New BP not using hides...

Hello!

Herman, our BP arrived today and he's been in his enclosure.. but not in his hides. He's currently sprawled out over a piece of wood and some fake plants. He often looks as though he's looking up/attempting to crawl up the sides of the enclosure. Should I be concerned that he isn't settled? If not cause for alarm now.. when should I start to worry?

Husbandry:
48" PVC enclosure: UTH and mild heat lamp for a 90 temp on hot side, 75 on cool side. Humidity 59%. Eco-Earth substrate.

Are you using a thermostat?

and that is normal behaviour if you have only just got him, he will want to explore his new home, but i would advise not handling him till you have him eating regularly, how big is the BP? weight and length?

When there little itll take them some time to get used to the hides and to learn to use them.

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Originally Posted by SRMD94

Are you using a thermostat?

and that is normal behaviour if you have only just got him, he will want to explore his new home, but i would advise not handling him till you have him eating regularly, how big is the BP? weight and length?

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Doph, yes. Herpstat. Sorry, left that out.

He's a little guy, I didn't weigh him before getting him into his cage. He was born sometime in June I believe.
Is it normal that he keeps trying to ball-up behind the fake plants instead of his hides?

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Originally Posted by PorcelainxDoll

When there little itll take them some time to get used to the hides and to learn to use them.

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk 2

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Ok.. so don't worry? At what point should I start being concerned if he's still not using them?
I know I sound paranoid. LOL. It's my first BP. :-)

Having him in a 48 inch cage can cause stress. Young bp are usually kept in a 20 tank. Crawling up the sides and exploring is normal but the open area of the huge cage will cause him stress.

If you want to use it you need to junk it up. Meaning fill it up with plants, logs, multiple hides giving it plenty of cover.

This is mine to give you an idea. I have live and fake plants.

http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...712_181222.jpg

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Here are better shots to see how much cover she has. She is crawling through the tank in the pics. My tank is only 36 inches long and is considered to large.

http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...708_184936.jpg

http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...708_184945.jpg

This is awesome KMG! My enclosure has quite a bit of stuff in it, but of course I can fit more.
I know the cage is pretty large, but since this is a family pet and in our study - we wanted one that had some visual appeal as well... and from my research on here, we quickly realized that a glass tank wasn't the best route. (Ya'll can remind me of my choice of that when I'm fussing about having to pull everything out to clean....)

I'll take a picture and post. Would love any insight. He was doing quite a bit of exploring when the sun went down last night.... but this AM he was coiled up under the mopani log and fake leaves. He was nestled in there pretty good (took me loonnng time to find him) but still not in a hide.

Those are nice setups - but I gotta ask.... how long does it take to clean and disinfect everything in there?

Here's his current cage:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...4/BPs/tank.jpg

And here is where he's hiding. Between/under the mopani log behind all the fake plants:
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...BPs/hiding.jpg

I got my guy 5 days ago and he's been hiding in the corner under a fake plant. Today I finally decided to show him the entrance of his hide by picking him up and putting his head in. I don't think he knew it was there.
It seems to have worked because he's been in there all day :)

I'd give him a few days to settle in and if he's still not using his hides maybe gently show him the way.

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Originally Posted by Rickys_Reptiles

Those are nice setups - but I gotta ask.... how long does it take to clean and disinfect everything in there?

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Well I have a very small collection of snakes not a huge collection like you. If I had a large collection I'm sure I would not do as much as I do.

I really enjoy keeping my snakes in a natural looking cage. I Think they present well and look nice in my home and don't mind taking care of them. I can be kinda OCD on things and cleaning the cages doesn't take me that long but it helps that I constantly clean them so a full break down is never that bad. At least I don't think. That's just me though.


OP you have a good start. It looks really good.

So.... I showed Herman his hides, he went in... Hung out for about 10 minutes and then went back under the log in the center of his cage. Could this mean my temps are off? Despite what my thermometer says?

Maybe. I like using an IR temp gun to check mine.

Is the hide small enough where he touches all sides when he coils inside? If not, the hide may be to big and not make him feel secure. Try putting moss in the hide to make it feel smaller and then see if he uses it.

Double check the temps just remember the snake didn’t read the care sheet he is just doing what he wants to do and that is ok. Give him time to settle in and try to feed if he eats everything is probably fine. I have some hatchlings in a 48” x 16” cage with two hides and a water bowl and they are doing great I think everyone that says a large enclosure stresses them are just regurgitating stuff they read on the internet and most of them have never tried it themselves. I agree some BP’s seem to like a small enclosure and if you can’t get him to feed try cluttering it up or downsizing I start all my hatchlings in a 7 qt with a small hide but once they are feeding well I move them to a larger enclosure and I have never had a problem.