All You Need To Know About Your Python's Cage
When you decided to own a pet python, every detail about your pet is invaluable in making sure your pet is healthy and comfortable. Python owners, like owners of other pets, are usually keen to provide everything their pet needs.
To keep both the owner and the pet happy, in this article, I focus on the habitat of pythons and what needs to be done when they are reared as pets in an artificial environment. Many pythons suffer silently if they don't get a warm, cozy place to live in that approximates their natural habitat in a few important ways.
So how can you rear python in a friendly setting? What type of habitat should you provide? How do you get your pet to enjoy your company?
Your Python's Cage Size:
Python husbandry begins with getting a proper cage: One that is the right size, has proper lighting and ventilation, facilitates humidity and temperature control and is absolutely secure.
Choosing the right size is critical. Too small, and the animal will feel cramped. Too big, and the animal can feel stressed.
How to tell?
There are basically two types of pythons ... those that live on land, and those that live on the branches of trees.
If your python is predominantly terrestrial, the rule of thumb for its cage size is that the perimeter (distance measured all the way around the cage) should be at least TWICE the length of the snake, and the ratio of the length to width should be 3 to 2.
For example, a 5 foot (1.5 meter) python would require at least a 10 foot perimeter cage ... applying the 3: 2 ratio, that would mean a minimum cage size of 3' x 2'.
A 10 foot python would require a 20 foot perimeter ... 6' x 4' cage would be the minimum.
Complexity of the Cage:
Most Pythons do very well in a simple cage. All require a water bowl and some sort of hiding place. And the water bowl must be disinfected regularly, since the python may have unwittingly used it as a bathroom.
Material the Cage is Made From:
Cages are made of different materials like acrylic, plywood, melamine and compressed shelving board. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.
Acrylic .. strong, transparent, and light weight. Pliable and easy to clean. The only disadvantage is its higher cost :-(
Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) and High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) also make excellent cage materials, ... but can also be very expensive.
Plywood can also be expensive, but you can select a 2nd grade material to reduce your costs.
Melamine is generally the material of choice for python owners. They are good looking, & less expensive, ...but HEAVY! (So it's kind of hard to move ... a trade-off most people are willing to live with given the lower fees).
Bedding/Substrate:
Pythons need a substrate. Newspaper is the easiest and most cost effective solution. (There are other options).
The Door:
What about the door?
You can have a transparent thick glass sliding door or opaque glassed solid door. Your choice :-)
Keep two cages:
Ideally you would have 2 cages so that when one is cleaned, the python could be in the other one. Also ensure that your cage has a good interior coating.
Ventilation is very important:
Arrange to have near perfect ventilation for your pet cage. Good ventilation gives fresh air and lighting inside the cage, and is a strong component in keeping your python healthy and happy.
Rubber coated wire mesh is generally the most commonly chosen material. It's important to get the rubber coated variety ... the non-coated mesh will hurt your python's nose when it tries to test the boundaries of the cage :-(
Wooden and plastic pegboards also provide good ventilating materials.
Heating:
One of the primary causes of python respiratory problems is improper cage temperature. So not only will you need heating arrangements in your cage, but you'll also need to be able to easily monitor it from outside.
The right choice of a temperature system will help your python to stay healthy. There are several commercially available options, from low cost to high cost.
Heat panels are ideal for larger snakes. They cost more, but last longer. (Make sure to monitor the temperature closely when you use them ... they are very effective).
Heat tapes are good also, but you have to be very careful to insulate the wiring, or you can electrocute your snake :-(
Heat emitters (light bulbs that emit no light!) are good for pythons that are only active during the day ...but are used less frequently.
Heat lamps are great for arboreal pythons. When you provide them at the top of the cage it helps them relax while coiled around a branch.
Heat rocks are not really recommended because of reports of thermal burns to pythons, and sometimes electrical shocks.
Lighting:
There is still a debate about lighting the python cages. It is argued that pythons do not require any artificial lighting as most of them shy away from it.
If you're going to use lighting, though, I recommend low watt fluorescent lights for the cage. But please remember to shield ANY lighting you use ... serious injury to your pet can result otherwise.
Since your pet Python will be spending almost all the time in its cage, it's a very important to know more about ‘Python Housing” as this will help you get started.
The above is an excerpt from the free newsletter on “Python Secrets” published by Geostar Publishing & Services LLC.
To subscribe to the newsletter, click on the link below:
http://www.pythonsecrets.com
Here's to a happier pet-owing experience!
Jessica Harrison
Geostar Publishing & Services LLC
6423, Woodbine Court,
St. Louis, Missouri,
63109, USA
http://www.pythonsecrets.com
http://www.pythonsecrets.com/gallery
Five phases of Search and Rescue Dog Training
Dogs are not only great household pets; they are also excellent partners for security patrols as well as search and rescue operations. Their keen olfactory sense make them ideal agents for hunting prey, sniffing out the illegal substances, locating cadavers, finding missing persons and a lot more.
Dogs intended for search and rescue operations undergo special trainings that cater to their specific purpose. Search and Rescue Dog Training aims to enhance the different major fields of dog behavior that are important in building its physical endurance and honing its mental capability so that it can be able to perform search and rescue procedures effectively. In a search and rescue dog training, dogs are trained for obedience, agility as well as proper searching, retrieving and tracing functions.
Search and rescue dog training usually begins with obedience training. This serves as the underlying foundation for the whole training. With the guidance of trainers, dogs are expected to carry out different exercise combinations that teach obedience like jogging at heel, staying still, sitting and many more. Dogs that satisfactorily pass the first phase of the training will then proceed to the next exercise, which is the agility phase.
Conditioning the dog’s physical ability, preparing it for strenuous tasks that usually come in actual search and rescue operations is the main objective of the agility exercise. It consists of different types of jumping exercises that is administered by the trainer.
In a search and rescue training, dogs are also taught tracking exercise. Tracking exercises make use of dog’s keen sense of smell, training dogs to follows different types of smells ranging from human to vegetative odor. This is especially important in helping police officers locate missing people, search for evidences and sniff out illegal substances. Dogs have about 125 to 200 million olfactory cells, which is why they have a highly remarkable smell sensitivity. Dogs can even identify odor for even as little as one part in a trillion. Compared to humans wherein they lean more towards thinking, dogs are more inclined with their sense of smell.
A tracking exercise will usually require a non-restrictive harness and a line that is about twenty to twenty-five feet long, preferably made of leather. Dogs who successfully pass the tracking exercise will then move to retrieving.
The retrieving exercise trains dogs how to recover objects. In this exercise, different materials are presented to the dog wherein it is taught to become familiar with each material’s smell. The dog trainer usually applies the fetch command, wherein the dog picks up the item, returns to the trainer while holding it for a little while. The trainer will then give another command to signal the dog to give it back to him.
The final exercise is the searching, particularly for missing persons. Dogs are trained this exercise by sniffing the footprints of a person. If however, there are no footprints, the dog shall be made to become familiar with the scent of the missing person or any of his belongings.
Dogs that successfully complete the requirements for all five exercises shall be all set to take on search and rescue operations with the police force.
Benz Slow is a dog trainer and a writer. For more information about dog training, visit The-Dog-Training-Method.com.
Koala Kismet
To gaze into their eyes is to touch tranquility. Perhaps it is because they spend so much of their lives removed from our terrestrial sphere that these creatures can inspire such serenity in just one glance. Perched in the canopy of the tall Eucalyptus forests of Australia, koalas pass their lives unperturbed, nap to nap, meal to meal.
From their poofy tufts of ears to their rounded rumps, koalas resemble stuffed teddy bears, but in actuality, they aren’t bears at all. Koalas, like kangaroos and possums, are marsupials, meaning they give live birth to jellybean-sized, embryonic offspring, which climb unaided from the birth canal to its mother’s pouch. Protected in the pouch, the baby, called a joey, attaches to its mother’s teat and feeds for six to seven months, until it has developed eyes, ears and hair. Then it peeks out at the world for the first time.
What does the world look like from 150 feet up? Koalas eat and sleep in trees, rarely coming to the ground except to occasionally change trees or seek shade. On the ground a koala is vulnerable to dogs and other wandering predators, for it has an awkward gait and moves slowly. Koalas are designed for climbing. Lean and muscular, with arms and legs of near-equal length, koalas possess an excellent sense of balance. Their front and hind paws have five digits with long, sharp claws. Rough pads on their palms and soles help in gripping branches. Their thick fur is ash-grey with a tinge of brown at the ears and white on their chests, while the fur on their bottoms is speckled to camouflage them from the ground. Bottom fur is also thicker, providing them with natural cushions for the hard branches they sit on.
Koalas spend virtually every waking moment eating. Their diet consists entirely of gum leaves, mostly of the Eucalyptus species. Although there are 600 types of Eucalyptus, koalas are rather fussy about the leaves they will eat. Only trees grown in areas with suitable soil and adequate rainfall entice a hungry koala. Their name stems from an Aboriginal word meaning “no drink”—an apt name, since 90% of the koala’s hydration comes from leaves. Except during times of drought or illness, koalas won’t drink water.
Even at their best, gum leaves are poisonous, fibrous, and low in nutrition. The koala's digestive system is especially adapted for its diet. Bacteria present in its intestines breaks down toxic oils in the leaves, while its slow metabolic rate conserves energy. On average, a koala will sleep 18-20 hours a day. They sleep mainly during the day when it is hot, and are most active at the hours of dawn and dusk. They have been spotted sitting and sleeping in some very interesting positions, depending on the temperature. In the heat, koalas will dangle their arms and legs from the branches to keep cool, while in cold temperatures they curl into tight balls to conserve heat. Koala’s woolly fur helps to insulate them from extremes in temperature, while serving as a raincoat in moist weather.
In optimal conditions, koalas live up to ten to twelve years; although those in the wild generally live half that long or less. Females live longer than males, and reach sexual maturity at three or four years old. Depending on the quality of their ranges, females can produce one offspring per year. After peeking from its pouch the first time at 22-30 weeks old, the joey will begin eating pap produced in its mother’s intestines, in addition to milk. Pap is critical in a young koala’s diet, for it supplies the bacteria needed to process eucalyptus leaves. Once the joey is too big for its mother’s pouch, it uses its claws to hang from her back or her belly. Mothers and babies are often spotted feeding in this way, or cuddled together asleep. When a new joey has taken its place in the pouch the mother koala will wean the year-old adolescent, and send it off to find its own territory.
Koalas live in societies, although each koala will maintain an individual range. Long-term territories include food trees marked by scent, and critical home-range trees, which overlap into other territories, allowing for social interaction between koalas. In poor conditions where a range cannot sustain a society, reproduction will be affected, and the koala population will dwindle. This is significant in light of the fact that 80% of Australia’s eucalpyt forests have been decimated in recent years. None are protected, and most occur on privately-owned property where land-clearing efforts are underway. Thus the largest threat to koalas is the on-going loss of their habitat.
As we contemplate the koala, dangling from the highest forest branch, their populace dangling in the brink of its fragile habitat, koalas impress upon us a lesson in balance. Perhaps it is this very balance that must be mastered in order to cultivate the serenity and tranquility that are the hallmark of the koala.
About the Author
Emma Snow has always adored wild animals. Emma provides content for Wildlife Animals http://www.wildlife-animals.com and Riding Stable http://www.riding-stable.com.
