Help please (feeding/shed)

Hi. First of i'm sorry if there is a similar topic about both things that i want to know, i searched for it some time..but didn't get the info i needed, so i decided 2 write.
Anyway like 2 months ago i got my first BP (yes i'm newbie in snake petting), he was a baby (previous owner said he has 2 weeks). So he never ate at him yet. When i got him home i though he'll shed, cause of his eyes (they were alittle cloudly imo) but he didn't shed....so i figured he maybe did it be4 i bought him. So now i have him for like 1-2 months and he still didn't shed at my place. And my normal temperatures r fine from what i read on web, and humidity is in 50-60 range also. Only problem is because in my country weather is kinda sneaky and sometimes it gets realy hot, and next day it can be cold already, so temperatures can raise/drop for 2-4 degrees C, but they r stil lin range (example: atm is cold day, so he has like 88-90 degrees F (around 29-30 degrees C ) and somedays when it's hot he has 95 F or about (32 degrees C)). And humidty isn't really stable either today it's 50% which i know is low, but it's hard 2 raise it :/ and usually it is 50-60 which is fine i guess. About his terrarium: he has few branches, 3 hides, water bowl, day lightining, substrate. (and yh ik he'd need some plants in it, but since i don't want him 2 be stressed i didn't put them in yet, cause he has problems eating..so i want him 2 eat be4 i change anything). Anyway i hope i described enough so u can answer me those 2 questions:

a) why didn't he shed yet? (is it cause he didn't ate allmost anything?)
b) why doesn't he eat? (i doubt he is sick..i checked for any signs i found on web)

Ohh and i feed him pinky mice cause owner said he eats those, but later i saw i'd need 2 feed him pinky rats?..well i tryed pinky mice few times, he didn't want 2 eat, so i assist feed him after 1 month of not eating (and i tryed multiple ways to make him feed, exept live (cause i couldn't find any in any nearly city :S ). So now allmost another month of not eating passed and he is very skinny..i mean VERY imo...Should i assist feed him another pinky mice, or can i try with a small mice? (it's like between fuzzy and normal mice..i can weight it if u guys need to know how big that mice is)..and ik i should feed him as big as his fattest part is, but he is anorexic so idk how big mice he can take atm :/, would small mice be 2 fat for him?
Thanks all of u who helped

If he never had any meal at the breeder, then his feeding response probably isn't triggered as it should.
I had the same with one baby once and the only way I could get him to eat was to give him a live fuzzy mouse and leave it in the enclosure for the night.
After 3 of them (one per week) he accepted frozen thawed.

When this works, the shedding will follow.
So in my opinion: Get some live fuzzy mice!

Hi,

It's hard to give you specific advice without seeing the snake or setup really.

I'd normally say put a heat mat on a thermostat on the warm end to even out those temperature variations and possibly some kind of vent that can be opened or closed to help with the humidity.

I start all mine on half grown mice ( 10g - 15g ) so if you can find some of those he should be able to eat them ok size wise.

I'd also ask how you are measuring those temps and humidity and whereabouts in the tank?

But a picture of the snake will help a lot.


dr del

about live fuzzy: problem is cause none of near city has them..closest city that might have them is like 100 miles away if not more + it's not sure they have them atm..but ok i'll go check
i use heat cord/cable and i have wooden terrarium (cord is inside and ceramic tiles r over it) so ground r in the right temperatures i guess, and i meassured those temperatures with analog thermometer on hot side (like 10cm from hottest side of ground, humid and temperature thermometer both were on ground (or on 1 of the hides like 5cm above ground)) and terrarium is 50x50x100 (yh ik it's kinda big for him, but it was best option kinda).
Ok i'll give some pictures later + i'll weight that mice.

If you absolutely can't get live, still increase the prey size to a fuzzy or hopper mouse. Make sure you are warming it fully and just leave it in front of his hide overnight.

apperantly i won't get picture of him so soon, because he is in his hide. And i bought a hopper (it has abt 15g and other 1 has more, like 18g i guess (i'll weight them tmr morning), but should i really leave it there over night, or just assist feed him? (cause if i leave it over night, i'll have 2 throw it away..again + he didn't eat for a long time for a baby). And if he won't eat it this tuesday..should i wait 1 week be4 trying again/assist feeding him? (gosh i'm worried he'll starve himself out....i can already see 3 lines/bones or something going down his body (i guess 1 line is his back bone or w/e it's called).

Analog thermometers do NOT tell you the surface temp. It the heat cable is unregulated and under tiles it could very easily be to hot. If you are not using a heat lamp of some sort and the cage is 95 I can pretty much guarantee the surface temps are to hot.

Also wide open areas within a cage can make a snake feel vulnerable and fail to feed. You either need to add fake plants, hides, driftwood, etc. or change the cage.

I Would say get a proper size tub, under tank heater mat, and thermostat.

Did you actually buy it from the breeder or from somebody that bought it and could not get it to eat so they sold it?

cable isn't to hot..i measured tile temperature differently, 1st it was 2 hot, but i fixed it and now tiles r ok. Well i wanted 2 add plants for long time already, but won't this stress him out (so he won't feed another few weeks/days ? ). And i bought him from a good breeder, when i bought him he was in good shape + breeder gave me papers that he's healthy etc. (i bought him on exo fair)

It is not a good practice to sell a snake that is not eating. Could you be wrong about this? If you have the breeders info I would try to clarify this.

How are you measuring the surface temps? What may not feel warm to us can easily be to hot for a snake.

No, adding plants will not stress it out. It will make the cage seem smaller and give it cover and concealment as it moves around.

snake didn't eat at breeder cause it just got hatched and it had nearly 2 weeks of life when he sold it 2 me. As he said he didn't even try 2 feed her yet since the snake had enough food from the egg or smthing idk.
i measured tiles with my mom's work thermometer (it's a thermometer u stick into meat or other food/thing and it shows u how much degress the thing has...it is very sensitive thermometer, but idk how it's called in english (cooks use it and similar people).
So he'll be fine even if i have 2 put him out of terrarium for few hours 2 add plants etc. ?

It's not generally regarded as good practice to sell a baby "straight out of the egg", meaning not established eating yet. Rather than messing with plants right now, I would dramatically reduce the size of his enclosure. Move him into a 6-qt. Sterilite-type tub, even if you have to have the tub inside his current cage to keep temps right, and squeeze a tight hide or two (best) in the tub, with a small water dish and "fluffy" bedding like aspen. His cage is way too large for a brand new hatchling that has never fed on his own.

Stop handling at all except for necessary care. Warm the prey (or even better, get live), and leave it in front of the hide he's in overnight. Don't offer more than every 4 days. If he doesn't eat after a couple more weeks, you probably won't have any choice but to assist feed him a few times to get him started.

I would get another kind of probe thermometer. Meat thermometers are for just that. They are not always going to tell the correct temp when used outside their purpose.

Anna had a good idea to put the tub in the existing cage. That would save you some money for now. I still think it would be best to get a tstat with a new uth mat.

yesterday i tryed 2 give him live hopper (but he was really skinny)..and today i found him dead lying on his back :( he was on his back some time yesterday 2,but i helped him go on). Btw his belly was black at his belly button..why?..and his belly (from his head down) was shaved/alcoved in..it was like U but inside, like at mushrooms, really scary to see and sad:(:(.
So was it my fault that he (probably) starved 2 death? or was he maybe sick somehow? (but he didn't show any signs of IR or mites)

i just read that they could be chocked by their own small unshed skin. is this what happened? (since he never shed). Gosh, i feel terrible, cause ik it was probably my fault. ffs i'm actually crying

Sorry about your baby. : (
Some babies are hard to start. Really unless you had previous experience starting bps the breeder should not have sold you one that wasn't feeding. It might have helped if you had a smaller cage and live mice but on the other hand it might not. For your first time bp you really needed an established feeder, I am sorry it didn't make it.

I have never heard of the shed thing.

So after all it is my fault?..i guess i'm done with snakes, since i don't want to kill any other snake :(:(
Btw i just read smthing about inclusion body disease, is it possible he had that? cause he had he has his belly turned inside like 1-2 days be4 he died already. And he couldn't turn from his back to the front (at least not last 1-2 days, and even if he could, he strugled hard to do it). Or was is just that he starved so much his belly turned inside? (since i found this belly thing strange somehow)

You poor thing... Quit blaming yourself for this. The breeder should have never sold you a snake that wasn't feeding yet. You definitely seem to care and you tried everything you could reasonably try. Do some research, get a nice new set up all situated over time as money will allow and once it is all ready, go find yourself a nice little ball with a feeding history.

It'll be lucky to have you.

he might be stressed out. it sounds like there's a lot of space in his enclosure. put the plants in, it will make him feel better, more secure, not stress him out more. also 90 degrees ambient air temp is a little hot. for a hot spot, 90 is good, but overall air temp should be low 80s high 70s. and never leave live prey in with your snake, they can cause harm to him.

sorry didn't finish reading the thread before I posted. stuff happens so that we can learn from our mistakes. he's in a better place now, don't blame yourself too much, just create a better future from it. also maybe do a little more research before you decide to get an animal. I like to know everything there is to know, JUST IN CASE something like this were to happen. but next time..

Well thanks for responses 2 all...well "sorry" goes 2 him, since he had fail owner... And there probably won't be next time since i'm loyal and i can't just "replace" him...
Anyway since it's 2 late, i think, admin can lock this topic or something.

P.s: i didn't let live prey near him without my supervising (+ i got live prey way 2 late apperantly :(). And i did a little reasearch, but apperantly not even close 2 what i should have done...And well there is no1 else to blame, since i could of save him if i'd knew what's happening or at least i could of tryed....
And well i kinda just need 2 tell this funny fact to some1 : In my life time i went 2 kinda a lot of funerals (relatives,friends,and far friends) and somehow i never cryed or felt really terrible about it, but today i'm crying for whole day already...and yh ik it sounds way 2 weak...

I know how you feel. I accidentally let a hamster we had get overheated and die the other week. I felt horrible. I still feel bad. but you learn from your mistakes and move forward. that's what life's about right? Your snake and my hamster are in a better place now and everything happens for a reason so we just have to put our trust in the universe I guess lol.