New Owner - Friendly or Freaked Out

Hello all,

A week ago I got my first BP as a 21st Birthday present. Here is a picture of the setup three days ago. Since then, after reading this forum I have added a second hide, an accurite and fixed up the top of the viv to help with the humidity. So far my temps and humidity are in a perfect range (92-94 hot side, 78-82 cold side, humidity 53%). I also blackened the back of the half-log, to make it extremely dark.

http://img11.imagepile.net/img11/854..._enclosure.png

I am a little concerned as my BP has yet to use either one of his hides. He just likes to curl up loosely next to the water bowl (cold side) and sleep during the day. At night he actively moves around the viv and explores. Based on what I have read, most BP's spend most of the time in the hide. I had to handle him twice since I took him home, when I was making modifications to the viv. He seems very calm when handled and is more than willing to explore my arm and move through my fingers.

As added information that may be useful, I got him from a smaller local pet store. The pet store used a setup that looks almost identical to my own. At the store There was a larger aggressive BP who seemed to spend most of the day in the single hide they provided. My BP tended to sleep near the front of the glass. Consequently he was handled whenever a customer was interested in the snakes.

Could my BP just be very relaxed and friendly by nature or is something wrong? I am curious because I am going to try to feed tomorrow night for the first time.

A roaming active ball means stress 9 times out of ten.. Can you put a pic of the corected tank up for me to see.

It takes time for them to settle in, BPs are nocturnal so its normal that hes active at night. If he spends most of his time on the cool side, thats fine if thats where hes comfortable, it just may be to warm on the warm side. BPs are generally docile and shy snakes, so no I dont think their is anything wrong with your BP.

that's a nice looking snake!


what method are you using for heat?

I will try to take an updated picture tonight. To clarify, by active I mean he will climb on the fake plant, hang out for about an hour on the hot side, then move to a different spot and stop for a while. I didn't want to give you the impression that he is constantly moving. Thanks for the help.

For heat, I use a combo infrared lamp and Zoo-med UTH. Both on a thermostat. So far the combination seems to work pretty well.

are both heat sources on the same side of the tank?

The UTH is on the extreme right side. The heat lamp is a bit more mid-line but still toward the right side.

the reason I am asking about heat sources is I was trying to picture the temperature profile inside the tank.


With a thick layer of substrate, the snake may get more penetrating feel-good heat from the lamp than from the UTH. A thick hide like the wood one pictured may insulate against the lamp. Do you have a way of measuring the temps inside the hides? It would be worth checking to see if it's too cold inside them.
The fact that your snake is sleeping is encouraging, since roaming would be a sign of stress for sure. He might be sleeping out in the open because the lamp feels good compared to the temp inside the hide.

that's my hairbrained theory anyway :)

First :welcome:

Well your BP is new and definietly need so time to adjust, however I would suggest to switch the hides and provide two (I only see one) tight hides that your BP can snug in. Log hides are not the best, the ideal hides should have all the sides touching your BP's body.

You can make them out of plastic bowls or you can purchase something looking like this http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p.../CUBBYHOLE.jpg

Also how do you measure your temps? What type of thermometer, just curious since I don't see it in the pic?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by minotaur

Hello all, I am a little concerned as my BP has yet to use either one of his hides. He just likes to curl up loosely next to the water bowl (cold side) and sleep during the day. At night he actively moves around the viv and explores. Based on what I have read, most BP's spend most of the time in the hide. I had to handle him twice since I took him home, when I was making modifications to the viv. He seems very calm when handled and is more than willing to explore my arm and move through my fingers.

---

Fishmoney,

It is a good theory. I have a temp probe right above where he sleeps and it is 80 degrees. He really couldnt get any farther away from the lamp during the day. The log itself tends to build up heat inside but it is never above 94-95. When he wakes up a night, the first thing he does is sit as close as possible to the heat lamp for a bit, before roaming. He just never goes into his hides.

Sorry, that pic in the first post was from day one, to show my family my new snake. Since then I have made several modifications after reading some of the suggestions on this forum. I will have a new picture when my girlfriend gets home from work and I can use her camera. The second hide looks a lot like what you have described, yet my BP still likes to lay next to the hide instead of inside it.

it could be that he hasn't decided it's safe yet :)
did he have a hide at the store you bought him from? maybe he doesn't know yet how awesome a hide is :D

what I do when trying to understand my snake's behavior is think about what his experience is and what his priorities are.

1) temperature (where the snake actually is, not just anywhere)
2) security (they like tight places and must establish over time that it's safe)
3) humidity
4) smells!
5) light levels
6) noise/vibration
etc...

There was a single hide in the enclosure at the store, but it was guarded and claimed by a REALLY aggressive BP. There is actually a small scab on my BP near the head, quite possibly from a bite by the mean BP at the store. Maybe he thinks hides are dangerous?

that's a good thought!


I would say check your temps & humitidy, and give him time to figure out that those hides are unoccupied and safe :)

The first week my BP was home, he slept next to his waterbowl, wedged between it and the tub. Then he discovered that he could crawl underneath the KRAFT paper (what I use for Substrate), and he used that exclusively for another week. When I changed the paper out, I trimmed the edges, so it layed completely flat to the bottom of the tub--and THEN he decided to use his hides. The last paper-change, I left the ends long again and lo! He's hiding under the paper again :)

I think he now knows that (when he can't get under the paper), that his hides are a good place to be. But it did take him a week to hide anywhere else but next to his water bowl.

Just my experience so far!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by fishmommy

the reason I am asking about heat sources is I was trying to picture the temperature profile inside the tank.


With a thick layer of substrate, the snake may get more penetrating feel-good heat from the lamp than from the UTH. A thick hide like the wood one pictured may insulate against the lamp. Do you have a way of measuring the temps inside the hides? It would be worth checking to see if it's too cold inside them.
The fact that your snake is sleeping is encouraging, since roaming would be a sign of stress for sure. He might be sleeping out in the open because the lamp feels good compared to the temp inside the hide.

that's my hairbrained theory anyway :)

---

Good thinking!

Welcome to the forum by the way.. I too think that if you thinned your substrate out a bit, it would improve his hidey-ness.. that, or maybe buy a round-inside hide (like the plastic "igloos" sold for rats/hamsters; I use those..) Maybe a little more secure and form-fitting?

I just got back from class. But where is my BP!? Then I see his head poke out of the cool hide. He has been in there ever since. I guess he just needed a week to get adjusted. Thanks for all the help! I hope feeding goes well tomorrow night.

he heard us talking about him :D

good luck and welcome to the board!

In case anyone is still interested, even though the problem has been solved. Here is my setup, after misting. To head off any comments. I know the two hides arent identical. I am working on it. The black tupperware works way better than the half-log. Yes, the enclosure is sitting very securely on top of tin foil feet, it is to allow ventilation of the UTH so it doesnt burn the desk. My BP is safely in his black hide.

http://img11.imagepile.net/img11/60187img_0123.png
http://img11.imagepile.net/img11/5221img_0127.png

Do you have the Accurite probe on the cool side? What is that wire running down the cool side?

Yes, that is the accurite probe, it is running down the cool side and into the cool hide. My temps are always on the cool side, so I wanted to make sure the coldest spot is still warm enough.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by minotaur

Yes, that is the accurite probe, it is running down the cool side and into the cool hide. My temps are always on the cool side, so I wanted to make sure the coldest spot is still warm enough.

---

I would suggest bringing your AcuRite down to ground level. You are not getting an accurate read of the warm side ground level temps with it so close to the heat lamp. You want to measure the temps as closely as possible inside the warm side hide, so you really need to be measuring it as close to the ground as possible. Velcro works great to attach it to the side of your enclosure.

If your snake prefers the tupperware hide, you may also want to replace that 1/2 log hide with an identical hide on the warm side, as they WILL choose security and a favorite hide over properly thermo-regulating. It makes sense that he'd prefer that one, as it's darker and offers more security.