Two quick questions from a Noob

Hi everyone!

So, we got our little guy last Friday. The seller said that its feeding schedule was every Monday, and that it ate live mice. I had read all sorts of posts and opinions regarding F/T vs live and felt that I wanted to try going with F/T. I picked one up this Monday and attempted to get him to eat but he did not want to have anything to do with the dead mouse.

I had been told by a buddy on another forum (non-snake forum, but this guy used to breed BPs) that I was to wait another week and try again. Well, my wife is impatient and felt that the snake was starving, so she went to a local shop and picked up a live mouse yesterday while I was at work. I came home and she had me attempt to feed again. This time we were successful and the snake is now being left to digest his meal over the next couple of days.

My first question is this. Since we broke schedule and fed yesterday, do we now proceed to keep feeding on Thursdays, or should we still try to get him back on his usual Monday schedule?

Second question pertains to heating. We have a Rubbermaid bin for its enclosure, with the heating pad under one half of the bin. I have it hooked up to a thermostat, with the boundaries set to 88*F -> 90*F. The probe is set directly between the bin and the heating pad. When the pad hits 90*, the thermostat shuts off, however the temp still climbs about 92* before it levels off and slowly falls. Is this variation between 88 and 92 unhealthy for the snake? I'm used to keeping tropical fish, where temperature swings are avoided as much as possible, so I don't know if I'm being paranoid or if I need to find a more consistent heat source.

Thanks!

Feeding them isn't an exact science. Do whatever works. Little guys can eat every 5 days so it wouldn't be bad to feed him again on the regular schedule, but if you want to wait a full week that's fine too.

I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure a 4-degree temp difference isn't a problem. At least, I don't worry about it with my snakes and they're doing just fine :D. As long as it doesn't get hot enough to burn.

Oh, if you want to switch him to f/t, it's best to do it before he gets too attached to live. You do have to be willing to let him get a bit hungry though (but when they're small don't make them go too long if they keep refusing). Heat the rodent up nice and warm, especially around the head (hair dryer works well), and dance it around with tongs. . .if you do it right the snake never knows it's not alive :P. If he strikes, tug on it a little so he thinks it's struggling.

Thanks!

Yeah, I tried the "Zombie Dance" and everything. He just did not want the thawed mouse. He even didn't go after the live mouse for about 5mins, which was frustrating haha The mouse was trying to cuddle up to him and the snake just shunned him and moved to the other side of the box. Standing still in one spot, staring at a snake, for 5mins seems like an eternity :D Of COURSE, the moment I turned my head to answer a question from my son was the exact moment that I heard the "thud" and turned back to see the snake already coiled around the mouse... *sigh*