Substrate question

Sno-x Snakes · 04-22-12, 11:41 AM

OK, this is a new one for me. The 8 month old carpet I just got thursday doesn't seem to like the aspen as a substrate. I set her enclosure up with Eco earth, when she arrived she had some aspen in with her, like she'd grabbed some on her way out of her previous home. The first night we left her with the eco earth, in the morning noticed she had moved it around to expose bare glass in a few spots. We decided to add some aspen in, to deepen the bedding so she wouldn't accidently contact the glass directly over the flexwatt. In the morning she had cleared another spot of the aspen, was curled in the cold spot on the eco earth.

Boyfriend, being helpful, stirred all her bedding together.

She has now cleared another bare glass spot, her body temp is 80, with the glass under her reading 77-79(temp gun)

The warm end is sitting around 88-90. Is that maybe too hot? Thought that was the normal range.

Help! She's driving me crazy. We're getting a new batch of eco earth ready, but that stuff takes forever to dry out. Could we spread it out on a cookie sheet in the oven, no heat, just pilot light, to dry it quicker?

shaunyboy · 04-22-12, 12:08 PM

i run my hot ends at 86F to 88F

cool end at 76F to 82f

i and a lot of other carpet keepers DON'T use aspen,as the dust in it can cause mild respiritory symptoms

i use newspaper as my substrate

its easy to spot clean and costs nothing

cheers shaun

nicks75 · 04-22-12, 12:24 PM

It's hard to say for sure but my thoughts got me thinking it's not the substrate that she doesn't like, though your warm end it the proper max temp and your cool end is the proper minimum temp it could be that she can't find a happy medium between the hot and cold end, IE: with the substrate depth it's too cold on the cool end and too warm on the warm end, burrowing gets her close enough to the bottom to a temp she's just happy with at the time. So maybe the difference above the flexwatt and just off of it is too much without a gradual drop in temp between the hot and cool end.

That's not to say the warm end is too hot, and the cool end is too cold just that she isn't in the mood for being that warm and by her not burrowing is too cold for her temp desire at the time.

For that reason I attach my heat mats on the 1/2 side of the enclosure on the walls of the enclosure, the mat heats the air enough to reach the desired hot temp and gradually decreases as you get further to the other side allowing the snake to chose the exact temp it wants.

Another thought is if your not supplying a hide it could be burrowing because it wants to hide.

As I said just my thoughts, may or may not be the reason.

Sno-x Snakes · 04-22-12, 12:40 PM

Thanks for the input.
Shaun - I wondered if something like that was going on, I thought maybe it tickled her belly or something.

Nick - She's not burrowing, it's weird, she clears a spot, then curls up, so nothing is covering her. Maybe the hide we put in was too big, she totally ignored it, cleared a spot behind it and curled up. Her current set up is 1x2 floor space, with 12 inches of 3in flexwatt in the middle right side underneath. Wish I had my camera, not sure how clear that is. Maybe I should move it to the back of that end, so it's touches two sides, see if that makes a difference.

Lankyrob · 04-22-12, 12:53 PM

Has she got places to perch up high? My carpet likes to be in the air ORRRRRRR he will clear substrate away and lie directly on the wooden floor of the viv - maybe it is a carpet thing?? I dont use under tank heat i use ceramic heat bulbs

shaunyboy · 04-22-12, 12:56 PM

i use non light emmiting ceramic bulb,heat guard and thermostat in all my carpet tanks

they give good consistant ambient air temperatures

heat mats don't give off much ambient air temps

i only use heat mats,under tank heat sources for hatchlings in tubs

if its the hot end she keeps clearing spots of substrate in,she may be looking for heat

being honest i don't like the sound of an under tank heat source heating up a GLASS bottomed tank

i had a rescue carpet drag itself through its water bowl,then scrape all the substrate away,so she sat on a bare PLASTIC bottom of the faunarium,the water on her heated up and caused mild burns (just my own personal experience)

cheers shaun

**millertime89** · 04-22-12, 01:37 PM

If you really want to experiment if its aspen specifically or any substrate put down newspaper substrate and see what he does. Just make sure he's got perches up high, maybe add some fake vines with leaves so he feels more secure up there.

Sno-x Snakes · 04-22-12, 01:55 PM

I'm starting to think it's maybe too warm in the warm end, so i turned the heat down a bit and will monitor her. I added a perch, and draped her across it so she knows its there, she scooted off. Good thing she is very mellow and easy to handle, or this could be a nightmare.

Kyle - I will probably try the newspaper test, she seemed ok on the Eco earth, it may not have been deep enough. Pretty sure the aspen irritates her, so I'm getting that out of there.