He jumps I jump.

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mines in the tank, but under substrate

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Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me, remember liquid (urine or water from the water dish) and electricity is not really a good mix.

I would highly recommend you to change that and place the UTH outside the enclosure

Also if you cannot provide proper temps in your enclosure you might want to change the setup of your thermostat, or have a thinner layer or substrate or get an appropriated enclosure that allows you to provide proper temps if the rest does not work.

hehe its got some sort of protected cover thing, so it cant create a fire or elexctric shocking. mate =) i check these things.

I also hear that if putting the UTH in the tank doesn't provide the proper heat, just sticking the whole enclosure in the oven usually will get the temps up to where they need to be....http://otug.net/forums/Smileys/default/slap.gif

so you basically have a hotplate in your snakes tank....

i really hope you have a thermostat on it, cause a 110˚ hotplate inside the tank is probably not the greatest idea.

So I know I should take McGregor out for feeding but should I let him be in there for the first time or two, or take him out?

The pet store I got him from took him out and gave him live. I'd like to switch him to f/t

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Originally Posted by McGregor

So I know I should take McGregor out for feeding but should I let him be in there for the first time or two, or take him out?

The pet store I got him from took him out and gave him live. I'd like to switch him to f/t

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Before trying to switch him I would recommend you to have at least 3 to 4 successful feeding.

Remember your BP has to adjust to a new environment and your priority should be for him to eat on a regular basis first and than attempt to switch.

Here is what I do with any new additions

No handling until 1 successful meal, after that I only handle them 2 a week at the most.

Once they have 3 to 4 successful consecutive feeding I try to switch them at that point I stop to handle them until they switch. The one that have switched usually did within 4 weeks at the most but it can take longer and also, keep in mind that not all BP will switch to F/T and you should be prepared to feed whatever works.

You can feed your BP in it's enclosure it is perfectly fine I feed all of mine in their enclosure and have no problem.

He's actually more likely to eat in the place he feels safest and most secure and that is his home enclosure. We feed 20 out of 21 snakes that we have in their homes (only the milksnake is fed in a seperate container) and they all do just fine that way. As Deb said, it's not always a good idea to switch feeding methods on a new snake. Better to get a good 4 or 5 weeks of solid feeding going on and then try for the switch. It often doesn't work the first time though, so be patient. Make sure and give your new snake lots of time to settle in with no handling and no feeding attempts the first week. Just quiet time so the snake can get used to it's new living arrangement.

I thought it was frouned upon to feed em in the same tank as they might mistake your had for food...? :confused: And when you say no food for the first week, I got him last Monday and they fed him a few hours before I picked him up. Should I wait till next monday to feed or tomorrow?

(Edit) I just got 2 new thermos. One's a thermo/hygro. I was ondering what one should go where. I was thinking the combo one on the warm side.

Hi,


The confusing hands with food thing is mainly myth combined with SFE's (Stupid Feeding Errors).

If you want to go ahead and try to feed him that's up to you just make sure you have plans in place if he doesn't eat ( mainly important if you feed live admitedly but as that's what he was eating before...). This means being able to care for the feeder animal properly or returning it to the store etc.

The thermometer question is a little tricky to answer without knowing exactly what you purchased.

If the thermom/hydro has a probe for external use as well ( like the accurites we normally recomend) then I would put the base unit that reads temps/humidity at the cool end and put the probe at the warm end.


dr del

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Originally Posted by McGregor

So I just got my first BP on Monday. I got his house and everything setup on Sunday so it had a day to prepare for his arrival. Anyways before I purchased him I had the pet store employee take him out and let me inspect him. He looked great not mites or ticks or anything that I could notice would be wrong.
Anyway, I haven't picked him up or anything since so I could let him get used to his new house but when I change the water or if hes out and about I'll touch his tail end a bit and he "jumps" really fast and then scurries away to his hide. I'm a little worried that he's going to be very timid and defensive the rest of the time I have him.
Could it be just because he isn't quite adjusted to the new house or am I doing something wrong?

A little info about his house:
-20g tank
-Aspen bedding
-45watt Red heat light
-I have a sticky UTH but I forgot to put it on before I got him and I need to take him out to do it buuuut like I said he won't really let me near him. And the temperature is suffering because of it :(
-Cold and (make shift till I get a chance to go to Pet-smart) hot side hides
-Nice little piece of drift wood for climbing
-Lastly a water dish

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I would definately attach the UTH to the bottom of the cage.