Stimulating feeding using UVA??

[DrGraeme]

Hi Guys,

I have recently added 2 bearded dragons to the family and as such had to make myself familiar with their UVB and UVA requirements. While reading they seem to say that UVA supplied to snakes like corns etc can stimulate appetite and breeding behavior.

Now I do know that Corns don't 'need' special lighting and UVs, but I have a corn and an African House Snake that are being difficult in feeding regularly (particularly the house snake) and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience in this regard or any comments or advice before I implement intermittent UVA photoperiods.

Thanks everyone.

 

[DrGraeme]

Ooops, I pressed submit before checking myself....
My intention is not to flood them with huge amounts of UV, just to try and stimulate their feeding responses a bit in a fairly "natural" way.

Cheers

 

[bitsy]

What sorts of things have you tried to get the Corn feeding so far? There are a range of tips and tricks.

An experiment with UVA would be interesting, but I'm not sure how you could judge "enough". Any UVA in the small enclosed space of a tank, might be enough to cause stress and make the problem worse. As nocturnal/crepuscular animals, Corns tend to shy away from bright light/UV sources.

I know that it can be a problem keeping Corns cool enough in your neck of the woods. I'm very probably "teaching granny to suck eggs" here, (for which I apologise) but are you managing to maintain the floor at the warm end of the tank in the mid-80s? Too hot or too cool can interfere with their digestion and put them off eating in the first place. Sometimes we find folks trying to maintain the air temp in the tank in the mid-80s, which can lead to the floor being very much warmer (depending on the heat source used).

 

[DrGraeme]

Thanks Bitsy,

Yes, I'm trying my best to keep those things under wraps, for the most part the temps in the substrate under her warm hide (probe) is usually about 27 degC (sorry about my Farenheit stupidity). She does spend a lot of her time burrowed in the substrate in various parts of the tank though.

Also, with her hiding she might not get the benefit of the UV anyway. The product I was looking at says it was the appropriate UV strength to mimic dappled sunlight in a wooded or tropical environment, so hopefully not too strong. I was thinking more of an hour or 2 intermittantly through the day (on a timer) so there would be opportunity for "rest". Also, She's in a tank now rather than a viv (should be upgrading soon though) so I'm not sure if the UV would even penetrate the glass of the encosure (was thinking of trying a desklamp type setup out side the enclosure rather than the bulb right over her head.

Essentially I was wondering if anyone had tried anything like this before.

 

[tspuckler]

I doubt UV light has anything to do with it. I would think that light would stress out nocturnal animals like Corn Snakes or House Snakes. Generally speaking, when a snake isn't feeding, it isn't set up correctly.

Quick ideas:

1) House snakes in separate enclosures.

2) Do not disturb/handle snakes until they on a regular feeding schedule (have eaten 5 or 6 times)

3) House babies in small containers - like the size of a shoebox or smaller.

4) Do not subject snakes to bright lights.

5) Make sure snakes have hide areas.

6) Feed in the evening - do not watch them eat. Put the food into the cage and leave it alone until the following morning.

7) Make sure your reptiles are being maintained at the proper temperatures.

Also, adult snakes often go off feed when exposed to shortening daylengths (are near a window).