Caging Question

[mckittie]

Currently I have my BP in a 20g Long tank and for the past couple days he's been just hanging out in his hide, Skipped his meal this week and has tried to strike me quite a few times. If at all possible, I think he is generally unhappy with his current set-up. I know BP's are not for show. He resides in a separate room and I often get up at night for whatever reason ( toilet, drink or whatever ) and will take a peek into his room and there is no activity whatsoever. I figure as a nocturnal creature he would atleast be checking stuff out.

I place him into this

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/07...27_215X215.jpg

When feeding. I have this:

http://www.zoomed.com/Library/Produc...s/reptiuth.jpg

Attached to one side ( underneath ) of it to keep him warm while feeding. When he is in this tub he unwinds and moves around quite a bit. Overall it seems his shyness goes away and he looks to be almost enjoying himself. I placed the flukers temp gauge in the tub and couldn't get the temp up to a level of satisfaction with the current UTH. I have the 10-20 Gallon hooked up. Do you think I need a bigger UTH? How much of the tank floor should the UTH take up?

Also I am going to take him from his tank today and move him into a tub. The obvious answer to this would be to get one that is not as deep because it would simply be easier to heat.

I have this and found that it is great, I know opinions will vary, but it's cheap and does the trick.

http://www.zoomed.com/Library/Produc...mostat500r.jpg

I plan on hooking up the UTH to it. And I am going to Lowes this morning to get a second acurite for the tub.

Next, out of these three choices which would work better? We'll label them 1,2 and 3 to make them easier.

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/07...27_215X215.jpg

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/07...86_215X215.jpg

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/07...08_215X215.jpg

I am going to use good old fashioned newspaper as the substrate. Please note, Saying as I already have the UTH attached to choice #1, I would prefer to use that, But do give me your advice!

Thank you for your time

[llovelace]

How long have you had it?
How old is your BP?
Is it in shed?

[Wh00h0069]

Yes, sounds to me like he is stressed out. I think you are on the right track about moving him to a tub. I like tubs that are not very high. It seems easier to hold heat than tubs that are higher. I suggest putting him in a 32 qt tub. Also make sure he has a nice tight dark hide.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

[ARamos8]

A little history might server usefull. There are many reasons for the behavior you mentioned.

As far as heating real estate is concerned: I use flex watt and only take up 1/3 of the bottom surface, if that, regulated via a herpstat.

I use and will continue to use tub #3. It serves my scale kids needs. As long as the needs of the BP are meet I don't see a problem here.

[mckittie]

I can't believe I missed the signs, but he was actually in shed. I just put him in some water for about an hour and helped him out with a wet cloth, Now he's got a fancy new coat. He's been in shed for like a week, but being a new owner, I thought when the eyes turned greyish blue this was the beginning and it took like a week for it to complete.

Now that he is over that I want to make sure he is 100% satisfied by his surroundings, so I plan to move him into a tub. Seems to like it a lot more when feeding.

I've had the snake for abut a month. Not sure of the age, but length is close to 20 inches or so if that helps at all?