quick question

[bones93]

Just picked up my new male bee on SAT. Temps int he hot spot are 87 wich is where his hide box is. Seems like he is more content laying between the glass and hide box than in the box. Could there be anything wrong why he does not lay inside the box?
Tried to feed him a rat pup on TUE and he wasnt really interested. Probably will wait a few days and either try another rat pup or a hopper. Thoughts on this?

[Kysenia]

Hey, grats on the new pickup!!!!

I would need to see a pic of the setup in general....but a few basic thoughts...

1. I would do your best to not have contact with the new pickup for one week . Do not attempt to feed till that time...and if they refuse do not offer till the next schedule feed time. For a young bp most fo 3-5 days....I personally do 3 days to start.

2. The reason they are behind the hide and squished leads me to think she is more secure back there. BP's like it tight....I am guessing that the hide is to big. It may also be a little bit of a heat issue, but more the likely she wants contact all sides. BP's in nature are vulnerable from attacks above. This is why they like full contact with the hide. Makes them feel head on top/back is protected.

3. 87 in general is too low for your warmside. You should shoot for 92-94 ish hot side and 82-84 cool. This will vary person to person with preference...but as you can see your warm side is close to what some would consider a cool side temp.

Again I would need to see the whole set up visually with everything your using but start with increasing temp, leaving her be, and tightening up the hide

Hope this helps, I am a noob myself so hopefully others respond as well

[BPelizabeth]

ditto on that!

I am very new as well but yea...up the warm side and check your humidity...should be about 55-60%. Get small hides. There are lots of ideas here on what to use. A cheap small plastic bowl with a hole in it works well. Make sure it is not clear...they like it dark.

Also and this is very difficult for me. No touchy touchy for a week and maybe try putting a towel over the cage. Also what type of bedding are you doing? No pine or cedar....can be fatal to the snake. I have heard on here that you can take crumpled newspaper and put the in the cage...it gives them more security. My bee is VERY shy. I don't think he is ever going to be a "lap" snake.

Also...just calm down...he will eat when you get everything right and he feels a little more comfortable. Balls are notorious for not eating when something is slightly off.

One more thing....are you feeding live or F/T....I switched to live because it is easy for me to go to the store here ....plus I love going in there once a week plus it is a treat...they love live. I personally would not leave a rat even a pup in with my snake....just in case it could bite them. If it is F/T...I use to thaw it and then hit it with my blow dryer right before I gave it to them.

Ok...that is about all of my knowledge....good luck... you and your snake will be fine...

[seeya205]

Babies are usually more interested in live mice in the beginning. What are you using to measure temps? A digital thermometer is best!

[trott]

Give him at least 2 weeks to settle. He'll eventually use the hide if its appropiately sized. It he still hasn't, when you do handle him after he's settled you can feed him into his hide when you put him back in his enclosure.
Offer food (in his enclosure) during this 2 week process but dont handle. Try pre-scenting for a half hr or til hes gets in feed mode.
Once you get him up feeding hatches are usually pretty impressionable and you'll be able to switch to whatever food item works best.

[Kaorte]

Well, sounds pretty normal for a new snake. I would check your husbandry as others suggested.

If everything is spot on then the little one is just stressed. I brought home a new girl on saturday as well and she doesn't use her hides much yet. Yesterday she was in there all day and now she isn't. Once she stays in her hides for a few days I am going to feed her.

[bones93]

Ok Thanks for all the responses so far...I am using aspen bedding for the substrate and the the hide box may be a little big.Im gonna downsize a bit. Since last night he has been in the hidebox all day.

I will up the temp a bit also. Im gonna switch to UTH this weekend as well. They are each in a 10 gallon right now wich is a temp. setup until my enclosure is built.

I have not really handled either snake since I got em. I am just getting back into this after about 10 years so I am a little rusty lol. But I am not overly concerned at this point.

Thanks again for the pointers. I will post some pics when they get settled in.

[seeya205]

I would prescent by putting the prey item on top of his cage for a few hours, that should get him hungry! After he settles in of course! Isolate him for a week then try! Good luck!

[bones93]

Ok, I upped the temp on the warm side to about 93. He has been in the hide more the past few days. Today I scented the room as suggested and he slammed 2 hoppers. I guess he just needed to relax a bit. Now that the first feed is over for both snakes I can relax lol

Thanks again for the help