Okay, I sort of Jumped the Ball on this one..

73º on the cool side is too cool with ambients this low it is possible the snake simply will not eat as it is questionable if it can get core temps warm enough to digest its food. Humidity isn't a huge problem until it hits 30% so at 40% I'd not be concerned. Your cool /ambient temps NEED to be addressed typically most suggest 77º as the low end and some 75º but 73º is definitely very cool.

Many thermometers have a potential error the average is +/-2ºF I would always assume that if it is possible it is actually out this could mean that 73º is actually 71º (also why I don't like seeing 75º because 75º could be 73º too cool)

You need to address the cool end temps! Most like to use 80º as a correct cool end. Little snakes often do better with cooler temps but not too cool!!

Welcome and Congrats on the new snake.

1) First order of business should be getting the correct temps. You NEED a thermostat to properly regulate your heat pad. Dimmers/rheostata are not reliable enough. If your room temp changes, your temps will be wrong. For example, if the room temp gets higher, the heat pad will get hotter too unless you constantly adjust the dimmer/rheostat at all times. A thermostat allows the heat pad to stay within a set temp range even if the room warmed up or cools a little.

Babies do well when the hotside is 88-90. Cool side should be 80. For this, you may have to heat up the room itself as the cool end is ambient temps.

2) feed live mouse hoppers to jump start a feeding response. If the snake has 3 successful consecutive feeding sessions, try a rat pup if you want to get your snake feeding on rats.3

3) Try using a different substrate for humidity. Coco husk or cypress mulch retain humidity really well. A larger water bowl over the hot side works too. Larger surface area will have more evaporation.

4) most babies do well in smaller enclosures(6-15qt). So make sure yours is really cluttered. Large spaces can stress a baby easily.

I have to be honest. I wouldn't have bought that snake if I knew it wasn't an established feeder.

Good luck and keep us updated.

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I hate to say it but yes, if you offer food twice and he still hasn't eaten by day 13 from purchase. Take him back to PetsMart. Say he hasn't eaten and you don't want to risk losing him, and you want an exchange. Ask for an explanation of the available feeding chart. I hope he does eat for you though. Good luck

@kitedemon: Since the UTH doesn't really reach the other side of the tub enough to keep it at the 77º it should be at, I think I'm just going to put a smaller UTH up to solve the problem. That should be fine right?


@satomi325: I do plan on upgrading to a thermostat when I can. The rheostat is just temporary- in fact I've been eying this one, it seems to be pretty good. Thanks for the tips, I will def. be using your suggestions. Also, I did try and have the tub as cluttered as possible. I have the two houses, dish in the middle and a branch that takes up space) I also have moss covering up any extra space.

Another question I have:
Should the whole tub feel warm when I open the top up? (Er I should say, when I stick my hand in the tub, should it feel warm?) At night, my room tends to get colder (plus winter is coming) and I'm worried the tub might get cold as the room gets colder but I'm afraid to turn up the uth to any more that 97º as I've read that snakes will/can burn themselves. Any suggestions?

None of the temps matter if you can't keep the ambient temp warm. Even if you put up an UTH on the cold side, you need the ambient temp to be above 75*. If your room is cool at night, your enclosure will be cool at night. Try using a ceramic heat emitter to bump up that ambient temp. if you do decide to use the other UTH, make sure to get another thermostat for that one as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by luvepriscilla

this one,

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For not too much more you can get one if these, and they are a thousand times better.
http://spyderrobotics.com/

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Everyone has offered very good advice thus far. I know it was mentioned that you should try feeding a live hopper mouse in a week...and that is exactly what I wanted to say. Petsmart almost certainly only tried to feed him or her frozen, and that could be why he or she refused. Try a live hopper mouse in a week and see what happens. :)

Congrats on your new baby!

Remember a uth needs to be controlled so a second is two t-stats or a dual. But you still need to control the ambient temps. This is very difficult with tubs they don't have much for options. The easiest is just heat the room to 77º then the small gain from your existing UTH will likely bump it to the 78-80º range. there are other options just not as easy.

I wanted to come back on here and do an update for you guys.
I ended up returning the snake before 14 day guarantee was up because he didn't eat :/
I decided not to do an exchange because I got a little overwhelmed with this one. Decided I should wait a while before getting a new one..which I am totally happy I did because I was able to give myself more time to fix the whole heating issue I was having.
I ended up getting a CHE and the ambient temps have been good (80-85 = cool side and 90-95 = basking) and as far as the humidity goes, I've been keeping it around 40-50%. Wanted to say big "THANK YOU" to all of you for helping with my situation :]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by luvepriscilla

I wanted to come back on here and do an update for you guys.
I ended up returning the snake before 14 day guarantee was up because he didn't eat :/
I decided not to do an exchange because I got a little overwhelmed with this one. Decided I should wait a while before getting a new one..which I am totally happy I did because I was able to give myself more time to fix the whole heating issue I was having.
I ended up getting a CHE and the ambient temps have been good (80-85 = cool side and 90-95 = basking) and as far as the humidity goes, I've been keeping it around 40-50%. Wanted to say big "THANK YOU" to all of you for helping with my situation :]

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A heads up on your basking spot....95 is way too hot....88-90 is really where you want that basking spot to be....at least for BPs