Below images taken on December 23rd, in the 12x12x18.

during massive dehydrated period..

=*(

Below taken on December 22nd.

Most frightening to day.

Taken November 29th.

Major Updates******


another problem i'd been having was my guy never really wants to eat.
i blame maybe my timing and size of food.

One day I bought the smallest kind of mouse they had at petland discounts (i'm from nyc) in an attempt to feed it to him, and amazingly he ate it!

only thing is each time I try and feed him he seems uninterested in the prey and I have to tap him a few times on the tail to get him to strike then wave the prey in front and he goes for it.

not sure if this is standard but its the way i've been having to do it.

sorry, i tend to go on and on sometimes.

back to the main story.

i just finished feeding him less than 30 minutes ago!

and if I may add I fed him not only 1, not 2 , but 3!!!!!! very small pinkies..

i wanted a bigger size, like a fuzzy. but they were out. , then checked for live ones, but they were too big.

i decided to go for the small ones because its all they had.

this is why I fed him 3, try an make up for not having larger meal.

hope that makes sense.

he ate em all.
had to give him the small tap all 3 times but they are all down his stomach now

here are some photos of post feeding and new setup, got one of those light fixtures with a clamp.


feel free to comment once again on my journey~

OMG! Those pics are really scary. You are lucky he survived! Have you had his stool tested for internal parasites?

In regards to your set up: the moist box that you have him in now was an emergency solution for some serious dehydration. It obviously helped a lot.

The tropical set up looks great: you'd just need to add some thinner horizontal branches until he gets bigger. It's not necessary to wait until all the vegetation grows in, the snake and plants can grow together in the terrarium!
We use the Pro Heat panels in our chondro terrariums controlled by Herpstat thermostat Spyder Robotics Herpstat and a full-spectrum white florescent lamp on a 12 hour on/12 hour off cycle.

Here's what our set up looks like for 4 of our chondros:

This pic was taken a while ago and the vegetation has grown in A LOT. The plants are all in pots and the substrate is paper towel. They have a large water dish on the floor.

Your set up with the fish is not practical at all. Chondros defecate and urinate in their water dishes a lot -- that would be a real pain to try to clean out of a fish tank. As well as not being particularly healthy for the fish!! Also maintaining the right temperature for the snake AND the fish might be tricky.

As for feeding: Smaller prey is better for chondro babies. It's better to feed 2 small pinkies than a larger mouse.
We go by the weight of the snake: One of our babies weighs 44 grams; she gets 2 frozen-thawed fuzzy mice that weigh 4grams each. We feed every 5-7 days (usually after she defecates) As she gets bigger, she'll get two 6 gram fuzzies. etc.

BTW: it is ABSOLUTELY normal to need to "thump" the snake with the pinkie to get a feeding response. Often touching the tail with it will cause a strikether times you have to tap them on the side of the neck. For one of our snakes I've often just held the mouse right up against her mouth and she will open it and gently take the mouse's head and then curl it.

Good luck getting things set up. I would SERIOUSLY recommend getting a stool sample sent to the vet, though. Your chondro could have internal parasites that need to be treated.

Amazing setups!


i'd like to make something like that.
looking at your pictures right now and i'm trying to figure out what you havent explained.


what exactly are the dimensions of the enclosures?

also, did you make these yourself or were they purchased somewhere?

i'm totally into making things myself and wouldnt mind having to start a new project!!!!

if you could let me know about air circulation and how the top portion is created or materials used etc etc. what size pro panels do you have?


sorry for all the questions, just like to make sure I know whats best for future.


tim.

Hi Tim.
Thanks, yes we made the terrariums ourselves. I've built others out of wood and re-worked glass terrariums, but finally found this material that is extremely sturdy, light-weight, easy to clean, holds humidity well... it's just perfect for a tropical set up!
It's not cheap, but worth it.

Here is a link to my thread with step by step instructions:
Duplex Terrarium Building

As far as the Pro Heat panels: the best thing to do is write an e-mail for a recommendation. You tell them the dimensions of your terrarium, what material the terrarium is made of, what temperature you need in the terrarium, the ambient temperature of the room, and what animal you are housing and they will recommend the best product for you. That's what we did and they are working PERFECTLY! We couldn't be happier. They are attractive (well not as ugly as lamps with cages!) and the snakes can't burn themselves on them!

I hope that helps. If I've left out anything you need to know, just ask!

__________________
Andrea