feeding problems

ive had my BP for about 7 weeks. she hadnt eaten the whole time i had her until this past thursday when i finally tried live and she ate it right up. but when i woke up yesterday she had regurgitated it. only the head was digested and the rest was spit up. the mouse was bigger than her body but i was told by a few people form PETCO that if it was a little bit bigger then it shouldnt cause any problems. another reason i heard was it wouldnt digest right if the temp wasnt right. well i can see maybe the mouse was too big but if it was the temperature that was the problem i think she would have went into the warm side of the cage cuz she stayed her her cool side hide all day and night prety much. Does this pretty much pen point that the problem was probably the size of the mouse? and if so am i supposed to wait about a week and a half before feeding again?

thanks

BPs need belly heat, when digesting the rodent, so the correct temps is quite important when feeding, if they can't digest then they will regurge.
I would wait around 1-2 weeks before next feeding and try down sizing the prey, and also have a look at the temps.

What hides do you use?

cool side has a rock hide and warm side has a log hide with UTH

That is most probably why your ball will not go on the warm side, you need a Hide that has 1 entrance 1 exit and is a snug fit, if your ball feels insecure in a log hide because it has 2 entrances and exits then your ball will not go in their.

try and get 2 identical snug fit hides with 1 entrance and 1 exit, this could fix your problem with your ball not going on the warm side.

i have the hide up against the glass so it can only go in and out one side. and the sides are blacked out so it is dark and its a smaller log too. but she normally stays in the rock one all the time anyway

Ye she stays in the rock, because she feels insecure, it is not* their instinct to seek a cold place, unless the temps are unbelievably hot, try replacing your hides with 1 entrance/exit.

what are your temps? cool/hot side

78-83ish cold 89-95ish hot. and can i just get another hid identical to the rock i already have or get 2 brand new ones? the one i have is the yellowish organish one that comes in the 20 gallon zilla pet tank kit.

If the rock is 1 entrance/exit and a snug fit i am sure that would be fine.

How are you measuring your temperatures?

Digital/Dial Thermometer?

Do you have a thermostat?

i have the dial therm/hygr that comes with it and i had a digital one but it broke so i bought two of the individual dial therm and hygr. so i can measure both sides seperately

Dial thermometers can be very inaccurate and your temps could be way off then what they are saying, your hot side could be much hotter therefore your ball not wanting to go on that side.
I would advise you to get a digital thermometer and hygrometer, i am not american but i believe you can get them from walmart for like $12?

Are you using a thermostat?

for the UTH?

yea, a thermostat for the uth

no i was told it wasnt necessary because they dont get hot enough to hurt anything

wow, who ever told you that has no concern what so ever for a reptile, ignore all advice you was given at pets co or wherever, most of them do not care about reptiles and just tell you what you want to hear.

I would make that your absolute thing to do ASAP get a thermostat without the heat being controlled your snake could get burned and it could kill your snake, because you are using a dial thermometer your temps could be much over 100F without a thermostat which is a very bad thing which could lead to why your snake is always on the cold side and it could be getting stressed, i would immediately buy a thermostat and some digital equipment asap!

Your first problem is you listened to people at Petco.

SRMD94 is right about the hides. But your snake not going ot the warm side tells me that the hotspot may be to hot. We need to know how and what your using to heat it and how you are measuring the temp? Do you have an under tank heater, if so, is it on a thermostat?

One way to make a hide feel smaller is to add moss just insided the enterance. This makes the hide feel snug and the door feel small but your snake can still easily enter and exit. This can also be dual purpose during shed time. During a shed you can keep the moss damp which will create a more humid hide and help your snake with its shed. Not wet moss, just damp. Mist it basically.

SRMD94 is also right about not trying to feed for 10-14 days. When your snake has a regurg it looses alot of the stomach acid needed to digest properly. It takes the snake a while to rebuild these and feeding to early will make it regurg again then causing a cycle.

About the feeder size. While it is true that a snake can eat something larger than its body it is not wise to feed it anything that is not close to its largest section of body. At most you should just barely be able to see a bump in your snake was it eats the prey.

Also on your first feeding coming back from a regurg it is suggested to feed prey half the size of its usual meal. This allows an easier meal just in case the acids are not back up to par. So if you were feeding a hooper next time try a fuzzy.

Get us your numbers so we can try to help you better.

Recap of whats needed:

Temp?
Heat source or sources? What used, what watt?
UTH? under tank heater
T-Stat? thermostat
Type of substrate? and thickness over the UTH if you have one?
What is your temp gauge? Tank wall thermo, strip thermo, temp gun?

well thats some terrible news haha i just unplugged the uth and im probably gonna go to PETCO today i guess.

Yall covered alot while I typed that. I must be slow. lol

A regurg can also be caused be stress caused by over handling, do not handle your snake until you have a few good feedings. Most suggest 3.

Do you have a picture of your Set-up etc...?

if so could you upload it on to here so we can see it, and ye I would defiantly suggest getting the thermostat asap.

If you are registering a temp of 93 on the wall your temps are way to hot. My wall stays around 80 and I have a hot spot of 90. If your using an unregulated(no tstat) zoo med uth it is again way to hot? My medium size one gets to 116 without a tstat.

You did good by unplugging it.

i have a 75 watt day bulb and a 50 watt night light bulb. i am going get digital therm/hyg. another rock hide. a t stat for UTH. and maybe some moss.

A 75 watt is way to much for a 20 gallon tank and the 50 is prob alittle low. Use the same watt bulbs for day and night, a drop is not needed or desired by your snake. If sounds like the regurg is prob from bad temps.

Do you have the heat lamp resting on the screen?

I like to put my lamps on the Zoo Med light stands. They allow you to raise the fixture and therefor lower the temp of the bulbs hot spot in the tank. I would buy a pair of 60 watt bulbs and light stands if you can afford it. If not you might also buy another 50 and take the 75 watt away. If you get a tstat its hot spot will be taken care of so then you just need to keep the rest of the tank around 80. Also get regular style bulbs not basking bulbs.

My 40 gallon tank has a 75 watt ceremic heater and two 60 watt(oneday/one night) to give me good temps. My home stays at 68 and both my heat sources are raised about 4-6 inches above the tanks screen. That should give you an idea of how much heat you are pumping into your tank.

Ok yea then its definetly too hot. And my light is about 4 inches off the screen. Amd you said just to grt a regular 60 watt light bulb for the dy light?

When I say regular bulb style I meant one that looks like what you would put in a lamp. They make a bulb called a basking bulb. They have larger flat heads and create a tighter hot spot in your tank which creates to much heat. If you get the uth on the tstat and get that to 90 the 60 watt bubls hoovering a few inches above your tank should get you to 80 ambient(air temo), what your wall thermo should read.

What substrate are you using? How thick is it?

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Here is a pic of my 40 gallon BP tank. Notice that the ceremic heater is pretty far from the tank and creates a 90 degree hotspot. They concentrate the heat much like a basking bulb.

http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...g/eb6ed05a.jpg

Aspen. About 3/4 inch thick id say

Neermind. I have repti bark

Well the tstat will take a bit a dialing in to get it right. My stat is set to 98 and through the glass and the cypress mulch is gives 90 to 91 on the surface. The tstat that Petco sells does not have a temp read out so you will prob need to buy a digiatl thermo. SRMD94 was right about Walmart having a indoor/outdoor with humidity gauge, ther are about 12 to 15 bucks and in the gardening section. Take the probe and put it under the substrate over the uth, then place the unit on the cool side. Doing this will give you the hotspot temp and the cool side temp with you humidity. If your probe is reading a hot spot on the glass on 93 to 94 your hot spot should be around 90. The best way to check is with a IR temp gun, I bought a cheapo from Amazon for 20 bucks but now its 10. It has worked great for me.

This is the gauge on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o01_s00_i00

Here is the temp gun I bought
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o00_s00_i00

i went to petco and petsmart and neither had t-stats for the uth. but i am curently uploading the pictures of my terrarium

I would suggest a Herpstat 1 from Spyder Robotics. They have two models Herpstat1 Basic and the Herstat1. Either would work for you and both are much better than what the big box stores offer. They are not the cheapest but they are not the highest either. Alot of us on here use them.

http://www.spyderrobotics.com/store/

i cant figure out how to upload a photo. when i use the insert image icon it blows up the picture fully screen and i cant ad it to the message. any help?

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ok well im a 19 yr old student at LSU, what are some good cheaper options htat work well.

ok well im a 19 yr old student at LSU, what are some good cheaper options htat work well.

HAHA!!!

It took me awhile to figure the pic thing out too. Use Photobucket. Here is a thread that goes step by step.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...with-pictures)


Some use this one. It is a simple on/off tstat, not a proportional one. This means that when set to 90 and it reaches a hotspot of 90 it cuts the uth off. Then it will cut back on when it drops by a preprogrammed number of degrees. This creates a flux in the hotspot temp. Not terrible, just not ideal. Make sure to take the time to dial it in so that your hotspot does not go over 95.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o02_s00_i01 Its the student priced one:gj:


It sucks that the big box stores dont have a clue and send people home unprepared with items they are going to end up not using and wasting money. Its frustrating how dumb they can be. Im glad your taking the steps to make your setup right. To many people just roll with what the pet store sold them and think its right. Then they wonder why their snake is unhealthy. Its sad.

the photobucket link doesnt work.. so after i upload a pic to photo bucket what do i do?

Sorry, the link I copied was shortened.

Here is the whole thing.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...with-pictures)

Once uploaded you copy the IMG CODE and just paste it into your post.

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I know the link looks the same but I got that from the actual page. I guess the server shortens it automatically to save space. It will work now if you need it.

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/...IMG_0425-2.jpg

there it is

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http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/...5/IMG_0424.jpg

Overall it looks like you are on the right track. Maybe put some moss around the enterance of the log to make it seem more secure.

Now just play with the height of the lights until you get the right temps. Keeping the lights more on the hot side will give you a better hot and cool side until you get your tstat.

Good Luck

yea so far since i had to turn the heat pad off i have a 60w bulb sitting on the screen on the log side(hot side) and the probe inside of the hide reads 88.8 and the probe under the cool side hide reads 78.9... so i may not even need the UTH

im just not good at the whole creativity and setup of the cage... like yours looks cool. mine looks normal. haha any suggestions for mine?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by alexr

yea so far since i had to turn the heat pad off i have a 60w bulb sitting on the screen on the log side(hot side) and the probe inside of the hide reads 88.8 and the probe under the cool side hide reads 78.9... so i may not even need the UTH

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Maybe not. Just watch the temps over the next few hours. It should get just alittle hotter. Just make sure it doesnt get to 95 on that hot spot. If its near 90 inside the hide the outside will be a bit warmer, just keep an eye on it.

If it does stay about right but gets just alittle warm go to Lowe's or HomeDepot and get a rheostat "dimmer." With a dimmer you can turn the light bulb down a bit to lower the heat to where you need it. I bought one recently at Lowe's for $18, which is cheaper than a t-stat. It gives you the ability to make a 60 watt bulb have the output of a 55 or 53 or whatever you need. Or you could get a light stand for $30 and raise and lower the light to the proper height to give the proper temp. I like light stands because they allow the lights to stay in place when the lid is off so the heat source is never lost so your snake does not go back into a cold tank after being handled. They also extend the life of the bulbs by keeping them from getting banged around.

Also I had a thought. If you look where the lid slides and meets the rim on the backside of the tank(where is snaps shut) you will notice a small upside down "U", or a lower case "n" pointing at you. These are made to break free to allow you to run cords and wires into the tank. Break them off with a pair of pliers and then you can run your thermo wires through them and mount the units outside the tank. That way you can check the high/low temps, and reset them without having to move the light and removing the lid. Plus you can then twist tie the extra wire together on the outside of the tank, dont twist tie them inside.

If your room has natural light you could just room the red 60 watt bulb and take the other back to save yourself some money and keep it simple.

i was actually just looking at the snap-away pieces a few minutes ago and couldnt decide if i wanted to do it or not.. but saving me from opening and closing the top over and over will help alot

Quote:

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Originally Posted by alexr

im just not good at the whole creativity and setup of the cage... like yours looks cool. mine looks normal. haha any suggestions for mine?

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Thank you.

Mine has alot of time and money into it. I found Pet-tech.com and liked their stuff. It sticks on with magnets making it easy to take off and clean. They also have great looking bowls that come in every size, much larger selection than the big box stores. The plants you see on the tank floor are real and I found them at the local Petco, but not all carry live plants. Live plants give a great look and boost your humidity alittle. The plants hanging on the walls are just fake plants hanging with suction cups. I got those at Petco and PetSmart. I like them because I can hang them over the wires going into the tank to hide them. Just remember that everything that goes into the tank will need to stay clean. I dont mind and constantly clean my tanks so this is not really an issue with me.

I prefer the naturalistic look.

Here is my green tree python cage. She is in shed and being pissy hiding in the branches so you cant see her. Again with live plants and fake with a twisted vine and a lowered water bowl with a bridge. The bridge is to block her poo from going into the water. Her favorite perch spot is right over it. LOL

Just take it slow and add things as you can. Also pick and choose things you like from pics like mine, or google images of terrariums and snake cages and add it to yours. Im sure you have seen on here that snakes are addictive so get ready to get another soon. HAHA! I am getting my 4th Sunday, Im super excited. Its a beautiful red blood python.

Also be sure to get a good cleaner. I use "Healthy Habitat" from Petco or Petsmart, I dont remember for sure. Its all natural and can be used while your snake is in the tank.

http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...g/db3ba8a6.jpg

yea you have some pretty tight tanks... idk how much stuff i cant fit in a long 20 gallon tank though

You would be surprised. My GTP cage is only 12in x 12in x 18in. You will get there soon enough. Mine didnt happen over night, they started out bare like everyone else.

Good luck and welcome to the snake world.

If you ever need anything feel free to PM me.

ok thanks for your help. will do