New BP Owner, Concern from my little guy

[JeffJ]

Im a new BP owner have had him for about 3 months now, never had a problem feeding him he has always been active and well mannered.

Recently he seems ot have had a bad shed. not by Humidity issues, i keep it at 50% all the time and he has a little humidity cave thats over the hot side of the tank.

Cold side is 80* F and hot side is 94*F with a basking spot of 100*F

he has shed twice before actually and they always were perfect.

this time however he has shed completely in one piece except for the top of his head adn the top side of the base of his head back for about 4 inches. the res, Eye caps, bell and the rest of his body all the way around even the tip of his tail shed no issues and perfectly. its been 3 days and he has gotten some more off but not all of it. im worried about scale rot or some irritation. i have given him a bath in tepid water and let him crawl through my hands and it has removed little of it. its troublesome because its on the top of his head and his neck and i fear hurting him as he is only about 6 months old. or so i was told by the Breeder i got him from.

Now he is due for a feeding but id really like to get this old shed off first because after a feed i dont handle him for at least 48H. my main issue is. when i put him in water unless im holding him i cant tell ig he is having a fun tile splashing around or if he is panicking. he doesn't seem to breath rapidly and look like his heart is beating a mile a minute but he does like ot thrash in the water on occasion, even though its so very shallow that there is no need for him to swim at all. am i stressing him to much? second question is. he seems to have slowed down and has taken to his wines and trees to climb and hid in since this bad shed started. should i be concerned or is it his way of telling me that he is not feeling the greatest because of this shed that went a little bit bad.

any tips on helping him remove this shed since its in a delicate area on him would help, he is very mild tempered and has never ever even poised to strike ta me so handling him inst the problem, its fear of stress or hurting him... also, i have been feeding him fuzzy mice one a week he is about 13" long should he get 1 or 2? He has only been getting 1.

His name is Monty i know its a clechee, but my girlfriend named him it was part of the agreement for her to let me bring a snake into the house let alone our bed room lol. i wanted to name him "Hanging J" because thatch his favorite shape to make when i handle him and my name is Jeff but that was out the window lol

thanks allot for the help, ive been a long time lurker here just registered. been reading since before i got my BP

[STORMS]

Have you read this yet?

I would start there

Also, the 100 degree basking spot... As far as I know BP's don't bask, and 100 degrees is too hot. Are you using a basking light? If so, I would suggest that you remove it. That is just my opinion though.

How are you measuring temps & humidity? Digital thermometers with probes? Humidity gauge with probe?

As far as feeding... the prey item shouldn't me much larger than the thickest part of your BP. If you have a scale, you could weigh his food - which should be approx 10-15% of your snakes weight (I believe - can someone confirm that for me, Its early and I'm still half asleep). You can also feed multiple prey items in one feeding if the prey size is too small.

[JeffJ]

Have you read this yet?

I would start there

Also, the 100 degree basking spot... As far as I know BP's don't bask, and 100 degrees is too hot. Are you using a basking light? If so, I would suggest that you remove it. That is just my opinion though.

How are you measuring temps & humidity? Digital thermometers with probes? Humidity gauge with probe?

As far as feeding... the prey item shouldn't me much larger than the thickest part of your BP. If you have a scale, you could weigh his food - which should be approx 10-15% of your snakes weight (I believe - can someone confirm that for me, Its early and I'm still half asleep). You can also feed multiple prey items in one feeding if the prey size is too small.

i have the basking spot because it can get a little chilly and i use the lamp only when the ambient temperatures are hard to keep up. I live in an old house.

i use a infrared heat gun or what ever you may call it, IR Thermometer to check surface temps and i have a digital humidity probe placed substrate level dead center in the 30g tank i have read your shedding stickies and have tried bathing him and the moist wash cloth trick letting him crawl through it but like i said it hasn't removed all of it and im worried about hurting him. as for the pray i feed him fuzzies that are the same girth as his thickest part. i know that already i was just wondering if he should be getting 1 or 2?

thanks allot for your reply.

[STORMS]

i have the basking spot because it can get a little chilly and i use the lamp only when the ambient temperatures are hard to keep up. I live in an old house.

i use a infrared heat gun or what ever you may call it, IR Thermometer to check surface temps and i have a digital humidity probe placed substrate level dead center in the 30g tank i have read your shedding stickies and have tried bathing him and the moist wash cloth trick letting him crawl through it but like i said it hasn't removed all of it and im worried about hurting him. as for the pray i feed him fuzzies that are the same girth as his thickest part. i know that already i was just wondering if he should be getting 1 or 2?

thanks allot for your reply.

You should be fine feeding 2 prey items (if you are unsure - weight the food). After he has one meal down wait for him to realign his jaw and offer the second one .

Curious...Other than the heat lamp, what are you using to heat the tank? Flexwatt, UTH, Heat tape?

[JeffJ]

You should be fine feeding 2 prey items (if you are unsure - weight the food). After he has one meal down wait for him to realign his jaw and offer the second one .

Curious...Other than the heat lamp, what are you using to heat the tank? Flexwatt, UTH, Heat tape?

using 2 UTH heaters i have a 30g one on the hot side that is always on. it usually keeps the hot side between 90-96*F

and i have a small 10g UTH on the cold side that i only plug in if that side drops below 80*F which i don't thin kit ever does. the 30g UTH does a great job with the sand substrate. u can help regulate heat but adding or removing thickness of the substrate. i Know most don't like sand substrate but i have tried coconut husk, aspen, news paper and sand. and he seems to never go on the substrate unless its sand. he tends to stick to his vines, also he swallowed a piece of aspen once. and has not had an issue swallowing sand so i have decided to keep it this way. im thinking about removing the Heat lap and putting a florescent on a time so he gets a proper day night cycle. is that alright?

[STORMS]

using 2 UTH heaters i have a 30g one on the hot side that is always on. it usually keeps the hot side between 90-96*F

and i have a small 10g UTH on the cold side that i only plug in if that side drops below 80*F which i don't thin kit ever does. the 30g UTH does a great job with the sand substrate. u can help regulate heat but adding or removing thickness of the substrate. i Know most don't like sand substrate but i have tried coconut husk, aspen, news paper and sand. and he seems to never go on the substrate unless its sand. he tents to stick to his vines, also he swallowed a piece of aspen once. and has not had an issue swallowing sand so i have decided to keep it this way. im thinking about removing the Heat lap and putting a florescent on a time so he gets a proper day night cycle. is that alright?

Are your UTH's on a thermostat or a dimmer?

Sand? Since you already seem to know that it is not recommended - I will just walk away from that one

I don't think it is necessary to put a florescent light in, but again that is just my opinion.

The light that you are currently using to up the ambient temps - how many watts is it? Maybe you could put in a red or blue light with less wattage to help with your ambient temps. Ambient temps IMO should be close to 80 - 85 degrees. 100 degrees is excessive.

[JeffJ]

Are your UTH's on a thermostat or a dimmer?

Sand? Since you already seem to know that it is not recommended - I will just walk away from that one

I don't think it is necessary to put a florescent light in, but again that is just my opinion.

The light that you are currently using to up the ambient temps - how many watts is it? Maybe you could put in a red or blue light with less wattage to help with your ambient temps. Ambient temps IMO should be close to 80 - 85 degrees. 100 degrees is excessive.

its a 100W which i was told is ideal for 30g tanks. as for the sand, im really open to recommendations, what do you self use? its not a preference but rather just what i think he likes. im by no means a pro so i could be wrong. fully open to suggestions here and ambient temps stay around 80ish F i know 100F is to hot, i use those stick on heat gauges to measure ambient temp. one on each side. id be willing to switch over to a red lamp no issues there. im just unsure what wattage i should go with. most i have seen for sale are high like 200 area. im thinking about abandoning the Heat Lamp all together but i would like something for viewing purposes.


my UTH are unregulated. ive just been using substrate thickness with the IR Thermometer to regulate the heat. im thinking i should get a dimmer or thermostat for them and move over to a more friendly substrate am i correct? Opinion thermostat or Dimmer whats better used for UTH?

[STORMS]

its a 100W which i was told is ideal for 30g tanks. as for the sand, im really open to recommendations, what do you self use? its not a preference but rather just what i think he likes. im by no means a pro so i could be wrong. fully open to suggestions here and ambient temps stay around 80ish F i know 100F is to hot, i use those stick on heat gauges to measure ambient temp. one on each side. id be willing to switch over to a red lamp no issues there. im just unsure what wattage i should go with. most i have seen for sale are high like 200 area. im thinking about abandoning the Heat Lamp all together but i would like something for viewing purposes.


my UTH are unregulated. ive just been using substrate thickness with the IR Thermometer to regulate the heat. im thinking i should get a dimmer or thermostat for them and move over to a more friendly substrate am i correct? Opinion thermostat or Dimmer whats better used for UTH?

Personally I use paper towels for substrate. It makes for easy clean up. Plus I always have paper towels on hand.

Yes, you really do need to regulate the UTH's. Dimmers/Rheostats are fairly inexpensive. I have 3 BP's and two of their tanks are on thermostats and on the 3rd one I use a rheostat. So far I haven't ran into a problem with the rheostat, but I know others that have. It really all depends on what works for your BP and you. Thermostats are far more effective IMO and they can be picked up from about $50 to a couple hundred dollars.

The sticky type gauges that you are using are inaccurate. I would replace those ASAP, and get a digital thermometer with a probe. Place the probe above the UTH and then adjust the temp with the dimmer/rheostat.

As far as the infared bulbs, they should come in a wide range of watts. I have 50's, 60's & 75's for my different animals and enclosures. You could also raise the light away from your tank too. Is it safe to assume you have your BP in a glass enclosure? Is your heat lamp directly on the screen?

[JeffJ]

Personally I use paper towels for substrate. It makes for easy clean up. Plus I always have paper towels on hand.

Yes, you really do need to regulate the UTH's. Dimmers/Rheostats are fairly inexpensive. I have 3 BP's and two of their tanks are on thermostats and on the 3rd one I use a rheostat. So far I haven't ran into a problem with the rheostat, but I know others that have. It really all depends on what works for your BP and you. Thermostats are far more effective IMO and they can be picked up from about $50 to a couple hundred dollars.

The sticky type gauges that you are using are inaccurate. I would replace those ASAP, and get a digital thermometer with a probe. Place the probe above the UTH and then adjust the temp with the dimmer/rheostat.

As far as the infared bulbs, they should come in a wide range of watts. I have 50's, 60's & 75's for my different animals and enclosures. You could also raise the light away from your tank too. Is it safe to assume you have your BP in a glass enclosure? Is your heat lamp directly on the screen?

correct its a glass enclosure with a screen vent under the sliding doors on the front and the top is fully vented. i have a piece of news paper covering 50% of the screen to keep humidity up.

today im going to grab a rheostat, and IR heat lamp and maybe this http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/En...U6IlNuYWtlIjt9 instead of a water dish. to help keep the humidity up a little higher is that a good idea? i never see him soaking in his dish. its large enough. i just don't think he is a soaker. so removing a soaking sized sized dish for something to keep the humidity a little bit higher might benefit him more. for re usability and ease of cleaning im thinking terrarium absorbent carpet may be a good call. let me know if im wrong. i dont know if you miss understood me but i use the stick on Temp gauges for ambient temp only i use the IR thermometer gun to do surface temps and i check multiple times a day.

[STORMS]

correct its a glass enclosure with a screen vent under the sliding doors on the front and the top is fully vented. i have a piece of news paper covering 50% of the screen to keep humidity up.

today im going to grab a rheostat, and IR heat lamp and maybe this http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/En...U6IlNuYWtlIjt9 instead of a water dish. to help keep the humidity up a little higher is that a good idea? i never see him soaking in his dish. its large enough. i just don't think he is a soaker. so removing a soaking sized sized dish for something to keep the humidity a little bit higher might benefit him more. for re usability and ease of cleaning im thinking terrarium absorbent carpet may be a good call. let me know if im wrong. i dont know if you miss understood me but i use the stick on Temp gauges for ambient temp only i use the IR thermometer gun to do surface temps and i check multiple times a day.

I wouldn't suggest repti-carpet. Bacteria will have a field day in his tank. I would give paper towels a try - you might like them. And they really don't look all that bad in a glass enclosure.

OK temp gun is a good thing. I must have missed that. Sorry. Regardless the sticky gauges are still inaccurate.

I don't see any harm in the waterfall. Most BP's (as far as I know) aren't soakers unless they have mites

Also to keep humidity in a glass enclosure you could do something like this...



I went to walmart and got some thick(ish) vinyl from the sewing dept and cut it to fit over the screened portion of the enclosure and cut out holes for the light/air circulation. I rarely use the red heat lights....mostly cold winter nights