Vote for BP.Net for the 2013 Forum of the Year! Click here for more info.

» Site Navigation

» Home
 > FAQ

» Online Users: 2,877

1 members and 2,876 guests
Most users ever online was 6,337, 01-24-2020 at 04:30 AM.

» Today's Birthdays

None

» Stats

Members: 75,031
Threads: 248,489
Posts: 2,568,441
Top Poster: JLC (31,651)
Welcome to our newest member, isismomma
Results 1 to 7 of 7
  1. #1
    Registered User Bet's Avatar
    Join Date
    03-13-2012
    Posts
    6
    Thanks
    5
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Is This Normal Behavior?

    I adopted a BP about a month ago. He was being fed once a month. He is supposedly 20 yrs. old, but I just saw a bp yesterday that was 3 yrs old and twice the weight/girth of mine.

    Anyhow, I have been feeding him 1 med. rat every 5-7 days since I got him. So four feedings now. I fed him yesterday at 6:30 p.m. and at 10:30 p.m. my daughter was standing in front of his cage, and he struck the side 3-4 times because he was still in hunting mode. That was 4 hours later!!

    Last week was the same way, I was doing something else by his cage and he struck at me (must hurt hitting glass), it was so long after his feeding I didn't think that was it and thought maybe he was too hot or something.

    I don't have a scale to tell you how much he weighs. But here are some pictures.






  2. #2
    BPnet Lifer Mike41793's Avatar
    Join Date
    12-15-2011
    Location
    Philadelphia, PA
    Posts
    16,924
    Thanks
    6,661
    Thanked 7,979 Times in 5,583 Posts
    It looks like he has alot of stcuk shed so it could be that he just cant see very well. Describe the setup you have him in including the temps/humidity...
    1.0 normal bp
    mad roaches yo

  3. #3
    Registered User Bet's Avatar
    Join Date
    03-13-2012
    Posts
    6
    Thanks
    5
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
    He is in a 29 gal. tank with an Under Tank Heater that is on one side and is always on. I have a dome light and bought a 100 watt infrared bulb that I turned on for a couple hours at a time, because I keep my house temp. around 65, but last week when he was striking at me someone told me maybe he was too hot, so I haven't turned the bulb on since.

    As for the humidity, I don't have a way to measure. I spray down his tank on occasion, but I have no idea how to bring up the humidity otherwise. He has a large water bowl, but that's it.

    I only had a temp. gauge on the side of his tank and have since learned that isn't good. But, I haven't bought a thermometer yet. I am going to a Herp Expo in Omaha on Sunday and hope to find/see/pick minds for everything I need.

    When I took the photos, he was just going through a shed, and it was bad. I have since soaked him and removed his shed. So I don't really think my question has anything to do with his shed. The other "dirt" is in cage if from the Rat/box when I dumped the rat in.

    I compare his attitude more to a dog I once had that had been starved. He got food aggressive and ate everything and tried to take everyone else's until he learned he would always have enough.

    Besides, the only time he is striking the cage is after he has eaten, but SO LONG after he has eaten is my question "Is this normal?". Otherwise he seems to be quite happy and moves around from the hot side to the cool side and climbs the branch, and hides in his hole.

  4. #4
    BPnet Lifer Rob's Avatar
    Join Date
    02-20-2012
    Posts
    4,653
    Thanks
    1,692
    Thanked 2,646 Times in 1,686 Posts
    Go grab a acurite gauge from wal mart. It will run you 9 bucks. It will give you a digital read out of the humidity and temp.
    Do your homework on this site, there is everything you need to know about BP's and husbandry here.
    Last edited by Rob; 04-12-2012 at 01:36 PM.

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to Rob For This Useful Post:

    Bet (04-12-2012)

  6. #5
    Registered User Bet's Avatar
    Join Date
    03-13-2012
    Posts
    6
    Thanks
    5
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
    LOL - I didn't think of Walmart, I went to Earl May yesterday and they didn't have any.

  7. #6
    BPnet Veteran The Serpent Merchant's Avatar
    Join Date
    10-15-2011
    Location
    Orlando, Florida
    Posts
    8,193
    Thanks
    1,504
    Thanked 3,300 Times in 2,344 Posts
    Does the UTH have a thermostat regulating it?

    Without a thermostat regulating UTH's the can and will get up to 130 degrees. this is hot enough to kill your snake. combine that with the fact that the thump gage that you are using doesn't tell you the temperature of the substrate in the tank and you have a recipe for disaster.

    This is the thermometer that you should get, they cost $12 at Walmart (in the light bulb section *usually)



    And here are 2 good thermostats. Don't waste your time/money on the crap sold in pet stores.

    The hydrofarm thermostat, sold on Amazon for $30 these are ok and will get the job done but lack the accuracy/safety of better thermostats. These should be replaced with a better thermostat when possible

    http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR..._bxgy_ol_img_b

    The Herpstat is the top of the line thermostat, These cost more but are far more accurate and have built in safety features

    http://spyderrobotics.com/
    ~Aaron

    0.1 Pastel 100% Het Clown Ball Python (Hestia)
    1.0 Coastal/Jungle Carpet Python (Shagrath)
    0.1 Dumeril's Boa (Nergal)

    0.1 Bearded Dragon (Gaius)

    1.0 Siberian Husky (Picard)
    0.1 German Shepherd/Lab Mix (Jadzia)

  8. The Following User Says Thank You to The Serpent Merchant For This Useful Post:

    Bet (04-12-2012)

  9. #7
    BPnet Lifer angllady2's Avatar
    Join Date
    08-18-2009
    Location
    St. Louis, MO.
    Posts
    3,642
    Thanks
    1,937
    Thanked 1,914 Times in 1,149 Posts
    I think you are not far from being wrong on the starvation analogy.

    I have adopted two rescues, and both were very aggressive and voracious feeders until they finally learned they would get the food they needed and that gorging wasn't necessary.

    I am completely convinced that both of them would have eaten until they burst themselves if I had let them. And yes, the fire female would strike the tub repeatedly any time anything came near it, even a full day after she had eaten a large meal. It took several months for her to calm down, but eventually she became so comfortable with regular feeding, she even went on a little feeding strike for me to let me know she was aware it was breeding season.

    Get his husbandry as spot on as you can, and just keep feeding him regularly and he'll come around. It will probably take a long time, but he'll settle down eventually. If you read the caresheets here, there are lots of ideas and help for people with tanks.

    Gale
    Last edited by angllady2; 04-12-2012 at 05:36 PM.
    1.0 Low-white Pied - Yakul | 1.0 Granite het Pied - Nago
    1.0 Mojave - Okoto | 1.0 Vanilla - Kodama
    1.0 Pastel - Koroku | 1.0 Fire - Osa
    0.1 het Pied - Toki | 0.1 het Pied - Mauro
    0.1 Mojave - Kina | 0.1 Blushback Cinnamon - Kuri
    0.1 Fire - Mori | 0.1 Reduced Pinstripe - Sumi
    0.1 Pastel - Yuki | 0.1 Dinker Normal - Akashi
    0.1 Ghana Giant Normal - Tatari | 0.1 Dinker Normal - Kaiya

  10. The Following User Says Thank You to angllady2 For This Useful Post:

    Bet (04-12-2012)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.1