A Little Worried...

I got my BP about three weeks ago. He seems to be a little over a year old. He's in a 24 by 12 tank with aspen substrate, a lamp on one end, an UTH on the other, a hide on both ends, a water bowl and a humidity of about 40, basking temp of 90-95 and a cool end temp of around 80-83.

He won't eat! I know this is quite normal for BP's, but I'm sure you all know the feeling of frustration and worry. I tried to feed him a week after getting him, he acted as if the mouse wasn't there. I dangled it in front of him and he actually got scared. The second time he completely ignored it for over twenty minutes, so I gave up and returned him to his tank. Today, I tried again and he didn't seem to notice it. I dangled it, dragged it across the bottom of the box, cut it open a little, everything. :mad:

Also, for about the first week and a half or so he only moved around during the late late night hours. Now he's on the move 60% of the day. He keeps poking his head on the roof of the tank and the sides. Is he stressed? And if so, what in the hell could it be?

Any heat source should be secluded to one side. There should be a hot and cold side, and having a heat source on both defeats the purpose of having sides in order for them to thermoregulate. He seems very stressed, how are you reading temps and humidity?

Hi,

Couple of things jump out from your post.

Try raising his humidity - what kind of enclosure are you using and can you get us some pics?

Also, try feeding him in his enclosure. Defrost the mouse close by so he can smell dinner is in the air and then heat the head of it up wih a hair drier just before offering it about 3 inches from his head.

There are a few more things but I'd like to see the pics of the enclosure first.


dr del

I disagree that heat sources should be excluded to just a single side of the enclosure. It depends entirely on the ambient temps of the room. A cool room may require supplemental heat on both sides to get a proper gradient.

Try feeding him IN his own home. It sounds like you're moving him to a separate container to feed. That could very well be scaring him and making him feel vulnerable. The extra activity may indicate that he's hungry and ready to hunt from home. ;) If you're feeding pre-killed or frozen-thawed, then you can just leave it in the enclosure....cover the enclosure with a blanket or something...and then check on him the next morning.

Another thing that might help him feel secure over the long haul, is to cover three of the sides of the glass tank. (Assuming that's what you're using...just sounds like it) Use some opaque paper to cover three sides so he doesn't feel so exposed to the world around him.

snakes poke around, it's inevitable...
A lot of times my snake goes crazy I worry if there is something wrong.
The advice given already is very good. But try not to worry too much.
Any animal brought home in a car ride, or shipped via mail, is going to be very stressed out already.
I'll add one piece of practical advice that worked wonderfully for me when my snake was younger. On the fourth side that is open, cover the bottom five inches with some opaque material. It might diminish your view, but thats probably exactly what your snake wants.
If you do make any changes, try doing them at once and letting the snake resettle to that. Don't stagger the changes because it will stress out the snake all over again each time

40% is on the low end of appropriate humidity. You could try bumping that up to 50 and see how it does.

Also, what kind of hides are you using? One of my snakes prefers half logs (he won't go in anything totally closed in) and my other snake is stressed like crazy with half logs so she gets the little rock-looking enclosures that has just one exit. Once I figured out the hide preferences, it seemed to bring the stress level way down.

I would make any changes you need to make, and then leave everything alone for a week before attempting another feeding. When you do feed, try it in the enclosure. Like someone else said, sometimes a blanket over the tank helps them to feel even more secure and may aid in the feeding process.

everyones already giving good advice.
heat on both sides isnt taboo if the room the enclosure is in is too cold.
id switch to cypress mulch mixed with moss.
aspen works for others but didnt work for me.
my bp didnt like hides i offered..i had tupperware bowls and rock caves.terra cotta pots seemed to be the trick.oh and a coconut hide worked.
my bp would only eat in her enclosure and if i wasnt in the room or covered her tank with a sheet.
oh and covering three sides helps.i got a background on the back and fake plants on the sides obscuring the view.

Well without the two sources of heat, one end drops down to nearly 65 degrees, so both the lamp and UTH are necessary, unfortunately. I'm guessing, from your suggestions that he needs more privacy. I'm going to cover up the tank for awhile and raise the humidity and see if that helps. Thanks everyone!

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Originally Posted by antuonchris

Well without the two sources of heat, one end drops down to nearly 65 degrees, so both the lamp and UTH are necessary, unfortunately. I'm guessing, from your suggestions that he needs more privacy. I'm going to cover up the tank for awhile and raise the humidity and see if that helps. Thanks everyone!

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I am a new owner; however everything I have read points to a few key things that everyone here has hit on. Having their environment as close to what their 65 million year genetic code feels is natural, makes all the difference in the world. Most importantly temp gradient, humidity, and places to hide.

I have to do the same thing for heat.. The UTH keeps one side around 80-84 and a red lamp on the other that brings a rock over there up to 90 and other surfaces in the same area range anywhere from 80-90. Basic science says that a darker object will absorb light making that surface warmer, and white objects, such as paper towel substrate, will reflect light, making them cooler (this helps control temp gradient). I also use a timer that turns the lamp off for about 4 hours overnight to give a simulated temp drop that they sometimes have in the regions they are from in Africa.

The snake I bought did not eat where I purchased her from (PETSMART). Which was a gamble from what ive read, but she has eaten regularly since I got her. A few key things trigger a feeding response in most living things.. BPs, as you probably know, use heat and taste as their primary senses, the food must be warm (a mouse's live core temp is hot, somewhere around 100 F.) to simulate a mammals body temp, then the food needs to emit what we would equate to smell and taste coming from the oven. A tip I was given by a long time owner was to cut a slit in the head of the mouse after its been heated, which exposes some brain matter. First I tried to feed her without doing that, no luck, then I cut the mouse like I said, and her tongue started to flicker like crazy.. bam.. within a few moments she was on it. It seems gross I know.. but hey, if you want your baby to eat.. you might give it a try.
Good luck!

I also us an IR temp gun, which allows me to take temp readings of individual surfaces, as well as 2 thermometers and a hydrometer to help make sure the temp gradient and humidity is rocking. Luckily i already had the IR gun for paranormal investigations, haha.. but you can get one from lowes pretty cheap.