Re: A few Indigo questions....

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: : Hey all, : : I'm seriously considering picking up a juvenile. I've been working with : : boids most of my life. From columbian boas to carpets. I've also had other colubrids as well. : : I had the pleasure of handleing a few indigos, at a small zoo, while in school in Florida. : : What an amazing snake. Quite beautifull and intellegent creatures. I am now here in southern california, where they are legal to keep. : : I have a few questions... : : 1. I imagine I can't house a juv. in a 20 gal for long. How fast do they grow? : : 2. I have an old 60 gallon *tallish tank, nice screen lid tho. Its tall, and long, but not especially wide(12" i think). If I use this : : tank, how long can I keep him in there before he needs more room. : : 3. Substrate? Should I go news paper for ease of cleaning? : : 4. How often do they crap, and how smelly is it really? Are we talking snake puke smelly here? : : Will it permiate the apartment? : : 5. Do they use their water bowl to soak in? Whats temp and humidity requirements like. : : finally: Can you handle juveniles like the adults? Are they as laid back? Are they content to : : chill with you like the adults with their "lap snake" reputation? : : : : Thanks for any and all responses, : : jason. : : Los Angeles : : : : PS, is there a good web site I can goto for good husbandry info? : Jason, : will try to answer your questions as they are posted, if you need more info go to my webpage at Renegade reptiles , they are hosted on kingsnake.com Indigo snake.com also has other sites with lots of info(Inlcudeing mine) : #1) I would not put a juvenile in a 20 galon tank, I would opt to put them in a shoebox size : rubbermaid box, so that they can a)address their food and b)feel more secure. Biggest mistake i se people make with these snakes is putting them in cages, as juveniles, that are WAY to big for them, and not providing a hidebox. 20 gallon tank is goof for a snake that is 8 months old. : Adults need lots of room, so you will get to spend your money once he grows, dont worry. : I would not even use the 20 galon "high" screen topped tank. They can and do rub their noses on screen. Scrap the tank, my advice. : #3) : As juveniles, you can use paper towel as a substrate. you want something that is cheap and EASILY cleaned. Papertowel works great. Shaveings get ingested, as do sani-chips : As adult newspaper is the only logical choice, other than that their is a product called Gentle touch made from compressed wood that works very well, but the cage is never really cleaned with this stuff, as you scoop the dirty portion out . : : #4) : Their waste or digestive cycle hinges upon a number of factors. How hot it is? How much agitation they have? And lastly how heavily they have been fed? So the question you ask is impossible to answer without that info. Suffice to say if you feed and adult animal on a monday, all they can eat, they can and will cycle the food and crap out SOME of the waste on Wednesday of that week, and again on thursday, and maybe friday also. Prepare to clean your cages EVERY day. If you want a snake that you can clean once a week or every other week, than pic a species of boa, maybe a tree python. Indigos are admittedly high maintenance snakes/ They produce watery feces that are pungent in odor, no where near as bad as a regurge. but smelly enough to stink up an aprtment. a lot of that depends on you, if you know you have someone comeing over on friday, than dont feed on Wednesday unless you are prepared to clean while that person is there. Lazy folks wont like indigos because you can't et them "Go' for too long without suffering yourself. : #5) Mine never soak in their waterbowl, unless the heat is excessive. Temps-70-75 degrees, with a hot spot of 80 tops. humidity -mist cage down every other day especially dureing shed cycle or breeding. : 6) Juveniles are nervous snakes, just like any other neonate colubrid. Confidence comes with size, and I find males to be better display animals than females. Hide boxes must be provided however. : hope i answered all your question sufficiently. E-mail me if you have any other and go to indigosnakes.com to get more info. : Fred Albury

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