Panicking! Hiding in background

[Sophiejade138]

Hi all,

So I'm finally a proud owner of a 6 month old male. He arrived on Tuesday 20th June. He arrived by courier in a tub and the only handling I did was to pick him up, quick check over and then straight into his viv which is a 4x2x2 with lots of branches,logs, plants and 3 hides.


However on Tuesday night, he managed to find a way behind the foam background I made myself. It was my fault, there's a gap at the top behind one of the cork bark flats as I had just run out of expanding foam!! At first he was peeping out from the top and seemed fine, but once the uvb light came on in the morning he retreated further in and I wasn't able to see him. Naturally I panicked and ripped off part of the bark so that I could try and take a picture of the inside to see if he was stuck. He doesn't seem to be but my only worry is that it's now Friday and he still hasn't come out. I'm due to give him his first feed next Monday 26th but I don't know how I'm going to do it if he doesn't come out.

I know they need at least a week to acclimatise to a new enclosure but I haven't seen him out, even at around 10pm with the lights off. Again, I know they love hiding but I don't want him behind the background because if he poops there then I. Ant clean it, without ripping part of it off. Once he's out I'm going to have to fill it.

What do you suggest I do? Leave him be or try and take more of the background off? I'm also worried that he's choosing to hide over regulating his temp. He's hiding on the warm side which is at 30 degrees. Humidity around 60%.

Thank you!

[Homebody]

What do you suggest I do? Leave him be or try and take more of the background off? I'm also worried that he's choosing to hide over regulating his temp. He's hiding on the warm side which is at 30 degrees. Humidity around 60%.

First, congratulations on your new addition. I wish you many happy years together. I'm sorry it's starting with so much drama. First, you should stop panicking. A clear head makes better decisions. I expect that he is fine. He chose to hide behind your background because he likes that space better than the hides you got him. Tight spaces make them feel more secure. 30C (86F) sounds like a perfectly safe temperature for him to stay in. From what you've told me, I would probably wait him out. He'll come out when he feels safe and secure enough to explore his new environment. I'd turn off any lights in his enclosure. He'll feel safer in the dark. Be prepared for a long wait, a week or more. He was already stressed by the move. Then, a huge animal tried to rip him from his safe spot. I wouldn't try feeding him until he comes out on his own.

[Sophiejade138]

First, congratulations on your new addition. I wish you many happy years together. I'm sorry it's starting with so much drama. First, you should stop panicking. A clear head makes better decisions. I expect that he is fine. He chose to hide behind your background because he likes that space better than the hides you got him. Tight spaces make them feel more secure. 30C (86F) sounds like a perfectly safe temperature for him to stay in. From what you've told me, I would probably wait him out. He'll come out when he feels safe and secure enough to explore his new environment. I'd turn off any lights in his enclosure. He'll feel safer in the dark. Be prepared for a long wait, a week or more. He was already stressed by the move. Then, a huge animal tried to rip him from his safe spot. I wouldn't try feeding him until he comes out on his own.

Thank you for the advice when I first put him in the viv he hung out in one of the flower pots in the background and underneath one of the logs but he didn't actually discover his hides, although I'm now thinking they're too big anyway!
He just scaled the background and found the dreaded gap that I didn't think was big enough. First lesson learned there.

I've turned the light off now, I only kept it on in the day so that he would get used to it and for it to provide more of a day/night cycle. The room the viv is in is quite gloomy and doesn't get much natural light.

I'm also thinking about getting a motion detect camera so I can see if he does actually come out at night! But yeah, think I'm being a bit impatient. I'll leave him be for now!

[Bogertophis]

Sooner or later, snakes WILL find & explore any weaknesses in their enclosures- & just so you know, yours is not the first snake to get behind their fake backgrounds & for that reason, I wouldn't use them. Also, they tend to provide many crevices that are very hard to clean & sanitize after tiny bits of fecal material gets spread around- so I'm just not a fan of such things to begin with.

Keep in mind that once a snake discovers a "weakness" that gets them to a place they feel safer hiding in (OR to an escape of their enclosure), they'll keep going BACK to try to get in there again- which may sometimes lead to injuries like nose rubs, or full body scrape if there's any sharp edges.

If you want a snake to come out, you'd do best by leaving off all artificial lights- ambient room light (even when it's very dim) is much preferred by your snake.

Can't tell you whether it's best to wait & let your snake emerge on his own or take out the background & force the issue- since I'm not seeing it (& the actual construction) for safety issues. But keep in mind that some snakes DO injure themselves when squeezing thru tight spaces out of fear or when trying to escape or hide. When you keep snakes- try to do their thinking for them (ie. anticipate what they might try & make that impossible).

Agree with Homebody that feeding should wait a while, well after he is no longer stuck, because his current behavior shows just how afraid & stressed he already is.

Don't beat yourself up too much- keeping snakes IS a learning process. Your new snake just taught you a bit about how snakes feel about things.

[Armiyana]

Is it glass behind the background? Are you able to see him behind it?
What you could try is making sure the front of the viv is covered and dark, put some extra small boxes around or small hides to lure him into one of those instead and leave a light on the back.

Just something low heat producing like an LED and not too directly onto the spot, but enough to feel too bright and make them want to leave.

Otherwise yeah, just wait him out. Sometimes if you have some dirty rat or mouse bedding you can leave some near the viv and the smell of prey may lure them out too if he does start getting hungry and comfortable enough to try exploring more. Then you can move him to a safer spot while rebuilding

Sorry you had to have this rough of a go but welcome to the adventure that is snake ownership!

[Sophiejade138]

Is it glass behind the background? Are you able to see him behind it?
What you could try is making sure the front of the viv is covered and dark, put some extra small boxes around or small hides to lure him into one of those instead and leave a light on the back.

Just something low heat producing like an LED and not too directly onto the spot, but enough to feel too bright and make them want to leave.

Otherwise yeah, just wait him out. Sometimes if you have some dirty rat or mouse bedding you can leave some near the viv and the smell of prey may lure them out too if he does start getting hungry and comfortable enough to try exploring more. Then you can move him to a safer spot while rebuilding

Sorry you had to have this rough of a go but welcome to the adventure that is snake ownership!

No he's in a wooden viv. The only way I can see him is if I angle my phone above the gap and record a video or take a picture. But I don't want to disturb him so I've only done this a few times just to see if he's OK.

I'm.going to try the rat thing and hope that lures him out! Thanks!