Newbie to BPs

Hello, I'm so glad I found this forum. I have wanted a snake for over a decade and finally, at 61 years old, I got one! Actually, I got 2!!! Both are about 4 months old. My girl, Nyah, is a pastel and my boy, Imani, is a pastel clown possible redstripe. Both are sweet and awesome. Nyah shed yesterday afternoon and became very active. I love it!

I'm having a bit of a challenge getting the vivariums to the right temp but they do have choices as well within their tanks and hides in hot, cool and middle range. They both have screened tops but I also put a folded big towel on top of both for now to keep more warmth and humidity in. They each have a bowl of water, a moisture box and I mist but it seems the humidity drops fast and low. Not sure how to handle that better. I am going to get some black foam board and cover the sides and back of the tanks. I'm also going to get plexiglass or clear vinyl for the top. Advice welcome.

Today I'm going to feed for the 1st time. I'm nervous about it. I'm feeding FT.

Like I said... advice is welcome. Thank you for reading this and for any good wishes you may send to Nyah and Imani. :snake: :snake:

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Originally Posted by Phoenix Rising

Hello, I'm so glad I found this forum. I have wanted a snake for over a decade and finally, at 61 years old, I got one! Actually, I got 2!!! Both are about 4 months old. My girl, Nyah, is a pastel and my boy, Imani, is a pastel clown possible redstripe. Both are sweet and awesome. Nyah shed yesterday afternoon and became very active. I love it!

I'm having a bit of a challenge getting the vivariums to the right temp but they do have choices as well within their tanks and hides in hot, cool and middle range. They both have screened tops but I also put a folded big towel on top of both for now to keep more warmth and humidity in. They each have a bowl of water, a moisture box and I mist but it seems the humidity drops fast and low. Not sure how to handle that better. I am going to get some black foam board and cover the sides and back of the tanks. I'm also going to get plexiglass or clear vinyl for the top. Advice welcome.

Today I'm going to feed for the 1st time. I'm nervous about it. I'm feeding FT.

Like I said... advice is welcome. Thank you for reading this and for any good wishes you may send to Nyah and Imani. :snake: :snake:

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First of all. Welcome and congratulations!

Before you feed, can you tell us your temps and humidity levels, size tanks, type of tanks (sounds like they are glass - but size would be helpful), how you are measuring both, how you are heating both, how you are regulating both, etc? That would help us ensure you have the optimal environment for them and the best chance of them feeding, digesting, and having long-term success.

Additionally, I wrote a piece on defrosting and offering F/T prey. Please see below. The idea is NOT to cook the frozen food, but gently defrost it, and then warm it quickly and offer and make it appear alive.

Good luck and please let us know if we can help in any way. Enjoy your new additions!



This is my step by step list on defrosting F/T rodents.

Others may do it differently and that's fine. This how I do it and it works for me.

STEPS FOR DEFROSTING F/T RODENTS/PREY

1. Put prey item(s) into appropriate size plastic bag (1 for each). I use Quart size ziplock bags up to a medium rat. NOTE: Bags are optional. Some people just throw the prey in the water. I like the bags, but you have to squeeze the air out of them.

2. Fill the container/storage box 3/4 of the way with room temp to slightly warm water. If you have a temp gun (which you should, so if you don't, get one), make sure the water is not hotter than 85-90F, or there about.

3. Put F/T prey item(s) in water. Cover (optional) and leave for an hour +/-. If small prey - adjust downwards - this is written for adult rats. However, longer cannot hurt the smaller prey.

4. After an hour (or less if smaller prey), rotate/flip prey. If in plastic bags, they often will stay on whatever side you put them in on. So if mouse is on left side, turn to right side, etc.

5. Leave for another hour +/- for a TOTAL of about 2 hours (up to medium sized rat - longer if bigger prey)

6. Check that prey is defrosted totally through. Squeeze at different sections of the preys body. Should be cool/room temp to touch, but be soft with no cold spots. If hard (except for bone), in abdomen, for example, or cold, put back in water until room temp and soft.

7. Take prey out of the container/storage box and put aside. THEN FOLLOW STEPS 8-11 OR STEP 12

8. Fill container with hot water from tap. If using temp gun, water temp should be 110-130F, not more.

9. Drop prey item into water for 30 seconds +/-. If multiple prey items, do one at a time. You want each item hot when you offer.

10. Remove (if hot water, with tongs).

11. Dry as best as you can, and is quickly as you can, with paper towels. I dry with paper towels while I am walking from the bathroom where I defrost to the snake tanks. I kind of wrap the prey item up in them. It's ten feet, so by the time I get to the tanks, the prey is drier, but still warm.

12. If not using hot water, use a hairdryer to heat rat so it entices snake

13. Open tank and offer ASAP on tongs. Wiggle gently to stimulate a live prey item.

Welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of snake keeping!! Congrats!!!

Welcome and glad to see another old guy, like me, is a newbie! Now the first rule is unless we see some pictures, your snakes don't exist. Sorry. :O:O:O

Thank you for the welcome. SSSsssso happy to be here!

Maggie

- - - Updated - - -

Well, I am older but I'm a woman. LOL! Thank you for the welcome. :P

Thank you. I'm truly excited about being here and mostly about getting my first snake.... then my second 2 days later. What can I say... there was a Reptocon and I just could not resist. Oh, I'll be honest... I KNEW I was going to look for a second snake before I even went. LOL.

Maggie

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Originally Posted by Phoenix Rising

Thank you for the welcome. SSSsssso happy to be here!

Maggie

- - - Updated - - -

Well, I am older but I'm a woman. LOL! Thank you for the welcome. :P

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I also am an "older" woman....

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Originally Posted by MR Snakes

Welcome and glad to see another old guy, like me, is a newbie! Now the first rule is unless we see some pictures, your snakes don't exist. Sorry. :O:O:O

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Originally Posted by Jellybeans

I also am an "older" woman....

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Jeesus....what is this, a geriatric convention?

Juuust kidding. I'm "old" too. :)

Oh, and WELCOME!! :D (to the OP)

Dakski, thank you so much for the feeding info.

For Nyah I have a 30 gal tank, 36" x 18" floor. I use an under tank heater on one end. It has a thermostat. I also have a temp and humidity monitor in the center of the tank. In the tank I have a bowl of water and I have a plastic container with sphagnum moss in it and keep it wet. Actually has about an inch of water in the bottom. The cover has a hole in in about 1 1/2" in diameter so it releases moisture and Nyah can crawl into it if she wants to. The thermostat that is directly over the heating pad is registering at degrees. Humidity varies of course but I mist it a couple times a day starting with hot water. Currently her tank is 94.8 on the hot side with the temp right over the heating pad. Cold side is 67. Humidity is 54.

Imani has a 20L tank. Again, he has an under tank heater on one end. I messed up and got a rheostat instead of the thermostat. I have the latter on its way from Amazon now. He also has a digital temp and humidity monitor. The probe is over his heating pad. I have another cheap strip thermometer on the cold side. It will be set up like Nyah as soon as the thermostat gets here. His temps run 105 on the hot side right over the pad. Cold is 70 and humidity is 41. I'm going to mist both as soon as I get this written.

Nyah shed last night. Both are snuggled in one of their 3 hides available in each tank, the one right over the pad. I do not have lights up for them yet but plan on doing that. I think you saw more info about them and the near future plans for their habitats in my original post.

Hope I'm at least close to what I need. Thank you for the feeding guide. I have been researching a LOT on as much as I can. My biggest challenge will be feeding them. Actually, that is why I have not gotten a snake up till now. I'm TERRIFIED of mice and rats. Nightmare petrified. It's the only critter I feel like that about. BUT... I decided I will NOT let that stop me from fulfilling a dream. At my age, it's now or never.

Thank you for any and all advice you can give me and thank you for accepting me to this forum.
Maggie :snake::snake:

105 is too hot
More like 90

My tank is simple and small for now becuz my boy not quite 4 months. He is thriving....eats every week with gusto. My humidity is a little on the lower side right now because he just got through shedding
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...8e868ac9c9.jpg

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See? I DO have snakes. Pics say it all. LOL~

Nyah [IMG]20190114_111620.jpg[/IMG]

Imani [IMG]20190114_111128.jpg[/IMG]

Hope these come through. If not, I need to wait till my son is around to show me how to do it.

Congratulations and some friendly advice, me personally I like 88 to 90 degrees, and 76 to 74 for my coolest. As far as increasing humidity, are you using some sort of reptile bark and other moisture retaining liter? I personally use paper towels and a very big humidifier. You also mentioned you had a humid hide with an inch of water on the bottom, that’s definitely more a swamp then a humid hide. You should just use really damp moss, soaked then squeeze the excess water out, with no standing water on the bottom. But yes please be careful with your temps, and best of luck.

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Originally Posted by Phoenix Rising

See? I DO have snakes. Pics say it all. LOL~

[IMG]Imani.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]Nyah.jpg[/IMG]

Hope these come through.

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Nope...still no snakes. It's lies! All lies!

JK :)

Sonny, thank you so much for the post. I shall work diligently to get it to those goals. Hope they can forgive me the process time. I have been working on getting it right. :rolleyes:

Do those fog making "thingies" create humidity?

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Shayne, I got your number now. ROFLOL!!! You're the fiesty one in the forum. :P

Jellybean, Us seniors are on the rise!!! How long have you had snakes? ;)

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Originally Posted by Sonny1318

Congratulations and some friendly advice, me personally I like 88 to 90 degrees, and 76 to 74 for my coolest. As far as increasing humidity, are you using some sort of reptile bark and other moisture retaining liter? I personally use paper towels and a very big humidifier. You also mentioned you had a humid hide with an inch of water on the bottom, that’s definitely more a swamp then a humid hide. You should just use really damp moss, soaked then squeeze the excess water out, with no standing water on the bottom. But yes please be careful with your temps, and best of luck.

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The humid hide has water in it and sphagnum moss too. I'll remove the standing water in it though. I'm just desperately trying to get that humidity up. I will redo that moisture box. Thanks for the heads up. I'll also spray the bottom substrate more as well. Those temps are what I'm aiming at but not quite there yet. Getting closer though. Thank you so much for the advice. I'm all ears... er... eyes.

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Originally Posted by Phoenix Rising

Shayne, I got your number now. ROFLOL!!! You're the fiesty one in the forum. [emoji14]

Jellybean, Us seniors are on the rise!!! How long have you had snakes? ;)

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I have had many reptiles in the past but never a snake
So I've owned my snake for 2 months now

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Once you get the husbandry down to what they need and they're eating well snakes are extremely easy to keep!!

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Phoenix Rising

Dakski, thank you so much for the feeding info.

For Nyah I have a 30 gal tank, 36" x 18" floor. I use an under tank heater on one end. It has a thermostat. I also have a temp and humidity monitor in the center of the tank. In the tank I have a bowl of water and I have a plastic container with sphagnum moss in it and keep it wet. Actually has about an inch of water in the bottom. The cover has a hole in in about 1 1/2" in diameter so it releases moisture and Nyah can crawl into it if she wants to. The thermostat that is directly over the heating pad is registering at degrees. Humidity varies of course but I mist it a couple times a day starting with hot water. Currently her tank is 94.8 on the hot side with the temp right over the heating pad. Cold side is 67. Humidity is 54.

Imani has a 20L tank. Again, he has an under tank heater on one end. I messed up and got a rheostat instead of the thermostat. I have the latter on its way from Amazon now. He also has a digital temp and humidity monitor. The probe is over his heating pad. I have another cheap strip thermometer on the cold side. It will be set up like Nyah as soon as the thermostat gets here. His temps run 105 on the hot side right over the pad. Cold is 70 and humidity is 41. I'm going to mist both as soon as I get this written.

Nyah shed last night. Both are snuggled in one of their 3 hides available in each tank, the one right over the pad. I do not have lights up for them yet but plan on doing that. I think you saw more info about them and the near future plans for their habitats in my original post.

Hope I'm at least close to what I need. Thank you for the feeding guide. I have been researching a LOT on as much as I can. My biggest challenge will be feeding them. Actually, that is why I have not gotten a snake up till now. I'm TERRIFIED of mice and rats. Nightmare petrified. It's the only critter I feel like that about. BUT... I decided I will NOT let that stop me from fulfilling a dream. At my age, it's now or never.

Thank you for any and all advice you can give me and thank you for accepting me to this forum.
Maggie :snake::snake:

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First, DO NOT feed tonight. You absolutely need to get temps and humidity right BEFORE you feed. Things are definitely off and feeding can do more harm than good right now.

Secondly, temp guidelines for BP's: Hot side: 88-90F Ambient (middle of tank temps): 82-84F Cool side: 78-80F

Too cold is bad and equal poor digestion and illness. However, too hot can equal really sick really fast or even death.

105F can cause neurological damage and death quickly. Sounds like there are other options in the tank, but that is a big no-no.

You NEED a thermostat for all heating elements. Glad you have one on the way and you know this. I am saying that for others as well. Not to beat you over the head.

You should be checking temps with a temp gun. If you don't have one, you need one, and get one cheap on amazon or at home depot. You want to know what temps are on the ground, where the snake is.

Humidity should be 55-65% most of the time, with a bump when in shed.

If you are struggling with humidity it's probably because a) you don't have proper enclosures - glass tanks are not ideal with screen lids and b) if your tanks are too hot it's sucking humidity out.

We can answer questions on what enclosures you should ultimately get for when the little ones are bigger.

However, in the meantime.

Get a temp gun and get proper temp readings.

They need clean water to drink. If you want a small bowl with moss to keep humidity up, that's fine, but they also need a clean bowl of water to drink from.

Get temps down on the hot side and up on the cool side. If you need a ceramic heat emitter (CHE), etc. for each tank (low wattage probably), that might be a good idea, but again, that will need a thermostat as well, unless you got a thermostat that can run multiple devices.

Please ask any questions or points of clarification. I might sound preachy or stern, but I want to help. Young snakes can get sick quicker than adult snakes. At 4 months old they need to eat soon and they won't, or won't digest well, or worse, if your environment is what you say it is.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jellybeans

I have had many reptiles in the past but never a snake
So I've owned my snake for 2 months now

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I have had reptiles as well, Bearded Dragons, Geckos and a tortoise. I also currently have 4 dogs, 1 cat, a Congo African Grey parrot (I used to breed parrots and had a nice aviary) and my 10 year old has a 10 gallon fish tank. She now wants a snake of her own. LOL.

I know that ball pythons don't require UVB light however I would like to put a live plant in his tank so I'm going to get one eventually

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by dakski

However, in the meantime.

Get a temp gun and get proper temp readings.

They need clean water to drink. If you want a small bowl with moss to keep humidity up, that's fine, but they also need a clean bowl of water to drink from.

Get temps down on the hot side and up on the cool side. If you need a ceramic heat emitter (CHE), etc. for each tank (low wattage probably), that might be a good idea, but again, that will need a thermostat as well, unless you got a thermostat that can run multiple devices.

Please ask any questions or points of clarification. I might sound preachy or stern, but I want to help. Young snakes can get sick quicker than adult snakes. At 4 months old they need to eat soon and they won't, or won't digest well, or worse, if your environment is what you say it is.

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I have a heat gun and a new thermostat coming from Amazon as well. Both the new thermostat and the heat gun will be here Wednesday at the latest. I got the wrong thing at the Repticon. :(

They each have a bowl of water in besides their moisture box in each of their enclosures. This bowl of water is changed daily if not more. I'm working on both humidity and temp. Believe me. THANK YOU for the warning not to feed till the numbers are right. Whew! :O

Thank you for your advice. I'll take all I can get.

I see several pieces of advice on the temps, but what is best for the humidity? Thanks in advance.

Yea...humidity is the tougher one

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For a glass enclosure, optimally, you would insulate the back and sides with some foam insulation to retain heat (the heating elements in your enclosures are what are lowering the humidity), and cover the screen with plexiglass except for an 8" hole for a ceramic heat emitter (which you definitely need to boost the cool side temperatures). An orchid bark, cypress or coconut-based substrate along with these modifications should keep humidity where you need it.

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Originally Posted by ryknoll3

For a glass enclosure, optimally, you would insulate the back and sides with some foam insulation to retain heat (the heating elements in your enclosures are what are lowering the humidity), and cover the screen with plexiglass except for an 8" hole for a ceramic heat emitter (which you definitely need to boost the cool side temperatures). An orchid bark, cypress or coconut-based substrate along with these modifications should keep humidity where you need it.

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Thank you. I am putting foam board on the back and sides. I'll get a top for it too. I have the cypress substrate in there. I'll get this going ASAP.