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Ilana   Aliceinwl   JackAsp  
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 #1663875


Ilana
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 Pulling out of hibernation mode....

I got a baby hognose snake from a reputable breeder at a reptile expo in PA. they told me she is eating pinkies.

It has been 3 weeks and she still has not eaten. I put a heat mat under her tank, and she seems to run away from it. She has been sleeping, curled up in her water dish at the opposite end of the tank.

Did i accidentally put her into hibernation mode? if I did, can i get her out of it? she seems healthy otherwise, not showing crusting or signs of shedding.

please let me know if you have advice. I’m worried about her.

Ilana
03/16/08  10:05pm

 #1665386


Aliceinwl
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   Message To: Ilana   In reference to Message Id: 1663875


 Pulling out of hibernation mode....

What is your set-up like? Do you have hides on both the warm and cool ends? What temperature is your UTH running at (should be 95-100)? How much of the tank is covered by your UTH (should be no more than 1/4)? Was she feeding on live or frozen/thawed or fresh killed? Could she be going into a shed? Have you tried live and fresh killed pinkies? If that doesn’t work you can try braining, scenting with tuna water, scenting with toad (only use native toads), scenting with tree frog, or trick feeding. Trick feeding can be accomplished by putting your hog in with a frog or toad, when it goes for the amphibian slip in a scented pinkie instead.
03/17/08  11:18pm

 #1674077


JackAsp
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   Message To: Aliceinwl   In reference to Message Id: 1665386


 Pulling out of hibernation mode....

Mine didn’t use her heat pad properly at first either. I solved the problem by plugging it into a dimmer switch. If they have a choice between cool and hot instead of cool and warm, then sometimes they’ll end up choosing cool. Also, what’s the light cycle? I’ve got the timer set to run the light from 5AM to 9PM. She comes out and wanders the surface almost as soon as it clicks on, so I know she’s very conscious of it.
Did you ask what kind of substrate the snake is used to? That might be a factor as well.
The water dish thing makes it sound like you’re keeping the whole cage too warm. Most of the cage floor should only be about 75 degrees. I keep the proper gradient by
a. Opting for the smallest uth size.
b. Using a biggger cage than "necessary."
c. Using burrowable substrate rather than paper or carpet.
d. Using a dimmer switch
e.Being conscious of what temperature the room itself is. Since my bedroom is better heated than my living room, that means I sometimes have to leave the door open and run a fan during the winter.
and
f. Using simple strip lighting that does not complicate the equation.

You can also try putting the uTH against the side of the glass, rather than under it.
03/24/08  04:15pm


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