. you will need a pulse proportional thermostat to get the best out of the ceramic. using some carefully placed tape you can get the probe positioned right under the cage. set it at about 90degrees for a royal.
a pulse prop stat will cost you 50 notes in a shop so to save yourself some money use the camzoo web site. they do them for 29.95 and deliver free next day. the whole system will cost around 80 quid this way.

 

[Dexter]

You could live for a few hours, but the other day I forgot and stunk the whole room. Normally I can tell straight away if the snake will eat or not, I don't normally leave it for more than 2 or 3 hours.

 

[rantasam]

Just a thought.. how thick is the substrate in your viv? If you are using a heat mat, too much substrate can insulate the heat and stop it getting into the viv. I only use a couple of inches.

I agree with all the above comments about ceramic heaters being preferrable for wooden vivs, but the plastic tubs I use for my young-uns are all heated to the correct temps with heat mats - they work fine for me.

 

[fluffy]

Cant beat the smell of 'fermenting mouse'

Made that mistake myself once.... never again!

Couple of hours max for your own sanity!:lol2:

 

[tigger79]

You can get away with leaving the mouse in for upto 24hrs, but its advisable to place it away from the heat source (this will make it go off quicker), you can tell if the mouse is going off as you will be able to smell it.

If you have recently bought your snake it nedds 7-10 days to settle in before feeding or handling takes place, and something that i do is not to handle the snake/s for 24hrs prior to feeding, AS this can stress your snake.

Another trick you can use is when you leave the food in with the snake, cover the viv with a dark blanket and leave for 24hrs, (i managed to get one of my problem royals eating this way)