Stress?

I bought my second bp a new enclosure than the one she was in when i first got her, and since the move, she seems less active, grumpy, and refuses food. The person I got her from fed her live, but when I tried that, she only killed the mouse and left it. I've only had her for about a month and handle her very rarely. Unlike my male bp, she hisses and curls up most of the time when i go to handle her... She's skinny as a toothpick and I have no idea when she ate last (she hasn't eaten since i've had her). I've had my male snake for just about 2 years now and have never encountered this before.... could she just be stressed from the move, and will it go away over time? What can i do to get her to eat? Parasites? Infections? What kind of problem could be causing this behavior?

Is everything in the new setup correct, temps? humidity? hides?

the temp on the warm side is 89* and on the cool side its 78*, she has two hides (small cardboard boxes) and the humidity is 60%.

Its a 40Gal Glass enclosure (36 x 18 x 13)

I have a 40oz water bowl on the warm side and a 20oz bowl on the cool side
in the middle there is a branch for climbing and a rock. I use repti-bark as the substrate.


before this i had a tub setup... 1 hide box, a water dish and newspaper substrate... she was only in it for a week until i got the new stuff, but she did seem more active at the time...

A 40 gallon is HUGE for a small Ball. It sounds like she might be stressed from the different environment and the larger tank.

If you can, move her back into a smaller tank. If not, try dividing the 40 gallon or fill it with crumpled newspaper. You might want to bump those temps as well... low 90s warm side to the low 80s cool side.

Don't handle the snake at all for at least a week, then place a small rat pup or mouse hopper in the cage with her at night. After she starts eating regularly, you can try to handle her for a few minutes a day for a couple days a week then work your way up from there.

Good luck! ;)

Ok.. I put her back in the tub.

she has a hide box, water dish, and a rock.

I'll update if anything new happens.

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Originally Posted by Fiziks

Ok.. I put her back in the tub.

she has a hide box, water dish, and a rock.

I'll update if anything new happens.

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Good call! Most people make the move from big glass tanks to smaller tub with great results.

Aquariums are for fish! ;)

Props to you for being so observant...you'd be amazed at how many people don't "listen" to what their snakes "tell" them. Hope she settles back in w/o a hitch.

K~

Well i just came downstairs to get on the computer and caught her poking her nose out of the hide.... when i went to get a better look she disappeared :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fiziks

Well i just came downstairs to get on the computer and caught her poking her nose out of the hide.... when i went to get a better look she disappeared :(

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Nothing wrong with that... that's actually a good sign. A lot of Balls will show their stress by moving around a lot in their cage. Give her time to settle in... she'll come around. ;)

Not sure how big your tub is, but this is my set-up for my juveniles:


http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...aEnclosure.jpg

It's a 41 quart tub, the hides are plastic bowls from Dollar Tree (come four for $1) with entrances soldered out. The boxy thing is another hide, but they've since outgrown that and have bigger bowls as hides now.

I'd recommend getting your temps up a wee bit on each side - 92-94 on the warm side, 82-84 on the cool side. Let her acclimate for another week, then try offering a live small mouse - feed her in her enclosure where she can hunt from the safety of her hides. Good luck!

I got her a small mouse and plopped it on the far side of the tub from her. The mouse checked out the hide over there and stupidly navigated his way to the other. She gobbled him right up =)

Thanks for the advice guys...

now only if i had a camera =(

everyone here pretty much summed it up on advice. just relax and let her get used to everything. shell be a little stressed from all the moving around, and might take a while to come around. i got my juvie a few days ago and shes pretty much the same as yours. she stays in the hide with her head poked out and if i come too close disappears. she comes out about 10pm and roams around, but if she sees me she freezes. i havent gotten her out for more than 3 mins total since i got her. just letting her acclimate.