New hatchling owner

Hello!


Introduction to my situation :

Oct 17th I adopted a 1 week old BP and started an awkward introduction to BP care.
I had already taken care of a friends adult BP and it was pretty straight forward, she had her vivarium; I only had to check the temperature/humidity and change her water. My friend came over to feed her and that was it.
Reading about it I thought that was pretty much it, like my crested/gargoyle geckos, very easy. Now I'm stuck with a baby that shed in his first week with me but won't eat and read/got thousands of suggestions on what to do but they are all about months old snakes that were adopted after eating at the very least a first time.


My setup (very WIP) :

15qt (???) plastic tub
Cool side at 24 to 26°C (trying to get the minimum up by adding coils of heat cables but its a slow process)
Hot side at 30 to 32°C
I have yet to get a good reading on humidity. It goes from 40% to 80% depending on many things. Trying to work it out.
Hide on each side and water on the cool side. The hides were changed after I got a comment on them being too big. (everything I have seems to be too big.)
I have a heat cable on a thermostat + hydrometer + 2 thermometers that are not in the picture.

What it looked like :
http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/a...psxznxfosh.jpg


Problems :

I keep reading that hatchlings are best kept in 6qt (sterilite) tubs in the 80°F with one hide and 1 bowl of water. But I also read that a tub should be big enough to have the snake stretch out full length and that is not possible even in the 15qt I have.

So now I have a 6qt (sterilite) ready with 1 hide AND a 26qt (kis) with 4 hides all over the place for maximum hiding space.

Which one would be the best option ?
Should I just keep in in what he has now ?


More :

Other then the tub "problem", Ceasar is not eating but still seems to be searching for food ? Every few hours, especially in the evening he comes out of hiding and slithers around and tries to push the top of the tub. If I open the top of the tub he lifts his head and tries to get out to explore. Whenever I try to give him a rat he is not interested and won't even follow it. I left one overnight and found it the next morning in the water bowl with puncture wounds. Today is the 3rd week I'm trying to feed him and left the rat in his hide, he's in there with it but I don't want to check if he ate it too early and I really doubt it.

What should I try next ?

He's 3 days away from being a month old, does not look thin and weights 67 grams. I have yet to find a way to measure him...

I'm at a loss at what I should explain more... hopefully someone here can help out :confusd:

http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/a...psoiqbhpsg.jpg

My ultimate goal is to be able to keep 3 snakes. I have 41qt (sterilite) tubs waiting to be added to a now yet to be made small rack. But I really want to be able to at least get Ceasar to a few months old before getting anywhere near to get a second snake! And try to figure out how to make a small rack since everything I see is for 6 or more tubs.... and heat tape while I only have heat cables... and can't seem to find a thermostats that can take care of all that ? So many things get me really excited for the end result whenever that will happen. *goes off rambling*

I would maybe try feeding him a hopper mouse and see what happens. Once he starts feeding you shouldn't have much of an issue.

I keep my neonates in a 6qt container in a rack with the heat tape set at 85F with no hide. I have also had three neonates, this season, that didn't eat for the first 5 week of life although all the tubs are the same.

Also as a side note, for any future snakes try to make sure it has had a few meals and is feeding well, that way you should have less issues with feeding.

Thanks for the advice erich! I was informed that changing from mouse to rats could be a problem and to only feed rats.

I am now very aware that I should wait before getting one, but at the time was not informed of that and my friend (the only one I know who knows about BPs) was one of the person helping out at the tables at that exposition, they were selling 20 hatchlings from some random couple and just did not know...

OMG HE ATE!?

I was prepping him to get him in a 6qt, and when I got to pick him up there's no fuzzy in sight and he has a very slight bump !?

*happy*

Hopefully I didn't scare him enough to vomit D:

New tub :
http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/a...psxy67j6dz.jpg

That is great news that he ate. Now I am by no means an expert but with my neonates 90 percent started on hoppers and all but 2 are now on rat pinkies. The two that are still feeding on mice are still pretty small.
When he gets a little bigger than try a pinky rat again.

Pinky rats seem to be too small though ? The fuzzy rat is barely the size of his mid section, which is what I read is what should indicate the maximum size of prey ?
Fuzzy rats and mouse hoppers are about the same size.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ufoo9k

The fuzzy rat is barely the size of his mid section, which is what I read is what should indicate the maximum size of prey ?

---

Correct the MAXIMUM size. I can only speak of my neonates. The ones that started on mice were about 100g when they started feeding on rats. Most of the neonates were between 70g and 80g when hatched. The ones still on mice are still on mice and refuse rats.

I think that what most mean about changing them from mice to rats being hard, are in reference to sub adult and adults. I could be wrong though.

Ok, thanks for the info! I'll try and see if he is more interested in smaller prey then!