Can't get my temperatures up

[Simland]

BTW, a heads up. If you are using only ecoearth for substrate that pothos probably won't last in there. [...] The fern might fare a bit better if it's a type that can grow epiphytically but even it will enjoy a nutrient rich substrate as well.

Thanks for the info. I was wondering about that because I think I read somewhere that it's possible to keep plants in the ecoearth-like substrate I use in some of my terrariums. In my snake's terrarium I only use soil. (The fern I have in there is the easiest kind of plant to take care of: the fake kind :-) but I'll keep your tip in mind if I ever want a live plant in a coconut fiber terrarium without enough substrate to hide a pot.)


I'm not sure I can get the Ultratherm heating pads easily here, but they seem like a good option.

As for the Rete's racks, the ones I've seen or read about seem to be made from different types of wood. Are there types that should be avoided? For instance, when it comes to branches and logs, softwoods should be avoided for many animals. Is it the case with commercial wood do or does it not matter because it's usually made from heartwood (which hasn't had any sap running through it for a while) (not sure that's actually true for commercial wood, but I heard it's true for sculptures and such) and it has gone through whatever process commercial wood goes through before getting to the shelves?

[joeysgreen]

I wouldn't worry so much about the type of wood. Use something that's not full of glue (like particle board), or weather treated (the green stuff for decks). I recently went to Lowe's to look for a retes rack for my leopard geckos. 60 cent bricks with some fence boards cut to fit for each layer. It doesn't have to be fancy.

[Rushthezeppelin]

Also doesn't have to be wood.....I've seen some leopard gecko guys to rete's with slate as well. It will just conduct heat a bit different than a wooden one.

[Simland]

Do you guys have any idea why my snake is sticking to the cool side of the gradient even though both sides are still a few degrees lower than they should be? Could it be because it thinks its time to brumate so it doesn't even try to warm itself on the other side? I'm worried the feeding/weight loss issue might not be entirely temperature related...

I guess a second question would be Should I focus on increasing the temperature on the cool side? I just remembered that I probably still have a second hand infrared bulb somewhere that may still be working and an extra heat lamp reflector. I'll remove the uvb light to make room for it and see if it helps.

I'm still on the fence with regard to the heat mats, but, say I go for one of those, is there a wattage that's safe (yet effective) until I get a thermostat, if I want to stagger the expenses?

[Rushthezeppelin]

Are there any other symptoms that you can tie into this? Does he seem actually lethargic at all or is he somewhat active on that side? Does he still show normal tongue flicking response? Is he staying hydrated?

[Simland]

Well, at first it was hard to tell if it was being lethargic (as opposed to just not active) because it spent a lot of time in its hide, but when it was outside of it, it was pretty active (usually looking for a way out, actually [something it had not done quite that often back when things were normal]). Whenever I would try to feed it, it would at least come look at the worm, flick its tongue at it, and then either ignore it or try to use it and my hand to climb out. (Still, though, I would say its overall activity level was less than before.)

Now that I have added the other bulb, which has raised the temperatures a bit (24C on the cool side and 27C on the warm side, during the day), it spent a lot of time out of hiding yesterday, so I've seen it looking very listless and when I tried to feed him during that time (in the afternoon, if I remember correctly) it didn't even flick its tongue at the worm. (It had eaten a worm that morning, though, and it seemed enthusiastic about that one). It wasn't listless all the time, though.

The weirdest thing is that even though the temperatures were only at 20C and 24C this morning, I found it under its water bowl (and I believe that's where it is now,too). I swear, that snake is doing its best to confuse me! I'll leave the temperatures as they are for a while and see what happens, but, if it stays under its water bowl all the time, I don't know how its going to get used to the higher temperatures.

I don't know for sure if its staying hydrated. I've never ever seen it drink, but it does make passes at its water (maybe less often, now [not sure since I'm not always in front of the terrarium]). I don't remember if garter snakes are the type that actually suck in water or the type that drink simply by being in the water and having water move up along folds in their mouths using capillary action.

[Rushthezeppelin]

Garters can actively drink through their mouths or by soaking their cloaca.