He jumps I jump.

So I just got my first BP on Monday. I got his house and everything setup on Sunday so it had a day to prepare for his arrival. Anyways before I purchased him I had the pet store employee take him out and let me inspect him. He looked great not mites or ticks or anything that I could notice would be wrong.
Anyway, I haven't picked him up or anything since so I could let him get used to his new house but when I change the water or if hes out and about I'll touch his tail end a bit and he "jumps" really fast and then scurries away to his hide. I'm a little worried that he's going to be very timid and defensive the rest of the time I have him.
Could it be just because he isn't quite adjusted to the new house or am I doing something wrong?

A little info about his house:
-20g tank
-Aspen bedding
-45watt Red heat light
-I have a sticky UTH but I forgot to put it on before I got him and I need to take him out to do it buuuut like I said he won't really let me near him. And the temperature is suffering because of it :(
-Cold and (make shift till I get a chance to go to Pet-smart) hot side hides
-Nice little piece of drift wood for climbing
-Lastly a water dish

You havent had him that long so i am sure he will settle down a bit. Also, touching their tail end is not very relaxing to them at all. When your snake settles in and has a first meal just try a quick handling session (2-3 days after feeding). Once you get him/her on a little routine you will most likely see a big change.

Just slip the UTH underneath the tank. There's really no need to attach it, and it shouldn't be inside.

Steve

If you were crawling around, and something grabbed your tail, you wouldn't run your ass off to find cover?



Normal response. Your lucky hes even coming out at all, if every time hes out you touch his tail, your gonna condition him to thinking if he comes out hes gonna be attacked again, I'd give him a few days of no contact to let hi msettle in some more.

Your BP is very young, and has to settle to his new environment which is stressful to him and on the top of that he sees you as a big predator, so I am sure you can understand his reaction. Just give him time.

In the meantime a fee tips

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Cold and (make shift till I get a chance to go to Pet-smart) hot side hides

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If you go to petsmart do not fall for the log hides they make poor hides for BP go for something like this http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...UBBYHOLE_T.jpg

Hides can also be made out of plastic flower pot saucers, or plastic bowls, the most important is that they are identical, dark, tight (all sides touching your BP's body)

If you don't already have one make sure you have the proper thermometer/hygrometer like this one http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...Acu-Rite_T.jpg found at walmart (Dial and stick from the pet store do not work)

Put the heat mat soon as possible and remember it must be plugged to a thermostat to maintain proper temps and avoid overheating.

The faster you provide optimal husbandry the faster your BP will be on tract.

Right now and until you BP eat his first meal for you leave him alone, no touching not handling.

Great, thanks a lot guys. I'll be picking up a good thermometer and thermostat on Sunday(my only day off). Along with another hide. And do I really need 2 UTH? I had seen anything about that till I read it on here.
Again, thank you!

No, 2 UTH is not needed, just have one on the warm side and one on the cool side so he can choose what side he wants to be on.

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And do I really need 2 UTH?

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Well it depends most people only use one which provide the temp of 90-94 on the warm side however if you have difficulties providing temps of 80-84 on the cool side, due to low ambient temps you might have to supply your BP with a second heat source and second thermostat for the cool side.

Usually during the summer this is not an issue however it might be during the winter.

also havent any of you lot noticed that BP's seem to always flinch quickly if there tail is tapped/touhced. even if its out and u stroke along the body when you fingers reach the tail it always flinches.... just my :2cent:

also with putting the UTH under the tank, sometimes it doesent work. mines in the tank, but under substrate, because when i tried it out side tank even of full wack it doesent put any heat in... this could be due to the glass and the heat resistant rubber that i just noticed on the bottem of my tank... ok nvm im thick.

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Originally Posted by liam

also havent any of you lot noticed that BP's seem to always flinch quickly if there tail is tapped/touhced. even if its out and u stroke along the body when you fingers reach the tail it always flinches.... just my :2cent:

also with putting the UTH under the tank, sometimes it doesent work. mines in the tank, but under substrate, because when i tried it out side tank even of full wack it doesent put any heat in... this could be due to the glass and the heat resistant rubber that i just noticed on the bottem of my tank... ok nvm im thick.

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Putting the uth in the enclosure isnt the best thing here. If your snake pee's on it... it can be shocked or a fire could start.

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mines in the tank, but under substrate

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Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me, remember liquid (urine or water from the water dish) and electricity is not really a good mix.

I would highly recommend you to change that and place the UTH outside the enclosure

Also if you cannot provide proper temps in your enclosure you might want to change the setup of your thermostat, or have a thinner layer or substrate or get an appropriated enclosure that allows you to provide proper temps if the rest does not work.

hehe its got some sort of protected cover thing, so it cant create a fire or elexctric shocking. mate =) i check these things.

I also hear that if putting the UTH in the tank doesn't provide the proper heat, just sticking the whole enclosure in the oven usually will get the temps up to where they need to be....http://otug.net/forums/Smileys/default/slap.gif

so you basically have a hotplate in your snakes tank....

i really hope you have a thermostat on it, cause a 110˚ hotplate inside the tank is probably not the greatest idea.

So I know I should take McGregor out for feeding but should I let him be in there for the first time or two, or take him out?

The pet store I got him from took him out and gave him live. I'd like to switch him to f/t

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Originally Posted by McGregor

So I know I should take McGregor out for feeding but should I let him be in there for the first time or two, or take him out?

The pet store I got him from took him out and gave him live. I'd like to switch him to f/t

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Before trying to switch him I would recommend you to have at least 3 to 4 successful feeding.

Remember your BP has to adjust to a new environment and your priority should be for him to eat on a regular basis first and than attempt to switch.

Here is what I do with any new additions

No handling until 1 successful meal, after that I only handle them 2 a week at the most.

Once they have 3 to 4 successful consecutive feeding I try to switch them at that point I stop to handle them until they switch. The one that have switched usually did within 4 weeks at the most but it can take longer and also, keep in mind that not all BP will switch to F/T and you should be prepared to feed whatever works.

You can feed your BP in it's enclosure it is perfectly fine I feed all of mine in their enclosure and have no problem.

He's actually more likely to eat in the place he feels safest and most secure and that is his home enclosure. We feed 20 out of 21 snakes that we have in their homes (only the milksnake is fed in a seperate container) and they all do just fine that way. As Deb said, it's not always a good idea to switch feeding methods on a new snake. Better to get a good 4 or 5 weeks of solid feeding going on and then try for the switch. It often doesn't work the first time though, so be patient. Make sure and give your new snake lots of time to settle in with no handling and no feeding attempts the first week. Just quiet time so the snake can get used to it's new living arrangement.

I thought it was frouned upon to feed em in the same tank as they might mistake your had for food...? :confused: And when you say no food for the first week, I got him last Monday and they fed him a few hours before I picked him up. Should I wait till next monday to feed or tomorrow?

(Edit) I just got 2 new thermos. One's a thermo/hygro. I was ondering what one should go where. I was thinking the combo one on the warm side.

Hi,


The confusing hands with food thing is mainly myth combined with SFE's (Stupid Feeding Errors).

If you want to go ahead and try to feed him that's up to you just make sure you have plans in place if he doesn't eat ( mainly important if you feed live admitedly but as that's what he was eating before...). This means being able to care for the feeder animal properly or returning it to the store etc.

The thermometer question is a little tricky to answer without knowing exactly what you purchased.

If the thermom/hydro has a probe for external use as well ( like the accurites we normally recomend) then I would put the base unit that reads temps/humidity at the cool end and put the probe at the warm end.


dr del

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Originally Posted by McGregor

So I just got my first BP on Monday. I got his house and everything setup on Sunday so it had a day to prepare for his arrival. Anyways before I purchased him I had the pet store employee take him out and let me inspect him. He looked great not mites or ticks or anything that I could notice would be wrong.
Anyway, I haven't picked him up or anything since so I could let him get used to his new house but when I change the water or if hes out and about I'll touch his tail end a bit and he "jumps" really fast and then scurries away to his hide. I'm a little worried that he's going to be very timid and defensive the rest of the time I have him.
Could it be just because he isn't quite adjusted to the new house or am I doing something wrong?

A little info about his house:
-20g tank
-Aspen bedding
-45watt Red heat light
-I have a sticky UTH but I forgot to put it on before I got him and I need to take him out to do it buuuut like I said he won't really let me near him. And the temperature is suffering because of it :(
-Cold and (make shift till I get a chance to go to Pet-smart) hot side hides
-Nice little piece of drift wood for climbing
-Lastly a water dish

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I would definately attach the UTH to the bottom of the cage.

Thanks Dr. Del! That's how I have it set-up anyways, Looks like I guess right haha. Like I said, they fed him live at the pet store I got him from so I'm just gonna keep up with that for 4 feedings or so then I'll try to switch to f/t.

And the pad is actaully doing pretty good just how it is. The temperature is readin at 94f. on the warm side and 83 on the cool. I love having nice digital thermos.

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Originally Posted by McGregor

And the pad is actaully doing pretty good just how it is.

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That one the inside or outside of the enclosure?

lol No mine's on the outside. I'm not about to risk a fire or a burn!

Soooooo, yesterday was feeding day but I didn't get a chance to get a little mouse so I got one earlier today. I took everything out of McGregors house except one hide. It's been about 6 hours and that little bastard (he bit me) of a mouse is still alive. Is it safe to day he's not gonna eat this week or should I leave the mouse in, try brown bag?

Thanks for all the help thus far, btw!

Hi,


Yeah generally if he hasn't tried to eat in the first half hour he isn't hungry.

But.

What size of mouse are we talking about here if it bit you? the only type I would dream of leaving alive in a bag with my snake would be a pinky to small fuzzy. And even then I would be more inclined to put the mouse in a tub/flowerpot with a little bedding in such a way that the mouse could not escape but the snake could get in if it chose to. Ive only ever put f/t mice in a bag really.

Next time I wouldn't take all the furniture out of his cage as that creates the same type of stress as moving to another tank. Did you prescent the room to let him know dinner was on the way?

I would go ahead and take the mouse out , put everything back in the tank, and put the mouse into the cage you got to keep him in for these situations.


dr del

If it's a pre-weaned baby mouse, then it would be ok to leave in there. (Or pre-killed) But if it's a mouse that can move and eat and drink on its own, I would never leave it in with the snake for more than 15-20 minutes at the very most. If the snake is going to eat, it will eat within that time. If not, it can wait another week.


And certainly don't try the brown-bag trick with anything that can fight back.

Just wait a week and try again. Only next time, try not messing with anything in the snake's home. Taking out his "furniture" may have made him feel weird or insecure and lose his appetite.

Well so much for the first feeding at home then. The mouse is a full grown mouse. That's what he ate before he came home with me so I figured it would be fine.

Problem is I don't have cage for the mouse. It was only $1.50 so I'll just let it go outside for one of the stray cats to eat. At least something will get a meal tonight.

I think next time I'll try a pinky. Same price and they are a little smaller... Sound good?

Oh and I took all the "furniture" out because the mouse was climbing to the top of the tree and hiding our forever and I didn't think my snake could get him up there as easy as he could if it was on "ground level"

One other thing, I noticed when they get close the mouse will start to smack his tail against the side of the tank. Is he trying to scare my snake into thinking it's something big and scary or is it just retarded? haha

Hey,


Don't let the mouse go outside - its not fair on the mouse,your neighbours or anyone else.

If you feed live it's your duty to prepare for missed feedings by having a small critter keeper or something with a water bottle and a little bag of food. It's not going to break the bank to have something like that lying around is it.:)

I would recomend a fuzzy (or crawler) for your next attempt - it can't climb but is a little closer to being meal sized. It also can't bite like the adult.:)


dr del