Young BP and new owner feeding concerns

[Jacmiller11]

Hello!

My husband and I recently acquired an approx 6month old BP who was shown by feeding records to be a good eater. We've had him for 3 weeks and we've offered twice and he's completely uninterested in the food. We're using f/t hoppers (that's what the store said he was eating successfully). I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. He's very active at night, literally climbing the walls. Fairly active during the day (exploring the new digs?) Anyway, he's pretty much terrified of the food and I don't know if it's the way I'm trying to feed him (I use tongs and in trying to make as little noise as possible, I've dipoles the mouse a few times).

[Newbie39]

Hello!

My husband and I recently acquired an approx 6month old BP who was shown by feeding records to be a good eater. We've had him for 3 weeks and we've offered twice and he's completely uninterested in the food. We're using f/t hoppers (that's what the store said he was eating successfully). I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. He's very active at night, literally climbing the walls. Fairly active during the day (exploring the new digs?) Anyway, he's pretty much terrified of the food and I don't know if it's the way I'm trying to feed him (I use tongs and in trying to make as little noise as possible, I've dipoles the mouse a few times).

Please provide us with your husbandry. Your temps hot/cold side? Humidity? Ambient temps? Are you offering feeder warm?

[Jacmiller11]

Apparently I can't edit my post...I didn't actually mean to hit "post" but I'm on a phone. Here's the whole post:

Hello!

My husband and I recently acquired an approx 6month old BP who was shown by feeding records to be a good eater. We've had him for 3 weeks and we've offered twice and he's completely uninterested in the food. We're using f/t hoppers (that's what the store said he was eating successfully). I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. He's very active at night, literally climbing the walls. Fairly active during the day (exploring the new digs?) Anyway, he's pretty much terrified of the food and I don't know if it's the way I'm trying to feed him (I use tongs and in trying to make as little noise as possible, I've dropped the mouse a few times, plus opening and closing the top isn't exactly quiet as it's a screen top with clamps).

Our main concern is that he's young and we don't know how long it's safe for something that young to go off food. We got him October 9th and he had last eaten the week prior, so he's been off food for 4 weeks. I need to get a weight and length on him. We haven't been handling except the minimum necessary to clean the aquarium.

We're really nervous owners because we had a BP that we got earlier this year that was sick when we got him (as new owners, we had no idea...we just thought he was adjusting to the new surroundings) and died within a month. We just don't want this guy to starve on us.

Temps are good, humidity is a bit low, but we're working on that.

[Newbie39]

What exactly are the temps? Also your heat is controlled by a thermostat?

[Jacmiller11]

What exactly are the temps? Also your heat is controlled by a thermostat?

His hot side sits between 85-90, cool side between 75-81. Humidity sits around 30%, but we're working to bump that up...fighting against the AC pulling moisture out of the air. He's got lots of hiding places, 2 hides plus a plant. We don't have a thermostat, but we haven't had issues with temps staying in the accepted ranges.

[Newbie39]

I think it def. could be the temps. A constant 88 to 90 would be better for hot side, cold side at 80. and that humidity def. needs to come up. You say screen top? Maybe cover it with a towel or something? I have limited experience with glass enclosures. what are using to heat the enclosure? If just UTH you may need to add a secondary heat source on top.

Maybe someone else can chime in here please that has experience with glass tanks.

[Craiga 01453]

Hello!

My husband and I recently acquired an approx 6month old BP who was shown by feeding records to be a good eater. We've had him for 3 weeks and we've offered twice and he's completely uninterested in the food. We're using f/t hoppers (that's what the store said he was eating successfully). I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. He's very active at night, literally climbing the walls. Fairly active during the day (exploring the new digs?) Anyway, he's pretty much terrified of the food and I don't know if it's the way I'm trying to feed him (I use tongs and in trying to make as little noise as possible, I've dipoles the mouse a few times).

Your main priority is getting your husbandry right and making sure the snake feels safe and secure.
Once husbandry and security are solid, you may need to try different approaches regarding how you hear the prey item, whether you feed off tongs or just leave the prey, etc... I would contact the breeder and find out how they heated and fed and mimic that. Bps can be finicky eaters. I have one who will only eat if I defrost and heat the prey a certain way.

Lastly, hoppers are only fed for the first 3-5 meals generally and then switched to rat fuzzies or small adult mice.
Hope this chart helps:

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[Craiga 01453]

His hot side sits between 85-90, cool side between 75-81. Humidity sits around 30%, but we're working to bump that up...fighting against the AC pulling moisture out of the air. He's got lots of hiding places, 2 hides plus a plant. We don't have a thermostat, but we haven't had issues with temps staying in the accepted ranges.

Running heating equipment without a thermostat is a ticking time bomb. PLEASE unplug it ASAP in order to avoid serious burns or even fatal heat spikes due to unregulated heat sources. An Unregulated UTH can spike to 120 degrees and cause horrific burns or even death. There was a thread about a week or two ago that a member started asking what to do about their snake being burned. Trust me, you don't want that.

[Zincubus]

As regards the actual feeding ...

This method WORKS if done properly ...
I wait until evening as they're nocturnal of course . I let the rodent thaw out in the reptile room so they get the smell ..
Then I warm up the mouse / rat with a hairdryer and offer with tongs IMMEDIATELY whilst still warm . If refused simply repeat the heating and offering as many times as needed. .
A couple of mine will only strike feed from within their hides so I dangle the warm rodent in front of the hide's entrance - usually works but if it fails simply reheat the rodent with a hairdryer and immediately offer again whilst it's still warm continue until it's grabbed ...


Incidentally , if it shows no interest at all not even a tongue flicker maybe it's best to leave for a week or so.


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[Jacmiller11]

Running heating equipment without a thermostat is a ticking time bomb. PLEASE unplug it ASAP in order to avoid serious burns or even fatal heat spikes due to unregulated heat sources. An Unregulated UTH can spike to 120 degrees and cause horrific burns or even death. There was a thread about a week or two ago that a member started asking what to do about their snake being burned. Trust me, you don't want that.

I never said I had a UTH. I have a ceramic heat source above.