Can someone please help me???

I recently got a BP from a local retailer I am letting it get accustomed to its enclosure. I took it out to look it over and the belly didn't look right. Can anyone please tell me if this is normal, if not what is it and what should I do?
[IMG]http://i835.photobucket.com/albums/z...pscc1da44c.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i835.photobucket.com/albums/z...psc0ab9701.jpg[/IMG]

I don't know for sure. However it looks a bit like scale rot or it my be heater burn?

I was thinking heater burn but wasn't sure

Retained skin possibly...it doesn't seem swollen enough to be scale rot but it could be the camera angle. Describe your husbandry please.

40 gallon tank with cypress mulch substrate. UTH set to 93 degrees, with similar hides on the warm and cool sides. Tank is blacked out on all sides except the front and top screen. Water dish is located on the cool side.

There is no swelling, just feels a little rough when I touch it.

Might be a really minor burn. Bring your UTH down to 88, throw in a paper towel substrate, and it should be gone by next shed. There's nothing open, so using a betadine wash probably wouldn't do much.

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Originally Posted by mrboatner13

There is no swelling, just feels a little rough when I touch it.

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When was the last shed? I am bordering between minor burn and retained skin. A 93F basking spot shouldn't be causing any burns unless he is burrowing under the substrate and sitting for days on end.

Looks like minor scale rot.
You use Betadine to keep it clean. It's an antiseptic.
It doesn't look major and should shed off during the next shed cycle.

I have had it for two weeks, I was using a CHE but switched to the UTH around Tuesday. He sat in the hide over the UTH for a few days and didn't move. He hadn't had a shed since I have had him, still hasn't eaten neither.
Also, where causes scale rot?

Another question, When they burrow in their hide, how long should I let him sit in their before I move him around. Not trying to handle I'm too much due to the fact that I haven't had him but two weeks and still trying to get him to eat.

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Originally Posted by mrboatner13

I have had it for two weeks, I was using a CHE but switched to the UTH around Tuesday. He sat in the hide over the UTH for a few days and didn't move. He hadn't had a shed since I have had him, still hasn't eaten neither.
Also, where causes scale rot?

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Scale rot is caused by excess moisture that is absorbed by vesicles within ventral scales and promotes a breeding ground for pathogens. In short, it is caused by a substrate that refuses to dry completely.

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Originally Posted by mrboatner13

Another question, When they burrow in their hide, how long should I let him sit in their before I move him around. Not trying to handle I'm too much due to the fact that I haven't had him but two weeks and still trying to get him to eat.

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You do not need to move him around. Set the basking spot to an output of 88-94, I prefer mine to be right at 90-91 for my young ones. What have you tried feeding and how?

I have tried feeding him f/t pinkies, thats what the store told me they were feeding him and he isn't interested in it at all. He balls up and tucks his head when I present it to him. I have also tried leaving it in the cage with him and he still doesn't touch it.

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Originally Posted by mrboatner13

I have tried feeding him f/t pinkies, thats what the store told me they were feeding him and he isn't interested in it at all. He balls up and tucks his head when I present it to him. I have also tried leaving it in the cage with him and he still doesn't touch it.

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Have you left it overnight? Pinkies are way too small, try a live rat pup or mouse hopper at least if overnight has not worked. If that's a 40-gallon cage then you may also need to add some hides to help him out security wise.

I just bought a frozen hopper today, I will try leaving it overnight tonight, would it make a difference if it's live or not? I have three hides and a log in the tank currently, I will add plants soon.

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Originally Posted by mrboatner13

I just bought a frozen hopper today, I will try leaving it overnight tonight, would it make a difference if it's live or not? I have three hides and a log in the tank currently, I will add plants soon.

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Some specimens simply prefer live over f/t and even vice versa on some occasions. The recommended goal is to eventually have him on rats every 5-7 days, my specimens usually do not have a choice, I offer rats no matter what, but some people will bend over backwards, sacrifice a goat, dress in drag and distract the hyenas, etc... just to get their snake to take something...in my experience there are very few snakes that will not eat when they are hungry and healthy so patience and proper husbandry is the key to a good eater.

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Originally Posted by Physician&Snakes

Some specimens simply prefer live over f/t and even vice versa on some occasions. The recommended goal is to eventually have him on rats every 5-7 days, my specimens usually do not have a choice, I offer rats no matter what, but some people will bend over backwards, sacrifice a goat, dress in drag and distract the hyenas, etc... just to get their snake to take something...in my experience there are very few snakes that will not eat when they are hungry and healthy so patience and proper husbandry is the key to a good eater.

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I have to disagree... I truly believe my female would starve herself. She went 2 months as a hatchling and would not eat anything I presented to her... f/t fuzzie, hopper, rat pup... live rat fuzzy, pup. Finally I gave and got her a live fuzzy mouse. Husbandry was dead on and the same all through... she took it within seconds. Has eaten all stages of live mice since.
After she was steady I tried live rat pup.. nope, asf... nope. White mouse.. bam.

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

I have to disagree... I truly believe my female would starve herself. She went 2 months as a hatchling and would not eat anything I presented to her... f/t fuzzie, hopper, rat pup... live rat fuzzy, pup. Finally I gave and got her a live fuzzy mouse. Husbandry was dead on and the same all through... she took it within seconds. Has eaten all stages of live mice since.
After she was steady I tried live rat pup.. nope, asf... nope. White mouse.. bam.

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I can disagree to the extent of my almost 7 years of starting hatchling BPs while I was at the store...did I wait a little too long here and there? Probably, but I developed confidence in myself and the animal, and that always produced a rat pup gone the next day, eventually a full strike, and later on a well started BP and in the case of hold backs, full on on sires and dams. Now maybe you do have the one in a million that just cannot grasp the idea of eating other prey; however, the manager had a bet for owners that consistently demanded a certain color or type of prey, the manager would ask the customer to leave the specimen with us for a full 24 hours, if we could not get him/her to eat a prey that was very different from it's supposed "one and only", then the customer got five free feeders...well, ,let's just say that no one got a free feeder the whole time I was there.

P.S. No scenting was allowed.

I understand you have experience and it's great YOU got them all to eat what you wanted.... but to tell someone with little experience to just wait them out is not a good idea

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Originally Posted by mrboatner13

I just bought a frozen hopper today, I will try leaving it overnight tonight, would it make a difference if it's live or not? I have three hides and a log in the tank currently, I will add plants soon.

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If it doesn't take it tonight, try a live feeding. You can always try FT later.

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

I understand you have experience and it's great YOU got them all to eat what you wanted.... but to tell someone with little experience to just wait them out is not a good idea

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I am afraid I am not a magical fairy that $hits gum drops and pi$$es grape juice. I never said for him or her to do that specifically, I gave the OP my original advice and what many others suggest, my point was to make the poster aware there is more than one way to do it...I am sure at least part of your post had the same objective. My point in this reply, Simply giving out close ended answers all the time simply promotes complacency and inhibits the development of an actual methodology, hence why I try to include my original experiences in addition to the "common" things.

No one has asked this, but is your Uth plugged into a thermostat or is it plugged directly into the wall?

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Originally Posted by Bobbafett

No one has asked this, but is your Uth plugged into a thermostat or is it plugged directly into the wall?

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It's plugged into a thermostat.

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Originally Posted by Physician&Snakes

Some specimens simply prefer live over f/t and even vice versa on some occasions. The recommended goal is to eventually have him on rats every 5-7 days, my specimens usually do not have a choice, I offer rats no matter what, but some people will bend over backwards, sacrifice a goat, dress in drag and distract the hyenas, etc... just to get their snake to take something...in my experience there are very few snakes that will not eat when they are hungry and healthy so patience and proper husbandry is the key to a good eater.

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Got a live rat today from the pet store along with the plants. Initially he wasn't interested and just went into a ball. I took the rat out of the cage and wait for a little while and tried it again. At that time the snake was in the plants watching and after the rat ran around for a while the snake struck and ate him. Thanks for the help.

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Originally Posted by mrboatner13

Got a live rat today from the pet store along with the plants. Initially he wasn't interested and just went into a ball. I took the rat out of the cage and wait for a little while and tried it again. At that time the snake was in the plants watching and after the rat ran around for a while the snake struck and ate him. Thanks for the help.

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Sounds good, try offering a f/t rat pup in about 5-7 days if you want.

Something else to watch for is making sure that your thawed offerings are warm enough.
Heating the head (by way of warm water, a blow dryer, or a heat lamp) until it's slightly warm to the touch will often help picky eaters identify prey more easily.