Welp, this is an embarrassing moment. But, I think it could be a good lesson for those who need to hear it, so let me tell you what happened. Thirty minutes ago, I was moving my ball python’s enclosure to another side of my room to make space for a new boa I’m getting in a couple weeks. There was a mishap in this process, and it ended with his enclosure coming apart and splattering dirt across the corner of my room. It’s almost midnight where I am, and I definitely do not have the energy to deal with this right now. Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, and I’m spending time with family and I definitely can’t cancel just because of my own incompetence. Luckily though, I always keep a temporary enclosure on hand just in case. Instead of having to reconstruct this enclosure, definitely wake up my family, be up all night, not be able to spend time with family tomorrow, or Dav not have a home for a day, I’m able to provide him with a home and spend New Year’s Day working on his enclosure and cleaning up instead. As keepers we never want this kind of thing to happen. It happened at a very inconvenient time for me as well. But, at least I was prepared. As keepers your motto has always got to be hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
That reaallyy sucks… So sorry that happened to you. I hope you still end up with a nice holiday aside from the cleaning.
This is a great post. That’s some valuable information/advice for both new keepers and any who may not have thought about something like that happening.
This advice, evacuation/power outage plans, and knowing the location of the nearest or best reptile vet (for those lucky enough to have multiple options) are very important and can sometimes be overlooked.
I’m sorry that happened to you, but also kudos for being prepared.
Good life lesson, thanks for sharing.
I keep some tubs in appropriate sizes for my snakes with substrate and with heat mats already attached in case we ever need to evacuate. I also have a bag (stored right next to the tubs) with spare hides, water bowls, and thermostats, so it’s easy to throw together a temporary enclosure within minutes if the need ever arises. I mainly envisioned using them for vet visits and evacuations, but they’d also come in handy if an existing enclosure unexpectedly falls apart!
Good post, @garciademueller. I’m sorry you had to deal with the cleanup and having to set up a new enclosure. It’s wonderful that you were prepared for a possible mishap. You’re absolutely right, it’s important for keepers to have plans in place to handle the unexpected. This is a good PSA. The new year is a good time to either review one’s preparations or at least schedule that review.
Oof sorry you gotta deal with the cleanup,
but you remind me I need to be sure to doublecheck I’ve still got a Go-Bin for each snake, with supplies and a pad/thermostat for each of them. A temporary home in event of evacuation, emergency, or well, enclosure mishap.