EMERALDS IN A RACK.

I'd like to add one other thought. I looked at your pictures again, Ed, and can't stress enought the fresh water. I have 4 inch pothos in my cages and about 18 months ago let some leaves drape over the water bowl and let the bowl sit way too long. I was just topping off the water, not rinsing it out. My male developed a terrible case of bacteria load and declined over a long period. With a good diagnosis, seven injections of baytril and three doses of flagyl, he is finally on the road to recovery. Good luck, John

Originally Posted by tarantulakeeper

4. Airflow is also very critical and I think racks will inhibit this. They need more than just ventilation. If you'll look through old posts on the above site you'll see where stagnant air will cause problems.

Good point... Ed, look into PC fans for your rack. Really... not joking, they're small enough to be added in such a manner that they create air flow above the thin open strip above individual bins, versatile and can be wired into your heat tape if you're careful about it.

I don't know Seamus I understood from the beginning that Ed had a work in progress. Also that he was working with Emeralds in a Quarantine situation. Myself I always preferred my quarantine setups to be simple and help the animal feel secure so as to reduce stress and help get them eating.

Now I have never used anything as short as Ed's setup but always preferred my Quarantine cages or tubs for these guys to be small and used 64 quart tubs for most adults. The rack idea is a good one as it covers them on all sides except one, I have used Racks for ETBs,ATBs, GTPs and other arboreal snakes.

I recently lost a WC Emerald that was in her mid 20s she spent at least half of every year of her life with me in 70 to 90 quart tubs as she would always eat better in one of the racks than in her cage.

I had hoped Ed would post more info on his animals and his setups as it would have been interesting to know more and see how it worked out. Emeralds are like Chondro's in that we know a lot more about keeping them alive but we still have much to learn...Randy

It's not corallus.net. Sorry. The Tree Boa Forum is here:
http://www.forumboard.net/84833/index.html

John

Ed simple way to move air is to have at least one fan in your snake room.. Yeah keeping the air to still can cause problem as can moving to much air and drying them out.. And if those are the type racks I think they are that Ed is using they by their design move air pretty well.

I keep an oscillating fan in each room. In the summer I set it on the floor to move the cooler air up and set it higher in winter to mover the warmer air down toward the floor. Randy

Kudos on the new tubs. 16” is plenty of height to get them off the ground. Granted, permanent setups should probably be taller but for quarantine tubs, I think it is fine. Throw a couple of plastic closet rod mounts on the sides, an appropriate size piece of pvc pipe, and you are set. As mentioned, however you design the perches, make sure they do not spin and are removable.

Something to consider, since these are quarantine tubs, you may want to lose the cypress and go with a cleaner look. Newspaper works well but if you are concerned about humidity and want something that retains moisture, try cotton bath towels. Either one would make it easier for you to see and deal with regurges, parasites (mites), and any defecation issues. Cypress offers a nice appearance, but if they are being kept in an opaque tub, is appearance really important?

Good luck,
Bart

For higher humidity animals I have done something that borrows from my cigar hobby. I will use crystals from www.watersorb.com (very cheap for bulk) and place them into plastic containers with lids that have holes in them. Go with distilled water or even use the packs or solution that keeps humidty at +/- 2% of its advertised rate. Available in differing humidity ranges from low 60s to low 70s.

Its a passive system that wouldn't handle larger enclosures well but you can always augment with misting of course. Though any humidty above the range gets reduced by the solution: The water in there acts to increase the level, the propylene glycol acts to decrease it to the desired level.

Here's a simple quarantine setup that I use. Heat in the back water in the trough around the bottom of the tub. Single perch where the animal can find the comfort zone it likes. This is a 60 something quart and I also use larger and taller 90 something quart. Works well in a rack or out on it's own, real easy to keep clean. Smaller animals could live in this for some time though I'd add two perches.

Couldn't find a decent photo of an Emerald in one, this was taken a year and a half ago when I moved all my animals. Most of them stayed in tubs like this for a while as many of my cages were damaged in the move. Randy

I have been bringing in Emeralds for a couple months now and they are alot of work getting them right. as soon as the crates are opened everything is Nixed for mites and ticks, these guys are loaded. next step is to remove as many cestodes as possible by hand, then hit them with Droncit injectable for the skin worms. next is the panacur treatments to clean them up inside and a follow up nix treatment to be sure that there is nothing left crawling outside of them. some may think this is too much work...a couple months down the road when you look in on that healthy wonderful creature it all seems worth it!

Have just decieded to work with a smaller group of these, a large group just wont recieve the attention they deserve.

Ed, all advice aside, I have been interested in Arboreals for quite sometime but have yet to pull the trigger. I ascertain, just from the comments you have made, that this is more about the enjoyment of owning them vs selling them. If that's the case, then I would encourage you to follow the advice of others and set them up in a system whereby you can easily view them for your enjoyment. I can't imagine keeping them in a rack system whereby you cannot easily see them.

When I do pull the trigger it will be a very large caging system that will not only allow me to keep several animals but it will also be a display in my office. Hopefully not too many clients will object!

Griz