Shy guy?

Hey all so it has been 4 days since I brought my little BP home and he hasn't left the hide at all, even at night...I know a hidden BP is a happy BP but when I took away the hide he was really curious and moved to every corner of the tank even soaked in his water bowl for a bit :D but as soon as I replaced the hide he zipped right back in there :( Also, when I did have him out, he let me hold him a few times! He felt kind of cold to the touch, tank is sitting about 80 degrees right now with 55% humidity, is this normal for a BP? Oh and one more thing, near his rear, his skin creased weird almost like fat folds, what is that about?

Its normal for a BP to hide especially if you only had him 4 days. Leave him alone for a few days. How are you measuring the temperature and humidity?

I'm no expert, but everything I've read suggests that it takes at least a week or two--or more--for your new BP to adjust to his surroundings. When I got Nigel, I just wanted to hold him all. The. Time. But it wasn't fair to him to expect that, after being yanked from his place of birth, stuck in a tub, jostled around while being moved from one place to another, and put into a completely unfamiliar environment, that he'd be happy with some giant creature holding him.

It's good that he's not restless! As much as we like to look at them, the "hiding snake is a happy snake" phrase really is true in most cases. That's how he feels safe and secure.

I will say that 80 degrees is too cold for him. Is that the ambient temperature, or the temperature in the hot side of his enclosure? His hot spot should be closer to 90 degrees. We had a little bit of trouble getting our temps just right, and for a few days, Nigel was hiding on the cool side exclusively. I researched and found that since the tank wasn't warm enough, he was putting himself in a state of near-hibernation! We warmed things up and he was much happier.

Good luck to you and your new little (shy) guy!

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Originally Posted by Gerardo

Its normal for a BP to hide especially if you only had him 4 days. Leave him alone for a few days. How are you measuring the temperature and humidity?

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Thermo-Hyrdometer with probe in the middle of the tank half way between soil and screen.

What about his hot spot?

I honestly couldn't tell you, his hot spot is under a 100w ceramic lamp if that can give you an estimate

Is the lamp the only heat source?

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Originally Posted by SgtZabka

I honestly couldn't tell you, his hot spot is under a 100w ceramic lamp if that can give you an estimate

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Who could tell us?


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gerardo

Is the lamp the only heat source?

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Yes it is.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by coldbloodaddict

Who could tell us?

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Haha, I mean I don't know the temperature for the hot spot I just know the ambient temp for inside the tank.

If it's with in your means, get one of these ASAP:

http://www.reptilebasics.com/412l-thermometer

Guessing at the temps in your BP's enclosure is a sure way to have them too hot or too cold.