Movement..

I just got my BP last Sunday. throughout the week i made some changes in his tank, moving things around, and taking a half log out that way it's not so cluttered. So now i have 2 tupperware bowls on both sides with wood leaning over top of them for some extra added privacy, and a water bowl. the temps are about 80-85 on the warm end and 72-79 on the cool end. i have cardboard around the side of the tank except for the front just so he feels secure. the pet store said he was scheduled to eat last wed. and he just turned his nose up to it. i tried again the next 2 days with the same result. i guess he just needs to get use to the new environment still? also i noticed he stays in the hide on the cool side all the time. i didn't know if they moved around a lot or just stayed in one spot for days at a time. i was thinking that maybe since it's a somewhat clear tupperware bowl that he can't see it from the cool end or something..i showed it too him but i'm trying to not touch him too much so he will get use to his environment and maybe be able to eat in a couple days. BTW i am using a heat lamp on the warm end and at night i turn on the red bulb light. it keeps the temps pretty stable..just didn't know if his behavior was normal.. thanks!!

Well pet stores always say that they eat so they can sell...you should of witness him eat before buying thats what i did...and the cool side shouldnt go any lower than 75*...my ball python also stayed in the cool side and i got to worried that he was going to get a respiratory infection so i took the hide off and only have the hot side one....he doesnt seem to mind and now stays in the hide the whole day...til the night when he is moving around exploring...try getting a UTH though...and what are you checking ur temps with??

i have a thermometer that sticks on the side of the tank. one on the cool side right above the bedding and same for the other side. they also measure humidity. also where on the internet is the the cheapest place to get a UTH?

the temps are to cold, you should have the cool side at 81-84 and the warm at 90-93

ok, i was going to just order a UTH on the internet, but i think i am going to go out and get one tomorrow.

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Originally Posted by sn@ke247

i have a thermometer that sticks on the side of the tank. one on the cool side right above the bedding and same for the other side. they also measure humidity. also where on the internet is the the cheapest place to get a UTH?

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Those thermometers only give you the temps outside the hide...you need a digital thermometer that has a probe with it therefore you can read the temps in the hide...the one with humidity is fine...I gave you 2 sites one for the UTH and the other one for the digital thermometer

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en...num=1&ct=title

http://www.paradisepetsupply.com/ser...mometer/Detail

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Originally Posted by sn@ke247

ok, i was going to just order a UTH on the internet, but i think i am going to go out and get one tomorrow.

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Or you can find these 2 things at Petco or petsmart...

ok, i'm going to get on that first thing tomorrow! thanks a bunch!:gj:

ok, so i went out and got a UTH, and a thermometer with a probe and put it in his hide. he was in there and it read 96 degrees in his hide, i went to check on it again and noticed he got out and was laying between the glass and the side of his hide. so i dimmed the heat lamp to low and dropped the temp to about 94. then i he got into the hide on the cool side and the temp over there was about 77. can't seem to get that side much warmer than that. but when i turned on the nighttime bulb the temps dropped to 90.5 so the temps seem to be a little bit better than they were. as for the eating, i'm going to try this week to feed him again and if he doesn't want it i'm going to try for some live mice. just thought i'd give an update on how things were going! thanks for the help!!:)

Are you regulating the UTH with a thermostat or dimmer? It is imperative that you regulate all of your heat sources.

Where exactly are you taking the temps at in the tank and what kind of thermometer are you using? 96 is pretty high.

If you have a light and a UTH, you should use the light to regulate the cool side and the UTH to regulate the hot side. Don't just put all the heat in one place. It will get too hot.

It's also not a good thing to constantly badger your snake to eat. Trying once a week is fine unless your pet is severely malnourished. If that's the case then force feeding may be an option, but I would only let a vet do that so as not to injure your snake.
By trying day after day to feed your snake, you are causing him even more stress, which in turn will prevent him from eating for an even longer period of time. It turns into an endless, viscious cycle. Once a week trying to feed is best. That way if he doesn't feed he has a week to work ono adjusting himself to his surroundings and getting himself back on a decent feeding schedule.

i don't have a regulator on th UTH, just on the light and i'm using a dimmer. i'll try to plug the UTH into the dimmer also and see if i can regulate it that way instead of buying another reohstat. i have a digital thermometer with a probe that is taped on the inside of his hide that gave me the 96 degree reading. then i have one that sticks to the glass on the side of the tank outside the hide and 2 on the cool end, one in the back and one in the front. When i get home i'm going to put the light on the cool end and see how well the UTH can heat the warm end and try to aim for about 90.

Well, you and I are pretty much in the same boat. I got my BP about 10 days ago, and went through what you are going through, with soem minor differences in temps. From the advice on this board, I ditched the lamps altogether since the ambient temp in the room I have him in is about 78-80 degrees. I use an UTH on the warm side connected to a rheostat. I had the issue of the warm side shooting up to 96-100 degrees even with the rheostat turned all the way down. Once I elevated the tank about 3 inches off of the desk, and got some airflow under it, I am able to regulate the temps perfectly (warm side between 90.5 and 92). I monitor it with 3 digital probe temps (1 under his hide on the cool side, 1 under his hide on the warm side, and 1 between the tank and the substrate over the UTH).

My BP stayed on his cool side for the first 3-4 days I had him. Now that I have the temps just right, I have noticed him going back and forth between the cool and warm sides... but only at night.

I hope this helps.