Switched hides, Nergal seems stressed? :(

Today we switched Nergal's hides out because he is getting too big for the others ones. When he finally manages to squeeze all of himself into one of his hides (we used upside down plastic flower pots, with an entrance cut in), he's coiled up on himself about 3-4 times, all squished. Not to mention he rotates the hide because he's so big his sides grip the flower pot and turn it as he tries to wedge his fat in. :rofl:
So we bought him the same kind of hide, and did the same thing to it, but it's a little bigger. It's not as snug as the other ones, but it's small enough so if he spread himself out he would fit in the hide in one full circle plus 5-6 inches of his tail would be pulled over himself, if that makes sense. Basically, it's not HUGE--he could snug up against the walls if he wanted to.
When we put him in he was extremely restless, which I've never seen him act like before--he kept lifting himself up and pushing on the lid of his 40 gal. breeder, looking at the top of his hide, etc.
No he's wrapped himself all cozy up on top of his hide, it's about a foot high off the bottom of the tank. He won't come down and go into his hide.
He just ate yesterday morning.
I'm fairly certain he's stressed from the swap, and I'm also fairly certain that this is somewhat normal, however I was wondering if there is anything I can do to help him ease into this?
Thanks,
Shellie

try putting both in, i had the same situation with my female spider. she still hasn't gone into the new one yet only been 2/3 days though.

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Originally Posted by shelliebear

Today we switched Nergal's hides out because he is getting too big for the others ones. When he finally manages to squeeze all of himself into one of his hides (we used upside down plastic flower pots, with an entrance cut in), he's coiled up on himself about 3-4 times, all squished. Not to mention he rotates the hide because he's so big his sides grip the flower pot and turn it as he tries to wedge his fat in. :rofl:
So we bought him the same kind of hide, and did the same thing to it, but it's a little bigger. It's not as snug as the other ones, but it's small enough so if he spread himself out he would fit in the hide in one full circle plus 5-6 inches of his tail would be pulled over himself, if that makes sense. Basically, it's not HUGE--he could snug up against the walls if he wanted to.
When we put him in he was extremely restless, which I've never seen him act like before--he kept lifting himself up and pushing on the lid of his 40 gal. breeder, looking at the top of his hide, etc.
No he's wrapped himself all cozy up on top of his hide, it's about a foot high off the bottom of the tank. He won't come down and go into his hide.
He just ate yesterday morning.
I'm fairly certain he's stressed from the swap, and I'm also fairly certain that this is somewhat normal, however I was wondering if there is anything I can do to help him ease into this?
Thanks,
Shellie

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He's so used to the comfort of his old hide.
They like to feel secure as possible, meaning they like it to be dark and warm and especially when they can feel all sides touching them.
Like the other gentleman said, put both in and hopefully he will take to his new hide.
It's good to have two hides anyways.
Good luck!:)

The hide you're using may be too tall for him. If you try cutting it down so theres not a tower over his head he may feel more secure and more willing to use the hide.

When I switched hides for my male normal it took him about a week to settle in the new hide. He was hiding under the newspaper in his enclosure until he figured out that the new hide was safe and secure.

Anytime you change something in the enclosure, or with their environment, they need time to adjust. Snakes won't understand our intentions. They won't understand "a more comfortable hide" or "a substrate that holds humidity better" or "fake plants added for security". All they understand is "something's different" and they will need time to re-adjust...

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What Vypyrz said. :gj:


dr del