New Owner - Friendly or Freaked Out

[minotaur]

Hello all,

A week ago I got my first BP as a 21st Birthday present. Here is a picture of the setup three days ago. Since then, after reading this forum I have added a second hide, an accurite and fixed up the top of the viv to help with the humidity. So far my temps and humidity are in a perfect range (92-94 hot side, 78-82 cold side, humidity 53%). I also blackened the back of the half-log, to make it extremely dark.



I am a little concerned as my BP has yet to use either one of his hides. He just likes to curl up loosely next to the water bowl (cold side) and sleep during the day. At night he actively moves around the viv and explores. Based on what I have read, most BP's spend most of the time in the hide. I had to handle him twice since I took him home, when I was making modifications to the viv. He seems very calm when handled and is more than willing to explore my arm and move through my fingers.

As added information that may be useful, I got him from a smaller local pet store. The pet store used a setup that looks almost identical to my own. At the store There was a larger aggressive BP who seemed to spend most of the day in the single hide they provided. My BP tended to sleep near the front of the glass. Consequently he was handled whenever a customer was interested in the snakes.

Could my BP just be very relaxed and friendly by nature or is something wrong? I am curious because I am going to try to feed tomorrow night for the first time.

[Freakie_frog]

A roaming active ball means stress 9 times out of ten.. Can you put a pic of the corected tank up for me to see.

[ReptileMan27]

It takes time for them to settle in, BPs are nocturnal so its normal that hes active at night. If he spends most of his time on the cool side, thats fine if thats where hes comfortable, it just may be to warm on the warm side. BPs are generally docile and shy snakes, so no I dont think their is anything wrong with your BP.

[fishmommy]

that's a nice looking snake!


what method are you using for heat?

[minotaur]

I will try to take an updated picture tonight. To clarify, by active I mean he will climb on the fake plant, hang out for about an hour on the hot side, then move to a different spot and stop for a while. I didn't want to give you the impression that he is constantly moving. Thanks for the help.

[minotaur]

For heat, I use a combo infrared lamp and Zoo-med UTH. Both on a thermostat. So far the combination seems to work pretty well.

[fishmommy]

are both heat sources on the same side of the tank?

[minotaur]

The UTH is on the extreme right side. The heat lamp is a bit more mid-line but still toward the right side.

[fishmommy]

the reason I am asking about heat sources is I was trying to picture the temperature profile inside the tank.


With a thick layer of substrate, the snake may get more penetrating feel-good heat from the lamp than from the UTH. A thick hide like the wood one pictured may insulate against the lamp. Do you have a way of measuring the temps inside the hides? It would be worth checking to see if it's too cold inside them.
The fact that your snake is sleeping is encouraging, since roaming would be a sign of stress for sure. He might be sleeping out in the open because the lamp feels good compared to the temp inside the hide.

that's my hairbrained theory anyway

[Stewart_Reptiles]

First

Well your BP is new and definietly need so time to adjust, however I would suggest to switch the hides and provide two (I only see one) tight hides that your BP can snug in. Log hides are not the best, the ideal hides should have all the sides touching your BP's body.

You can make them out of plastic bowls or you can purchase something looking like this

Also how do you measure your temps? What type of thermometer, just curious since I don't see it in the pic?

Hello all, I am a little concerned as my BP has yet to use either one of his hides. He just likes to curl up loosely next to the water bowl (cold side) and sleep during the day. At night he actively moves around the viv and explores. Based on what I have read, most BP's spend most of the time in the hide. I had to handle him twice since I took him home, when I was making modifications to the viv. He seems very calm when handled and is more than willing to explore my arm and move through my fingers.