Reddit reviews Exo Terra Jungle Vine, Large
We found 7 Reddit comments about Exo Terra Jungle Vine, Large. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Natural-looking, waterproof vinesCreates a 2-dimensional habitatTwistable and bendableProvide a climbing obstacle for reptilesLarge; Measures 6 feet high x 0.5 inch in diameterAge Range Description: All Life StagesIncluded Components: terrarium accessory
Well, if he is starting to become lethargic, it is usually not due to the snake not having enough mental stimulation (though I do believe they require it to some extent, they don't need puzzles or toys like dogs, and people will keep and breed large snakes that are kept with no furnishings at all). It is wintertime and males especially are funky during this time- your boy looks like he has an adult's head shape and at 5 and 1/2 ft, I bet he's probably preoccupied wishing there were some ladies in there with him. Make sure your temps and humidity are proper as well- you can respond with them if you want- because winter temp drops sometimes cause lethargy in animals as well. Especially when most boa species do not require a cooling period to breed successfully, and you don't sound like you intend to breed him, making sure his ambient temperatures haven't dropped is important.
However, temp and breeding isn't the only possible cause of lethargy- if you haven't gotten him a checkup at the vet recently, and you continue to see decreased activity cycles, I would suggest seeing a vet. x5000 if your snake is also wheezing, blowing bubbles, or has anything else "out of the norm"- but it doesn't sound like it.
What I've found works best for larger snakes is to just give up on commercial reptile products. Most of those are directed at the overwhelming ball python/corn snake/other small pet snake buyers. A 5.5ft male boa will still enjoy the largest of their stuff, but it's not worth the money, imo, when you can build bigger better stuff for way cheaper. The vines and such are more for decoration- your snake really doesn't care if it has leaves everywhere or not, as long as he has a secure place to hide himself away. I personally tend not to decorate my enclosures with many green plastic plants because a) I'm cheap, and b) I could use that space in the enclosure for something more dynamic. I do however definitely love and suggest live planting an enclosure if you are interested in something like that, because it provides cover and interesting climbing opportunities.
What I do is buy a few pieces of cork bark for a new enclosure, or a big tube. These are pretty cheap on amazon. and look good, come with fake moss on top sometimes so it adds a more naturalistic element to the enclosure. Then I usually collect wood- sticks for the smaller snakes, and for yours, maybe saw several branches to size for him. Ones with large forks he can rest in are usually really nice. I usually then thoroughly wash the wood in a mixture of water and bleach (ratio as you would for your own toys/plates/whatever), let it soak for a few hours, then rinse and dry in the sun. Additionally I then bake the wood pieces on a low temp (~200-250F) for a little bit and watch them, so that anything else is killed off. You can then screw these together with a drill to create a cool climbing structure (would recommend screwing (haha) one or two for support so he can climb on them safely and not just have sticks braced against the wall), or just put them in there and arrange as you will. PLEASE be sure they are VERY secure- screwing in or adding little guides or rails on the wall they're leaning on would be good and is sometimes what i do so they can't shift. Your platform looks really precarious if it isn't all glued together, because snakes can and will knock shit over and more often than not, get stuck beneath them.
I'd definitely agree with getting rid of that platform, but you could definitely build a smaller one he would probably use more, especially with more sticks leading up to it and other things. You won't be able to find vines that will support him except perhaps several of these knotted/braided together.
Also, feel free to respond with other enclosure specifications- I don't mean to criticize and it isn't related to your original question, but oftentimes red bulbs are used constantly and as the only source of heat, and for a boa, not good. Do you have a source of belly heat as well, or another method of heating it? He also looks like he's getting too big for that enclosure, and if you're wanting to put in the effort to make him happy and healthy, a larger enclosure would benefit him greatly too. :)
You should buy a bunch of these face vine so that he has something good to climb around on. you also need a good basking spot under the light, about 8-10" down and slightly off the the side (not directly under) of the light. You should also replace that deep dome with a 8 1/2" to 10" regular dome, which you can find cheap at any place like home depot.
First, let me share with you my little/HUGE hiccup I put myself and my chams through the last month.
I had to leave Florida in a hurry, and I had time to take my two boys' enclosures apart, and in my rush, I forgot their lighting (at least $180, easily), their supplements (Pfft, the ones I had weren't the best, but that was at least another $15), their live plants (which I wouldn't have taken them in the car anyway, but there's another $25), and then their fake vines and bendable vines ($37), total? $257, and why I know that is because I had to pull from all of my resources to make sure they had this set up today, and here is another view. BTW, THE PLANTS THAT I GOT THEM ARE TOO SMALL! But, they have them, and it's better than nothing at all.
Mind you, I'm talking about two chameleons, but what I had to spend to make sure that they were set up for this winter (I moved to Washington state), I had to do it, otherwise, I'm s shitty cham owner. I'm lucky there was already a humidifier here because I'm going to need that as the air is dry here and my Panther chameleon has already proven to be susceptible to respiratory infection as we took a trip to the vet this past year to get him some Baytril (antibiotic/oral), cost to the vet? $76.
I'm going to do a break down of everything that you're going to need for your Male Jackson (which I recommend that you start with a male Veiled. The Veiled are so much more heartier, they can take more abuse from a new owner, more forgiving for a better word..., I DO NOT suggest a Jackson for a first cham, and for that matter, someone who has never owned a reptile in their life). Anyway, here I go...
Set up:
Your total there is at $234, and you haven't bought the chameleon yet, but that is everything that you should have BEFORE you get your cham... Also, you're going to need...
Because you are new to this, having a temp/humidity gauge is something you might want to get as an aid to getting use to what their living environment should be like... so that's another $8
Prices my vary, depending on where you get all of your things. Getting stuff online can be cheaper, I randomly picked stuff on the internet and think I did pretty good for you, but you're looking at a nice little chunk of change just to make sure that you have the right set up to bring your cham home to, and I do hope that you'll take that and roll with it.
If you've NEVER OWNED A REPTILE BEFORE, I actually suggest that you start with something else. Bearded Dragons are awesome, AWESOME, reps, THOUGH, they are totally different than the care for a cham, it's a great way to start, and Dragons are even more hearty than a Veiled chameleon.
LASTLY, read through EVERYTHING on the sidebar -------------->
I would also avoid a lot of information that you'll find on the internet, and YES!!! That includes that one web site that probably is the first choice for you to go to when you're looking for chameleon advice. That site is horrible, save yourself the heartache, I started there, and I quickly learned that the site is a hot mess. There is never a straight and same consistent answer, too many myths, just no...
Hope all that helps, and thank all of the coffee I drank today. Lol! Good luck and welcome to the sub.
Dried branches should be fine.
Some are still not healthy to have in the cage.. I use manzanita branches as they're very attractive and 100% safe.
The bendable fake vines are available online.
Here are the pics https://imgur.com/a/c82oDhl
Before the barrage of hate like I got from my vet. Please read the below.
I moved him from the cage due to him falling since he was growing weak.
He like to drink water from the medicine cup. I still do mist but I noticed when he was young the misting systems and the dripper bothered him.
I do have lights but they are over him in the plastic tube as you can see that it is lit. I use the following light for sun and a 40 watt for warmth. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000255OSG/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_6?smid=A2A02U6YIW6LGE&psc=1
I usually have more branches and leaves but I moved them to a smaller enclosure when he started to appear ready to fall so that if he did it would be a shorter fall and I threw in t shirts at the bottom so that would help too. After awhile he wouldn't even try to climb on branches so I moved him to the tupperware container he is now in and I have a water dish in there for him. I still spray him lightly but I do watch him drink.
The branches and leaves are
https://www.amazon.com/Exo-Terra-Jungle-Vine-Large/dp/B003PAY0B2/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=exo+terra+vine&qid=1567192478&s=gateway&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/Flukers-Repta-Vines-Pothos-Reptiles-Amphibians/dp/B0009YEB70/ref=pd_sim_199_1/134-6895899-2549434?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0009YEB70&pd_rd_r=a6bf8eaf-e407-48fa-884e-3e58b35e5c38&pd_rd_w=5ivkF&pd_rd_wg=ohIaT&pf_rd_p=5c130f77-a5ef-4ffd-9db1-c29a354f52f9&pf_rd_r=FTR0ZJFA7S1MNKNTNNJK&psc=1&refRID=FTR0ZJFA7S1MNKNTNNJK
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I have used the Zoo Med Reptibreeze Open Air Screen Cage since I got him first starting out with small when I received him then moving up to Medium then Large. As get got older I moved him down to the Medium as he wasn't exploring as much.
When moving in the past I have not noticed him to get stressed.
Also let me be more clear. I moved and I noticed that he didn't eat many crickets the first two weeks. Then I got him a new batch and he usually eats a few when they hit the cage. He didn't go after a single one. I know they can be picky eaters so I didn't panic. I order some Green Horn Worms and waited but he did not eat those either. By this time he started to show that he was losing weight rather fast. I called the vet the said they could see me the next week. I went they cave me calcium drops and carnivore care. I tried it for 2 weeks and now not sure what to do. I know Panther Chameleons grow to be 6 to 8 years old in captivity but that's usually just a best guess from my understanding.
I've had the same issue with finding a good size Ficus... turns out, i can just use a weak looking one and run fake vines through it (this kind) at least for the time being until I can find the right size ficus or grow one myself... lol.
I even asked around at multiple nurseries, they for some reason (unknown to them too) cannot get the size I'm looking for, they're either too small or huge ones you would plant in the ground outside.
I use this terrarium once they're larger but I invested because I raise mantids as pets quite often.
For a twig, I use this
And for foliage I use this with the suction cup plonked near the top and the leaves hanging down that I found in the reptile section.
The fish and reptile sections at your local pet store are going to be your favorite aisles from now on.
For substrate a lot of people here prefer dirt (NEVER from outside, there are all kinds of parasites and mites in outside dirt!) But I prefer coconut fiber as my substrate because it's naturally antibiotic and will hinder fungal and bacterial growth, and smell nicer too.
You'll really come to love these little guys, and here's why. Mantids, unlike most "bugs" hunt via sight, not vibration. This means they move and act much more mammalian than other insects. They don't skitter, they don't make sudden scary movements or bite or attack on sight (well some do, they all have their own distinct personalities), and they're VERY smart.
Mantids have been known to be receptive to operant conditioning, AKA they can be trained like a dog would. You should try to handle them (gently and with clean hands) as they grow up, every couple of days, and by the time they're adults they'll readily calmly hang out with you whenever you want. You can plop them on your arm as you do computer stuff or whatever. They're very docile creatures most of the time and make great pets. Just be careful because they're fragile.
As others said, keep humidity around 50% and if they're Tenodera Sinesis then temperature should hover around 70F at night and 80F during the day, which means you'll want a dome reptile lamp and you'll need to figure our the appropriate distance from the top of the cage to place it. Don't place it right on top, the mantids love to hang out on top upside down and a lamp right there would fry them. Make sure there's at least 1 cool spot for them to cool off.
As for food and water, once they're a little bigger the crickets at the pet store should work fine. If they're super picky there are lots of online mantis stores that sell larger flies. and whet a sponge or paper towel in there to help with the humidity.