Thursday, March 08, 2007

 

Baby Suboc Setup



I've recently had a request to show how I set up my young Trans-Pecos Rats. It's really quite simple. I set them up in Vision hatchling racks with Vision shoeboxes (Any secure plastic shoe box will work). The shoebox itself is then drilled liberally with a DremelĀ® rotary tool for adequate ventilation, which is imperative for Desert Ratsnakes!
I use paper towels either cut or folded to fit the bottom as a substrate. This makes cage cleaning quick and easy. Though, I have recently switched my babies to shredded aspen. If you use aspen, be sure that your pinkies and fuzzies are dry when offered so that wood particles do not stick to them.
The water dish is either a disposable plastic cup (i.e. delicatessen cup) or a 4" ceramic crock dish.
The hidebox is a Creature Cubbyhole (ESU) or sometimes a plastic food container with a hole cut in the lid. I often add damp paper towels to the latter. The temps should be about 72 - 79 degrees F on the cool end and 82 - 87 degrees F on the warm end.

And there you have it! A perfectly suitable cage for baby subocs.

Comments:
Thanks for posting the picks Dusty. Gives me a good idea of just how many holes to drill when my vision setup arrives in september.

By the way, is the baby in the pictures the o6 albino from Dave?
 
Hey Sean,

No prob. If they have shedding problems from all that ventilation, just add a humidity box. You want it dry and ventilated as a whole, but also you want to offer them a humid place to condition their skin.

That animal in the photo is an '05 albino from Dave. Hopefully she'll be big enough in '08, but I'm guessing '09 before she is ready. She's a great eater, though!

Good luck with your THs. I hope they snow for you in two or three years. I'm glad you got a Vision...they're great cages.
 
Dusty,
Do you keep your racks inside in the air conditioning or does it stay pretty dry in Provo so that you can keep them in the garage or whatever? I have my hatchlings inside in the dry, cool house and the adults in the garage. Gets pretty humid in wet, nasty Central Florida! But they seem to do ok for the most part.
Mike
 
Hola Mike,

I keep all my snakes inside in a second "snakeroom". I think a garage here, even in mid-summer, would be fairly dry and cool. It's not hot in the shade here like it is down in FL and back in TX!! (I'm not sure if I miss those days.) So yes, subocs would do fine in a garage here in Provo.

As long as the cage is super-ventilated, I don't think humidity is a big deal.
Mike Falcon keeps and breeds his subocs in a non-air-conditined building in Florida, but he uses aquaria with screen lids. And his snakes do fine. I think the key is the screen lids.
The thing to watch is the temps, especially on the males. Subocs don't seem to mind highish temps (mid 80s or so), but I think that they prefer room temps with a warm end.
 
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