Help With Tub For Blood Python

I have a young blood python and she's in a 10 gal currently, I plan to move her into a 15qt tub. How should I go about setting it up for her?

I know everyone always says the smaller the better, but myself, I have started all of my young snakes in 20 qt. tubs with a couple sheets of newspaper on the bottom and i've never had any problems. But, I consume a lot of the space with a hide, a large water dish (for Bloods/Short Tails) and I wad up a bunch of sheets of newspaper to consume a lot of the other excess space. I also lay a single sheet of newspaper over everything. I mist the newspaper down real good with room temperature water once every couple of days to help with humidity, but it's very important that you have plenty of airflow in the tub to prevent respiratory infections. I leave a ceiling fan running on low 24/7 in my snake room to help circulate the air. I think a good general rule of thumb is, if the sides of the tub steam up there isn't enough air flow/ventilation in the tubs. Basically, when I mist my tubs down the newspaper will be dry within a few hours and the sides never steam up. I also try to maintain 50% - 60% humidity and 75 degree temperature in the room. You will of course also need heat tape (I recommend THG) under about 1/3 of the tub and a thermostat...

This is just how i've been doing things and everyone is happy, healthy and eating regularly and i've never had to deal with any respiratory infections. I hope this helps...

Pretty much everything stated aboveby aedryan, except i use aspen or cypress mulch (cypress if you need the extra humidity, which you shouldnt really in the tub) because my guy would dump his water alot and it worked out better than newspaper. Also he was pretty nervous when he was small, so the aspen/cypress let him burrow enough to feel secure, whereas when i used newspaper he would just hide under it. Bloods are so awesome, easily one of my favorite species. Keep us updated with pics!

https://i.imgur.com/lEChQga.jpg
A little update. I got a 15qt yesterday, currently messing around with it to see what keeps humidity best. It's wet because I wanted to see how long it would take to dissipate. I made the hole in the front too small ( i plan to run the thermometer/ hydrometer ) through it so I'll have to make it bigger when I get home.
https://i.imgur.com/YcwrrqC.jpg

Personally I like the coconut husk chips like Prococo or Reptichip. Keeps the humidity up without having condensation on the inside of the tub.

Not sure if you know about the size potential of blood pythons but they can get HUGE! Check out this video, scroll to 6:00 minutes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLPfIzHsyK0

I have a 60 qt can I use that if I cluttered it up? Seems really big for a snake of my bloods size. But she'd be able to stay in it much longer. What do you guys think?

take a look at my thread about rambo, ive got logs of how quickly he grew/is growing. He grew out of his original tub and into a 60 qt pretty
fast
but to answer yes a 60 qt will work just make sure you have plennty of hides and clutter to help her feel secure

https://i.imgur.com/0hv35Ro.jpg

A little update. I moved her into the 15qt Monday. She hasn't eaten in a while so I thought the more stable environment of the tub might help. She still hasn't taken food and I think it could be a couple things. Maybe there's too much open space in it? I could buy some fake plants and get some rocks to clutter it up. Or maybe I just need to leave her in longer, she's been out and moving around so I didn't think that was an issue. She's eaten for me before in the tank so may be i could move to feed her? I don't like doing that but it might do something. I've tried live and f/t and she's shown no interest. So help would be appreciated, thanks.

Oh, and before I forget. The hot side is about 81-82 and I've been getting 60% ish humidity. I've bumped up the hot side to 85 so maybe that might help

You could certainly clutter it up more to help her feel more secure, but it's not necessary to buy additional accessories like plants or rocks to do so quite yet. In my experience, layers of paper, such as kraft or newspaper, make a good substrate in this sort of situation, as you can easily fold and arrange multiple layers for your snake to hide under. Sitting between/beneath layers of paper mimics their natural behavior of hiding beneath leaf litter.

As an alternative, you could also use a particulate substrate such as the prococo chip-and-fiber mix, or even long-fiber sphagnum moss (Chilean or New Zealand are popular and easy to find on Amazon). By doing so, you could provide a thick layer of substrate for your snake to burrow into that will also double as a hide, and allow your python to feel secure regardless of where it is in the enclosure. If you do so, keep in mind you'll want to have extra on hand to replace when it becomes soiled to avoid ammonia buildup in the enclosure. As I'm sure you're aware, these snakes can pee a LOT! :P

At this point I would advise against feeding outside of the cage. It really isn't a necessary practice, and can stress the animal by all the additional activity of moving to and from a separate tub/location. I'd make a few tweaks to your enclosure as described above, let the snake settle in for another week or so, and then offer prey at night after the lights go out.

Have you been offering live, pre-killed or F/T?

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Originally Posted by MD_Pythons

https://i.imgur.com/0hv35Ro.jpg

A little update. I moved her into the 15qt Monday. She hasn't eaten in a while so I thought the more stable environment of the tub might help. She still hasn't taken food and I think it could be a couple things. Maybe there's too much open space in it? I could buy some fake plants and get some rocks to clutter it up. Or maybe I just need to leave her in longer, she's been out and moving around so I didn't think that was an issue. She's eaten for me before in the tank so may be i could move to feed her? I don't like doing that but it might do something. I've tried live and f/t and she's shown no interest. So help would be appreciated, thanks.

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Originally Posted by MD_Pythons

Oh, and before I forget. The hot side is about 81-82 and I've been getting 60% ish humidity. I've bumped up the hot side to 85 so maybe that might help

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Such a pretty girl! ( Sorry, had to say it!)

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Originally Posted by Kara

You could certainly clutter it up more to help her feel more secure, but it's not necessary to buy additional accessories like plants or rocks to do so quite yet. In my experience, layers of paper, such as kraft or newspaper, make a good substrate in this sort of situation, as you can easily fold and arrange multiple layers for your snake to hide under. Sitting between/beneath layers of paper mimics their natural behavior of hiding beneath leaf litter.

As an alternative, you could also use a particulate substrate such as the prococo chip-and-fiber mix, or even long-fiber sphagnum moss (Chilean or New Zealand are popular and easy to find on Amazon). By doing so, you could provide a thick layer of substrate for your snake to burrow into that will also double as a hide, and allow your python to feel secure regardless of where it is in the enclosure. If you do so, keep in mind you'll want to have extra on hand to replace when it becomes soiled to avoid ammonia buildup in the enclosure. As I'm sure you're aware, these snakes can pee a LOT! :P

At this point I would advise against feeding outside of the cage. It really isn't a necessary practice, and can stress the animal by all the additional activity of moving to and from a separate tub/location. I'd make a few tweaks to your enclosure as described above, let the snake settle in for another week or so, and then offer prey at night after the lights go out.

Have you been offering live, pre-killed or F/T?

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I always feed my snakes inside the enclosure, I folded a chunk of cardboard to take up some of the open space. She's eaten live for me once, but her breeder said she would take f/t. i've offered prekilled and shes shown no interest. Apologies for the crummy picture.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/s5vgoP8.jpg

I'm not sure that a piece of cardboard is going to do the trick. The tub appears to be rather tall for a snake this size, which can add to the cavernous feel. Instead of trying to clutter it with a few items, perhaps consider using a different substrate that will allow the snake to burrow a bit (again, a natural behavior for this species). This will give your snake the freedom to choose where she wants to be in the tub, while feeling safe and secure at the same time.

A tip when offering p/k or f/t prey - ensure that the rodent is warmed to approximately 100° - 105° (F). The warmer the prey item, the better a feeding response it usually elicits with bloods & STPs.

She appears to be a nice little blood. Hopefully with a few minor changes to the setup she'll be back to feeding in short order.

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Originally Posted by MD_Pythons

I always feed my snakes inside the enclosure, I folded a chunk of cardboard to take up some of the open space. She's eaten live for me once, but her breeder said she would take f/t. i've offered prekilled and shes shown no interest. Apologies for the crummy picture.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/s5vgoP8.jpg

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Ok, I have some Aspen and Cypress laying around that I can put in there

A little update, I up some cypress in and I've seen her burrow around in it. I tried feeding her live, but the mouse,just seemed to stress her out. She didn't show any feeding response. I'm a bit concerned at this point, not sure if I should try to assist feed.

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Originally Posted by MD_Pythons

A little update, I up some cypress in and I've seen her burrow around in it. I tried feeding her live, but the mouse,just seemed to stress her out. She didn't show any feeding response. I'm a bit concerned at this point, not sure if I should try to assist feed.

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dont. You should be able to feed fuzzies that wont be able to do her any harm, i would leave one in with her and let her be. My guy was difficult at first and that was the only way he'd eat. Now i can feed f/t, but still have to leave it for him to grab on his own terms.

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Originally Posted by Dxw425

dont. You should be able to feed fuzzies that wont be able to do her any harm, i would leave one in with her and let her be. My guy was difficult at first and that was the only way he'd eat. Now i can feed f/t, but still have to leave it for him to grab on his own terms.

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Do you know where I could order some? The local pet store carries live feeders but they are too large for her.

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Originally Posted by MD_Pythons

Do you know where I could order some? The local pet store carries live feeders but they are too large for her.

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That i dont unfortunately. Try searching the forums on here to see if there are any small time breeders in your area would be my best guess unfortunately, or calling any shops in your area to see if they do their own breeding. Big box stores wont but if thats all that you have near you you could possibly try to see if their supplier does small scale shipments. I dont think rodents that small live too long away from the mother though so finding a mom and pop nearest you would be your best bet.

If you still cant find anywhere, try leaving a f/t meal in the cage and either keep the lights off in the room of the tub or cover the tub, to help your snake feel completely secure. I dont like to leave f/t for too long but a couple hours shouldnt do any harm, if your snake is hungry and feels secluded enough it should hopefully go for the meal. I had to do this once with mine and i placed the f/t in before i went to sleep and checked it as soon as i woke up. The first time he hadnt touched it so i removed and disposed of the rat (i left it on top of a papertowl not his bedding). The second time he had eaten it. You just want to be careful bevcause if you leave the dead rat in too long the bacteria growth it supports can be harmful.

As regards the feeding .. the hairdryer trick has got to be worth a try !!


This method WORKS 99% - if done properly ...
I wait until evening as they're nocturnal of course . I let the rodent thaw out in the reptile room so they get the smell ..
Then I warm up the mouse / rat with a hairdryer and offer with tongs IMMEDIATELY whilst still warm . If refused simply repeat the heating and offering as many times as needed. .
A couple of mine will only strike feed from within their hides so I dangle the warm rodent in front of the hide's entrance - usually works but if it fails simply reheat the rodent with a hairdryer and immediately offer again whilst it's still warm continue until it's grabbed ...


Incidentally , if it shows no interest at all not even a tongue flicker maybe it's best to leave for a week or so.

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

As regards the feeding .. the hairdryer trick has got to be worth a try !!


This method WORKS 99% - if done properly ...
I wait until evening as they're nocturnal of course . I let the rodent thaw out in the reptile room so they get the smell ..
Then I warm up the mouse / rat with a hairdryer and offer with tongs IMMEDIATELY whilst still warm . If refused simply repeat the heating and offering as many times as needed. .
A couple of mine will only strike feed from within their hides so I dangle the warm rodent in front of the hide's entrance - usually works but if it fails simply reheat the rodent with a hairdryer and immediately offer again whilst it's still warm continue until it's grabbed ...


Incidentally , if it shows no interest at all not even a tongue flicker maybe it's best to leave for a week or so.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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That's worth a shot, I was gonna try that chicken broth/ tuna juice trick.

In regards with the hair dryer trick, it definitely seems like a step in the right direction. She didn't eat but she did show more interest in the mouse. I'll keep you guys posted.

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Originally Posted by MD_Pythons

In regards with the hair dryer trick, it definitely seems like a step in the right direction. She didn't eat but she did show more interest in the mouse. I'll keep you guys posted.

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That's hopeful !

If they show ANY interest this method generally works tbh

The main part is to offer IMMEDIATELY - INSTANTLY whilst it's still real warm .. then keep repeating the procedure till it takes it ...
Also I never thaw in water as I have a couple who just don't go for them - I'm convinced it must wash away some most of the much needed aroma . Also mine all strike from INSIDE their hides so I dangle in front of their hide entrance ( don't touch or lift the hide first , though ) .

Good luck !!


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I do agree that the hairdryer truck works a lot of the time, but I think it should be known that it doesn’t always work for everyone.

My Fírnen wouldn’t take the mice even seconds after they had come from the hairdryer. I had to soak the mouse for about thirty seconds in very hot water and then offer it. It may depend on your hairdryer, but mine didn’t seem to get the mouse hot enough for my little guy.
I hope this helps and good luck! :)

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Originally Posted by Joci

I do agree that the hairdryer truck works a lot of the time, but I think it should be known that it doesn’t always work for everyone.

My Fírnen wouldn’t take the mice even seconds after they had come from the hairdryer. I had to soak the mouse for about thirty seconds in very hot water and then offer it. It may depend on your hairdryer, but mine didn’t seem to get the mouse hot enough for my little guy.
I hope this helps and good luck! :)

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Guess everyone and every snake is different , one bonus of the hairdryer is when you are warming a mouse /rat up the smell gets all the other snakes in the room salivating ;)


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