ETB falling from perch while eating?!?

bistrobob85 · 10-28-04, 10:11 PM

Hey guys, i noticed a few times that my ETB would fall from her perch while constricting the F/T rat pups i feed her. Have you ever seen such a thing with yours? Is it that my perches are too slippery for her? They're made of 1/2'' wide PVC bars...

phil.

Shad0w · 10-28-04, 10:16 PM

Umm.. I know allot of people use PVC as perches, but I would be careful... Its been known to cause blister disease in Emmy's...

Check corallus.com for further info

And yea... Wooden dowels / branches would offer better grip... mine never slipped yet.

bistrobob85 · 10-28-04, 10:21 PM

Don't you get fungus on your perches because of the high humidity???

phil.

Shad0w · 10-28-04, 10:24 PM

nope.. never had a problem!
Ventilation and airflow

Kimo · 10-28-04, 10:26 PM

make the perches removable, so you can give them a good soack in boiling hot water from time to time, helps the fungus situation, but then again, my emeralds dont live in a 100% humid enviroemtn 24/7 its only 80% during the day, and it gets drier over night, ready again in the morning for a good misting, helps control fungus growth, and keeps a perfect balance for the snake, because remember, its only fairly humid during the day time, then at night where these bad boys are from.

Josh

bistrobob85 · 10-28-04, 10:27 PM

Ok, wanted to be sure because i've read that somewhere and tought it made sense... Has anyone else seen his tree boa falling while eating???

phil.

Shad0w · 10-28-04, 10:28 PM

Josh is right...

I also "BAKE" my branches in the oven every once in a while too... about an hour at 300... but if u do the same.. KEEP AN EYE on them.. last thing ya want is a fire

marisa · 10-28-04, 10:29 PM

Why not simply seal them?

I sealed the dowels/perches/branches for my GTP's enclosure. Not only does this prevent the mold (along with good air circulation and what not) but it makes them easier to clean. Wood sucks up anything, but not if it's sealed.

You can always rough em up a little bit to make them more grippable too.

Marisa

bistrobob85 · 10-28-04, 10:29 PM

Thanks for the warning, shadow!

''where these bad boys are from '' Hehe, now that was funny

bistrobob85 · 10-28-04, 10:31 PM

Marisa, it's not the same with ETBs because they need higher humidity than GTPs. The housbandry is ALMOST the same but emeralds like humidity a little more and eat less often.

phil.

marisa · 10-28-04, 10:35 PM

I see what you are saying and I agree, but I think the solution is the same. The PVC is probably not the best idea, and wood seems to be the best choice if your snakes are slipping off the perch, sealed wood even better.

Marisa

CraigC · 10-29-04, 11:04 AM

PVC is great if you "burn" it first. This gives it a wood like texture and we have never had a blister problem.
CraigC

bistrobob85 · 10-29-04, 01:21 PM

What is this blister problem you guys are talking about? I have never really heard of it before, maybe in different terms or in french... Hey CraigC, what do you mean, ''burn'' it first??? What is it for and what does it change? Hehe, also, of course, how do you do it and what does it look like?

phil.

Shad0w · 10-29-04, 01:25 PM

http://www.corallus.com/caninus/husbandry.html

A perch the thickness of the snake can be from a pvc pipe, wooden dowel or natural branch. Incidents of scale problems have been observed when emerald tree boas were kept in humid conditions and on pvc piping.

Blister disease has been seen on emerald tree boas which were kept on pvc pipes.

I say... why take the chance

bistrobob85 · 10-29-04, 01:32 PM

Hehe, Thanks Shadow but that doesn't help me! I know about the thickness of the perch and about blisters on emeralds kept with pvc pipes, i just want to know what blisters are! What kind of disease, what causes them, etc... and how you ''burn'' your pvc pipes, what does it change and what does it look like after...

phil.