Help caring for an adopted BP.
Hi, I am new to the forums. I started taking care of Regis, an adult BP, a few months ago. He is a very good snake, but I am worried about my setup for him. I was given Regis when his owner had to move out of his house to live with a friend, and he didn't have space for him. I have a 10-gallon tank for him that I fear is far too small but in a couple of weeks a friend is giving me a 20-gallon for him. He is on newspaper substrate with a hide that I made out of a cardboard box. He has a water bowl large enough to fit in, but he spends most of his time either inside the hide or basking on top of it. It stays about 79-82 degrees inside the tank because of an adjustable red heat lamp that I keep on during the day and turn off at night or when he retreats into his hide.
Unfortunately, I was given Regis at short notice and I have never really known the proper way to care for him. Caresheets and books help, but they offer conflicting advice and the changes they tell me to make often seem to stress Regis out.
Regis has not eaten in months. I have tried everything that I have read, including getting him mice of different colors, gerbils, live mice, and placing the (dead) mouse in his hide with him and covering the entrance for a while. I have tried re-freezing frozen mice to make their scent more pungent. He sniffs the mice and looks as though he will strike for a moment and then ignores them. I am very worried about him. There is not a vet in my area who treats reptiles.
I am sorry that my post is so long-winded, but I would really appreciate any advice that long-term BP owners could give me. I just want Regis to be happy and healthy.
Thanks!
Katie.
Re: Help caring for an adopted BP.
Re: Help caring for an adopted BP.
First, I love the name Regis. The halfling rogue who adventures side by side with Drizzt Do-Urden, Breunor Battlehammer, Catti-Brie and Wulfgar. I've read every book (27ish?) R.A. Salvatore wrote about these characters, love them.
Anyway.... You probably don't have a hot spot hot enough for him and is why he gets on top of his hide. His primary hide should be ~92 degrees on the bottom of the tank, inside his hide. You will probably need an under tank heater (UTH) to accomplish this along with a thermometer and dimmer to make sure it doesn't get too hot, they get to ~120+ degrees without one which can cause burns. UTH = $20 at pet store, dimmer = $10 at hardware store, thermometer with probe to place on the UTH = $12 at Walmart. Thermostats which are ideal, because they have built in probes and automatically adjust heat to maintain the setting, range from ~$80+ online and dimmers/rheostats require constant adjustment, 3+ times a day, because room temperatures vary. Ball pythons also need high humidity, 40-60% all the time and 60-80% when they're shedding.
As far as eating is concerned, they don't do it when they're not comfortable or stressed. They can safely go many months without eating. The first thing for you to do is get his enclosure to proper temps and humidity. Once there, give him a week to relax then offer food.
