2 Questions....

[siggie_99]

We have had "drake" about a month now. He has eaten for me 3 times and always seems ready to eat. He even ate during shed, even though I did not even know he was going into shed at the time...(first snake). He weighs 120gms and is about 20 inches long, so not even sure if the age, but assume he is young. As I have said in my previous threads, he was purchased at a chain pet store and I think they did not give him proper time or attention because they had actually force fed him, and so far for me he has not turned down a meal since I got him to finally take the first mouse. So now that is the history, here are my 2 questions. (and yes I have read a lot of the links here, just sometimes I think questions are slightly different and want to make sure I understand, trying to be a good parent!)

1. He went through shed 2 weeks ago and it was a bad shed. Flaked off in small pieces, actually just fell off because he would not rub it off on anything, finally after a week we did put him in a warm bath and peeled him. Now one week later his eyes are now METALLIC,, they are not cloudy or milky as described but look like dark, shiny metal. Is this shed again or something else? Is it too soon for another shed?


2. I am feeding f/t fuzzies but he seems to be having trouble because he turns them sideways and has trouble getting them down because the feet get turned and he can't get past them easily, takes about 20-30 minutes to get swallowed,should I increase the size of the mouse? This is what the pet store told me and I did read that but would like some feedback on what you think. He eats every Wednesday and is always ready to eat, am I feeding him enough and large enough or should I move up to hopper size?

Thanks for your input!

[PurplePython]

If he weighs around 120 grams I would say that hoppers should be what hes able to accept and get down no problem.

As far as his eyes, they may be the eye caps left over from his bad shed? I am not sure but yeah he wouldnt be able to shed 2 times within 2 weeks.

[mr. s]

Sounds to me like he had eye caps before, and now you are seeing his normal eyes? You said that it is black and really shiny? That is how a healthy bp's eyes should be. OR, if the conditions were really bad before, maybe he actually IS shedding twice.....(I had 2 rescues which shed twice with only like 10 days between, but I was treating them for scale rot at the time).
Yes, hoppers at least. Bps can quickly move up to adult mice. The prey item you feed should be about the same girth as the snakes fattest section, or 10-15% of the snakes weight. Can't go wrong with that formula. Maybe feed a could hoppers for now, and move to adults a little later.
Can someone confirm this advice? I have not dealt with a young bp in a blue moon.
Good luck!

[dr del]

Hi,

He can probably handle hoppers but compare them to the width of his body at its widest point to be sure.

Are you feeding F/T? Heating the head more can sometimes help them start eating at the right end.

As to the eyes they actually sound like retained eyecaps - but a picture would really help decide one way or another.


dr del

[Patricia]

2. I am feeding f/t fuzzies but he seems to be having trouble because he turns them sideways and has trouble getting them down because the feet get turned and he can't get past them easily, takes about 20-30 minutes to get swallowed,should I increase the size of the mouse?

Don't worry about how long it takes for him to swallow the mouse, as long as it goes down. Mine has taken nearly an hour to position his mouse into a swallowable position (chomps down on it sideways!), but he manages and is growing nicely.

I'd imagine a hopper would be too small, but it depends on its size/weight. We got our runt at 112g and I fed it a hopper like I was told to. The hopper was 8g from Petco, and it took me a couple of weeks to realize that was WAY too small. Our runt quickly gained weight when fed appropriately sized meals.

Enjoy your Drake!

[Kaorte]

If you have a scale, weight your prey items as well. A good rule of thumb is to feed between 10-15% of the snakes body weight. using this rule, your snake could easily eat a small adult mouse weighing 15g.

[BPelizabeth]

ditto to Karote!! At 120 grams a hopper is fine. Typically the hatchlings are eating hoppers. He is young still so sounds to me like he is still learning the head first is the easiest...he will figure it out.

As far as the eyes...they sound fine now. But the peeling thing egads don't be a peeler. Soaking him is great....taking a wet towel afterwards and letting him crawl through it is good. But don't actually peel.

Think of it like this....have you ever had a really bad sunburn and started peeling your skin....most of it came off fine but some wasn't ready and when you peeled you ripped some. Yikes..hurts.

In the future when you see him go blue....up the humidity. You can do this several different ways:

spraying the tank/tub 3 times a day
if you have a tank...foil off the screen part
take clean wet wash cloth and put it on top of the warm hide...wetting it each day
make a humid hide out of spagnum moss

Hope this helps.