Switching from frozen to live

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Originally Posted by zackw419

i appreiciate the time you took to put that together. I will defiently look into getting better thermostats and hydrometers but right now money is tight and i would like to begin working with what i have and how i can get the most out of what i already have

my main question of course is about feeding my girl, making sure she eats. Can we start from here?

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you can keep the 40 gal and make it functional and properly regulated. save that $200 for other parts of her husbandry that will help her feel more comfortable. :) 40 gal isn't ideal, but it is 100% usable if setup correctly.

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Originally Posted by zackw419

i appreiciate the time you took to put that together. I will defiently look into getting better thermostats and hydrometers but right now money is tight and i would like to begin working with what i have now and how i can get the most out of it.

my main question of course is about feeding my girl, making sure she eats. Can we start from here?

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Although it may be hard to understand, fixing your setup is a start to getting your BP to eat. Many times that BPs refuse to eat is because of husbandry issues. Their temps are wrong or they don't have a hide that they feel secure in or something similar.

A good start would be to find out exactly what temps & humidity you do have. To get accurate readings, it needs to be digital, but it does not need to be expensive. You can buy an Acu-rite brand that has 2 temp readings and humidity for about $12 at Walmart. Here is a link so you can see what it looks like:
http://www.partshelf.com/acu00891.html
If you can't find that exact model, Walmart will have similar ones in about the same price range, but I have found I really like the combination of features on that one, and it gets recommended around here a lot, so I'm not alone. Home Depot and Lowe's probably carry similar things also.

You mentioned that your BP likes the hide on the cool side, but we really don't know if she likes that hide, or the temps there, or possibly something else that makes her feel more secure there. We generally recommend 2 identical hides, so that the snake won't choose a hide that they prefer and end up using it exclusively instead of thermoregulating properly. Do you see your snake using both hides? If not, it might be that she doesn't like the hide on the hot side, or it might be that it is too hot there. Once you find out what the temps really are, and adjust them to be in the proper range if necessary, if the snake is still using only the one hide, I'd suggest trying identical hides.

A 40 gallon tank is large for even an adult BP. As humans, we tend to think of wide open spaces as good, but BPs don't think that way. They feel more secure when they are squeezed into tight places. If your BP has spent her whole life in this tank, and been eating fine, then you will probably do ok to keep her in it, if you wish, but I would add a lot of stuff (if you have not already) so she can feel secure even when not in a hide. One trick that works well with many snakes that aren't eating because they don't feel secure enough is to add a lot of loosely crumpled newspaper, and the snake can crawl under and through it. For something that looks better, you can get fake flowers or greenery at Walmart or a dollar store for very cheap.

Also, I highly recommend getting a digital scale so you can know what your snake weighs and monitor how much weight she is losing. Healthy BPs can fast for months and not lose much weight. If she is losing a significant amount of weight, it is time to get worried.

thank you guys sooo much for all the help, i really really appreciate it. Alright what would be the most appropriate size and type of aquarium for my 33 inch 4 year old bp? I would perfer an aqaurium instead of a tub. It would be best if I could utalize the tanks i have and set them up correctly but if i must, i am more than willing to buy additional things, it just might take a bit of time, i am a teenager in need of a job. I have a 10 gal, 15 gal, and 40 gal glass aquariums.

She hasnt used the hide i have for her on the hot side ever, but its only been in there for 2 days. The two hides are NOT identical.

She has not spent her whole life in this tank, she was originaly in a 15 gal and she stopped eating while she was in that tank, not when i moved her up to the 40, which is what was reccomended to me.

Im definently going to start by getting the thermostat you reccomended.

Ideal would be 30gal tops but you can make the 40 gal work and save some money. just set it up correctly according to the many tips ytou can find all over this section.

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Originally Posted by JeffJ

Ideal would be 30gal tops but you can make the 40 gal work and save some money. just set it up correctly according to the many tips ytou can find all over this section.

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cool, im going to search around, the main thing is probably crowding it with shrubary i would suppose?

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Originally Posted by zackw419

thank you guys sooo much for all the help, i really really appreciate it. Alright what would be the most appropriate size and type of aquarium for my 33 inch 4 year old bp? I would perfer an aqaurium instead of a tub. It would be best if I could utalize the tanks i have and set them up correctly but if i must, i am more than willing to buy additional things, it just might take a bit of time, i am a teenager in need of a job. I have a 10 gal, 15 gal, and 40 gal glass aquariums.

She hasnt used the hide i have for her on the hot side ever, but its only been in there for 2 days. The two hides are NOT identical.

She has not spent her whole life in this tank, she was originaly in a 15 gal and she stopped eating while she was in that tank, not when i moved her up to the 40, which is what was reccomended to me.

Im definently going to start by getting the thermostat you reccomended.

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I suggest putting her in a smaller tank. I do not use tanks personally, so do not know the exact sized, but somewhere in a 20 long range should be about right. You may need to cover the sides of the aquarium to make her feel more secure. Part of the top may also need to be covered (tin foil) to increase humidity. You will also need two hides, one for each side. Make sure your temperature and humidity are in the proper range. Leave her alone in her new enclosure for at least a week before attempting to feed her.

Good luck.

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Originally Posted by zackw419

Im definently going to start by getting the thermostat you reccomended.

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Just to clarify, the Acu-rite is a thermometer (which measures temperature) and a hygrometer (which measures humidity). It is not a thermostat (which will control temperature by turning on & off a heating and/or cooling device). I realize this was probably a typo on your part, but wanted to avoid any misunderstanding.

There are only two reasons a BP won't eat. Because they don't want to, or, stress. They regularly go off feed for several different reasons with no ill effect.

But the stress thing is a different story. A stressed snake is not refusing to eat because it doesn't WANT to eat but rather because it CAN'T. Stress is more like a disease than a mood. It sounds like you are back on track with your husbandry. Switching from frozen to live is a whole lot easier than the other way around. And, I would stick with mice until she's eating again.

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Originally Posted by kc261

Just to clarify, the Acu-rite is a thermometer (which measures temperature) and a hygrometer (which measures humidity). It is not a thermostat (which will control temperature by turning on & off a heating and/or cooling device). I realize this was probably a typo on your part, but wanted to avoid any misunderstanding.

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gotcha, twas a typo but thank you for the heads up :)

i have a few q's regarding the husbandry:

the infrared light i have seems to really dry up the soil and lower the humitidy, usually i i spray the tank a few times a day, is there a better way to keep humidity?

also what do most do to keep the enclosure a constant temp 24/7? should i leave her heat lamp on 24/7? seems like it would be too hot but i dont want her to be too cold.

due to the tank size should she have more than one heating pad? she stays mostly between the cool and the warmside. where the hide she stay in is located. She never seems to go to the cool side...too cool?

also where is the best part of the cage to get the best reading for temp and humidity? near where the dirt is or near the top of the cage?

thx 4 your input jenn.