Severe BP Problem

[snakeaholic]

Hi I'm new to the bp world and I am having several problems going on with my snake. This is going to be long so please bear with me. 1st week of July I bought a baby bp and first 3 weeks he ate fine. I noticed that he was going through his shedding phase so i left him alone until he completed his shedding. I Tried to feed him a few days after his shed and he refused to eat. I tried the next week and the same. This has been going on for over a month and then finally I got him to eat a large frozen thawed out hopper and two days later he regurgitated it. I'm thinking it might be the temps and humidity in the tank, so now let me tell you about the tank. Its a 10 gal glass tank with a screen top, I have a UTH and a 60watt heat lamp. With the lamp on the tank reaches 92 with the humidity at 40%, With the light off the temp is at 80 with humidity at 50%. I have two hides one on the warm side and the other on the cool side. Also a large bowl of water. It just feels to dry inside the tank. I mist it down in the morning and then at night when i get home. Could having both heat elimates be too much or is there another route I could try. Any suggestions please. Thanks.

[led4urhead]

First off .. welcome to the site! We're glad to have you around

What kind of substrate are you using? Are you measuring temps on both sides of the tank? Do you have part of the top covered? What are you using to measure the humidity?

[TONYDM41684]

It is really hard to have a cool side and a warm side with a 10 gal. I would think that a 15 gal would be tha smallest. That is what I have for my new born. It is not too big and not too small. The hot side is 90-92 and the cool side is 80-84. With humidity at 50-60%. I have to spray to but I also use towels on top of the tank. I would not worry if she doesn't eat because that is what bp do, a lot. Now when they regurgitat it then worry. I would just take it to a vet. Just get a bigger tank and make sure the temp, humidity, and housing is all correct.

[snakeaholic]

Oh man I am learning so much from this website i wish i came here first before buying. Of course the pet store misled me in all ways.

I 'm gonna start over from scratch. Gonna do me a rubbermaid set up. It may not look so eye appealing but if it'll make the snake healthier i'm all for it.

[led4urhead]

How old is your little guy/girl? Have you been to the vet yet? A trip to the vet might not be a bad idea all together. Depending on how old and thick your little guy is, he might be ok missing a couple of meals. I know personally i have two now that havent eaten in almost two months. When you do try to feed again, it might not be a bad idea to try something a bit smaller than what you tried feeding the last time. Sometimes if the prey is too big the snake just cant handle it.

I'm glad to hear that you're learning alot! We're always glad to help

[gen]

I agree, I think if you haven't already, you should have him checked out by the vet. Check www.arav.org to see if there is a herp vet in your area.

[hhw]

light + aquarium = dehydration city. If you're going to go with that kind of setup, you HAVE to use some plexiglass or something of that nature to keep humidity in. A dehydrated reptile will not be interested in eating, and will not be able to digest a meal properly even if it does.

Also, you really need to provide a temperature gradient. It sounds as if you have the entire tank at 92 during the day, which is much too warm. Only one end of the tank should be at that temperature, with it being around 80 at the other end. If you're unable to provide a proper gradient in the meantime, I would keep the entire tank at 80. Actually, for a hatchling, it may sometimes be a good idea to keep them at a steady 80 all the time since in the wild, they are born during the wet season which is a little cooler than usual. Either way, make sure it has access to a temperature of 80 at all times.

[snakeaholic]

Ok I took away the heat lamp and covered 3/4 of the screen top with seran wrap. It has been about 5 hours now and the temp on the cool side is 80 and humidity at 60%. The warm side is at 90 and humidity at about 55. I hope this is a little better.

[led4urhead]

Thats much better! Good job

[padiente]

Did he ever eat and get better?