When we purchase stock, we do our homework and buy from reputable sources. Once we acquire the snake we will isolate the snake away from the main collection for a period of three months in a separate room. Isolating new arrivals allows us to monitor the snake’s health, and to make sure it is not carrying pesky mites. Research the web, and one can find many horror stories of entire collections getting wiped out fast from someone buying that new snake that showed no symptoms of health issues. Putting a new arrival in isolation is a smart practice for people who maintain larger collections.
We start our quarantine practice by building melamine mini racks that can be placed in another room in the house away from the main collection room. These mini racks can be placed out of the way, such as under tables, or desks, in any quiet room in the house. It is in the mini rack where the new arrival will start acclimating to its new home. We provided a few pictures of the construction of this rack for illustration; it houses three Rubbermaid 2220’s or six Rubbermaid 2221’s.
Wood is cut, pre-drilled and screwed together.
Eleven-inch heat tape is stapled to the back and the electrical connection is made.
Back of rack is insulated with foil bubble insulation and seams sealed with foil tape to trap and deflect heat to create a heat gradient.
Particle board completes the back.
The rack is ready to be hooked up to a proportional thermostat.
A quarantined snake — WAIT!!! That is not a ball python. LOL!!!
Some Basics of Quarantine
- We keep all quarantined snakes on newspaper to easily monitor for mites.
- When snakes are in quarantine, we service (feed and clean) these snakes last after the clean main collection is serviced.
- The quarantine room also keeps separate tubs and supplies that are not shared with the clean collection.
- If uneaten live or freeze thawed prey is not consumed by a snake, it is not offered to any other snake outside of the quarantine room.
- If we go to a pet store or reptile show, we change our clothes prior to servicing the main collection or the quarantined animals.