Long Soaking, Related to Large Meal?

So my bp has been seeming hungry shortly (if not immediately) after eating. I say thing because she appeared very alert and looking around still rather than chilling out. I was thinking it might be time to upgrade her rat size from med to large. I brought the live kill home and was surprised at the size of this thing when I took it out of the brown bag. I thought about it, and she was nearly the same width as the rat. I've heard it's a good rule of thumb. So, she should be fine. I went ahead and offered it, she took right away, and down it went. The lump in her was pretty obvious. She looked uncomfortable just because of the bulge. She wandered around the 55gal tank and knocked over her hide. I threw in an extra cardboard hide since her usual one just barely fits her anymore. This was the evening of the first. Yesterday afternoon I saw her in her water dish. No big deal. I was in and right back out. When I got home that night she was still in her water. Weird. When I woke up in the morning she was still in there! Ok, what's up snake? Lol I did my research and indeed it seems like something is probably wrong; humidity, heat, or mites. I eyeballed her for mites and couldn't see any this morning. I had to run. Back from classes again this afternoon and she was still in the water! I pulled her out and checked her all over. The lump was still clearly visible, but no crawlies. Her humidity is 55. Her temps are on the lower side, 88. She could use more heat if anything, so she's definitely not in there to cool off. I put her back, too worried about handling her too much so soon after eating. She wandered around a bit and is now back in the water. :( My biggest question is, could the large rat have hurt her internally? Is soaking helping her be more comfortable while she tries to digest? Gosh that sounds stupid, but I'm at a loss here guys.

She may want a better hiding spot. The cardboard may not be sturdy enough for her to feel secure, so she is seeking out a "hide" that makes her feel snug on all sides.

Try offering her a solid hide on the warm side, something heavier than cardboard. That could help.

-Jen

When you say 88... where are you measuring and with what? 88 is too warm for anything but a properly regulated belly heat hot spot. It could be that she's warm, if that's your ambient temp.

I just took my infrared therm to several places in her tank. I was reading the cheapo therm stuck to the side of her tank. The floor of her cool side is 81, floor of the hot side is around 95. I set her water dish in the hot side in hopes of forcing evaporation/humidity. She and the water came up as 86. In regards to the hide, I used a shoe box from a high end company (no I didn't get the shoes.. darn) and so I would say the cardboard one is just as sturdy as her old round plastic tub.

For those of you who like visuals

http://i791.photobucket.com/albums/y...psf9e3aeaa.jpg

http://i791.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps6acfd026.jpg

What about a pic of her entire enclosure? Her in the water dish doesn't help too much. Do you know what the air temps are actually? The cheap dial thermometers aren't accurate at all and are in fact notorious for it. Floor temps are useful for checking hot spots, but if the ambient temps are too warm that can cause her to soak and seek cooler surroundings. Also keep in mind that IR temp guns don't have the ability to measure water temps accurately at all.

I posted those pics to show the size differences as a good comparison. With her in the water, you can see how large her right side is compared to the left. She's in a 55gal tank, so there"s nothing else in there but her two hides (the old plastic one and the new larger cardboard shoebox. I have a dome light on top and a fleece blanket laid over 80% of the mesh lid. I've checked the temps the best that I can with the tools I have available (dial thermometer and infrared). What do you suggest I do? Is there anything that I should especially keep an eye out for? Is there any harm in her soaking? Should I remove her large water dish and only offer a small one? :/

BP while they rarely soack can and will soak because of the following

Too hot
About to shed
Lack of security
Too large of a meal
Mites

All you need to do is proceed by elimination.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Deborah

BP while they rarely soack can and will soak because of the following

Too hot
About to shed
Lack of security
Too large of a meal
Mites

All you need to do is proceed by elimination.

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Too large of a meal? Thank goodness! Hadn't crossed that option, but so glad to hear it is normal. I won't feed her so large next time for sure! Relieved to know she'll be fine and to just let her do her thing. Thanks!!

IMHO (and I'm not an expert), that rat looks too big to me. It may be the angle of the pic. Cameras can distort things some times. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Any idea what the weight of your BP is and the weight of the rat was? If you know that it would give a better idea if you fed too big.