New owner with some questions and concerns...

[froggsong]

Hi, I've been a member of this forum for a couple of weeks or so, I'm not sure if I have posted anything yet. I recently bought a BP, and I have a few questions. I keep other herps, and have for years, but this is my first snake.

So, I discovered that my BP not only did NOT eat when they said it did at the pet store (yes I know, I should have known better, but this particular fellow had always been very knowledgeable, seems to truly care about the animals, and seemed to be very honest), it had apparently not eaten for some time. This became clear to me after seeing and handling some healthy ones that some owners had brought into the other LPS. My snake is very thin, and has been quite skittish. I waited almost a week to feed him (just a general reference, I do not know the snake yet, I want him to be settled before anyone probes him), and he readily took the mouse, but ate it backwards (any reason behind this? or do I have a less than intelligent snake?). It kept getting hung up on the feet, spitting it out, and trying again. It always went for the back end though... Is that something they normally do? Once it finally got it past the feet, there was no trouble getting it down. I put the snake back into the habitat, and it went into it's hide to digest. Everything was fine, and the snake shed the next day (the shed was almost in one piece, there was one part towards the back that was just ripped a bit, and the part under the throat was a separate piece. there seem to be a few different looking scales on the head and some down the body, are these scales that didn't shed or is there something that might be wrong? It is individual scales, rather than pieces of skin, I'm new to this, and reading doesn't always help as much as asking questions). The day after that, the snake defecated. That all seems normal to me, based on my limited experience and what I have read (I know they don't shed every time they eat, I knew the snake was going to shed before I fed it because it's eyes got milky); the thing I don't understand is that my snake looked fatter BEFORE I fed it than it does now. I have a water dish that I change every day, and I mist every day or two to keep the humidity around 60%. Should my humidity be higher (I believe I have read 60 is appropriate)? I have done what I have read to do to check for dehydration, pinch the skin on the back and see if it tents up, and it doesn't seem to. I really don't understand why my snake looks thinner since it has eaten than it did beforehand. Should I feed it sooner than a week to try to get the weight up? Maybe after five days? I seem to remember reading that that was appropriate for underweight snakes. Should I offer more than one mouse? I don't have a scale at the house, so I can't post the weight, but he is about 30 inches long (I measured the shed skin, I can't get it to stretch out straight to measure it, and I'm not comfortable enough to try with a string yet.), how big around should a snake like that be? The snakes I handled at the pet store that the owners brought in were much shorter than my snake and definitely fatter.
I tried to prepare before I bought the snake, but I feel like I don't know what I am doing as much as I would like. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[SlitherinSisters]

It sounds like you are doing good so far! I'm a new snake owner too! I'm not sure how thick the snake should be or why it looks thinner now, but as long as his/her spine isn't showing it's of decent weight. Also, you can tell if it's dehydrated if it has winkles in this skin. For example when it's turning you will see winkles in the bends of the snakes body. If you have water in the tank you shouldn't have to worry about dehydration.

A lot of BP owners say to feed your snake every 5-7 days, so if he/she will eat, I say go for it!

As for the shedding, it probably just had a bad shed. Keep misting and yes 60% is a great humidity. If it gets too high for too long you'll end up with scale rot.

[littleindiangirl]

Pictures will definitely help. Often underweight BP's will have a triangular look to them, with a prominant spine. He may just be young too, or a slow grower. If he pooped, he's eaten before.

Anyways, it's a good idea to get his next poo and take it to a vet for a fecal float to make sure that there are no internal parasites living in the little guy.

And yes, some snakes like to eat butt first. It's not a problem usually. Next time, just try to make the head of the mouse warmer.

[froggsong]

I will take some pictures the next time I take him out, I am trying not to handle the snake too often until he gets used to me. He does get wrinkly when he turns, and he does look a little bit triangular (not very, but some). I can see the spine the most when he is slithering around in my hands.

How old should I guess him to be based on his length? I know that the growth rate isn't the same for every snake and depends on how often they eat, but I'm just curious.

Should I try to feed him again tomorrow (I fed him Friday), or should I wait until Friday again?

Should I be worried about dehydration since the snake gets wrinkly when he bends his body? If so, how can I keep him more hydrated? There is a bowl large enough to soak in with plenty of water that I change daily in the tank.

I really feel like I did not do enough research before I bought my snake! It makes me feel awful...

[SlitherinSisters]

Don't worry I didn't research enough either!!! I wouldn't worry about dehydration at all. He'll drink and get water from the rats/mice he eats. I've heard of puting gatoraid in the water dish instead of water, but I haven't tried that myself.

I might wait till friday to feed him so he has more time to rest and get settled.

I couldn't tell you anything about his age.

[froggsong]

... Next time, just try to make the head of the mouse warmer...

OMG... I fed him today... I was TOTALLY not expecting the kind of feeding response I got, lol... I did the little corpse dance with the mouse, not even for 15 secs, and he actually STRUCK! It scared me so bad I dropped both the mouse AND the tongs right on his head. I pre-scented the room last time, but I don't think I had the mouse warm enough, plus I removed him to a separate tank (I don't know WHERE I was reading that was necessary, but just about everything I was reading said to do it. Not removing them makes sense for these guys though...). This time, I put the fridge thawed mouse in hot water for ten minutes, then set them on top of his tank while I went to go get the hair dryer, so he would smell them (I was offering two adults, just to see if he would take them), and let me tell you, he definitely smelled them, and he was definitely interested! He actually came out looking for the mouse. So I took them over to the side and used the blow dryer to warm the head of the mouse a little more than the the rest of the body, and then opened his cage to dangle the mouse. Like I said, less than 15 secs later (possibly less than 10!) He struck at the mouse and tried to wrap it (I must have fooled him good that it was alive! Or maybe he was just humoring me, lol), and it startled me so bad I dropped everything on top of him. After I picked it up (luckily the tongs did not fall down all the way, since my hands reeked of mouse) I dangled the mouse again and he struck again! That time he didn't get a good grip and dropped it himself. I moved it to a spot that he could get to it easily, and he started eating it right away, head first. Didn't take over half an hour for him to get it down THAT time! I offered the other mouse, and he seemed interested, but not enough to eat it, so I took it out. Since he is under weight, how soon should I offer the other mouse again. I want to get him up to where he should be. I didn't think to try for a pic before I fed him, but he was definitely triangular, and you could see the spine (even though I fed him five days ago). A friend of mine said that he is probably a yearling based on his length? How fat should a snake that is 30" be? (the label at the pet store says baby, I checked yesterday when I picked up the mice.) Right now, (if it will give you a better idea of his girth) there is a noticeable bulge when he eats an adult mouse, you can see it going all the way down the body. I tried to get hoppers this time to feed him so I could offer more smaller prey items, but no one had any, and he was supposedly eating adult mice at the PS (it is also what I fed him this past Friday. I would think if it was too big, he would not have been so eager to feed today).

Anyway, I am just sooooo happy and excited because he fed so well... WOOT!

[froggsong]

I just thought I would post a picture of him and see if this is what people mean when they ask if the snake has a triangular look to him. It IS hard to tell from pics, but this one is a decent shot. He looked much skinnier after I fed him the first time (which I still totally don't get!). I haven't gotten a real good look at him since I fed on Wednesday. This picture is from the day I got the snake:



So, what do you guys think? I will likely take him out again tomorrow (been giving him plenty of time to digest), and I will try to take a new pic then. I think I said already, and I know you can't tell in the pic, but the I measured his shed and it was 30", to give you an idea of how long he is.