Got my First BP

[RubberDuckey273]

well, technically it's my bf's, because he wanted his first pet to be a snake, but i'm going to be doing a lot of the feeding and care until he gets the hang of it. i'm not new to reptiles, i have 7 crested geckos, 3 leopard geckos and a pair of pictus geckos, and i was caring for a young corn snake for a couple months until i handed it off to my cousin. i've also had anoles, a chinese water dragon, and a couple house geckos.

now the lovely new male bp we picked up from the show in san diego this last weekend is getting used to his new 10gallon long tank. i have a piece of repti carpet layed down in the bottom, covered over with coconut bark/ reptile bark. i'd prefer to use the aspen shavings, but unfortunately my bf's house is incredibly dry. we've got two coconut hides on each side of the tank that are just big enough for him to squeeze into, a couple fake plants and a semi-rough branch for shedding. the majority of the cage is roughly 80 degrees, and the area above the heat mat maintains a nice 90 degrees on the surface and 93 in the soil.

from what i've read it seems like i got everything. i'm having the hardest time leaving him alone, but i think i can manage. i bought a little rat pup to offer him tonight, which for now is sitting in a container near his cage so hopefully he's getting hungry. he hasn't eaten since monday of last week, but i don't want to bother him right away so i might give him another night before i offer the rat.

anyway, this is my first post on this forum. my name is kelsey, and the new snake's name is Jeffrey (anyone see get him to the greek?). i'll get some pictures of him in about a week, after he's settled in.

[Vypyrz]

Hello Kelsey, and to BP.net...

Congratulations on your first BP. I usually suggest waiting 5-7 days before offering food, to allow time to acclimatize to their new surroundings, but there is nothing wrong with offering prey sooner. Sometimes they will take it. Good luck and enjoy your new little friend...

[Oxylepy]

Aww. The hardest part, for me, is the first 3 weeks, where I give it water and pretend it doesnt exist, then feed it on the second week, then the following week offering food, then finally, if it took both, getting to handle it.

I learned that the 2 weeks then offering works best, but if you can get that snake to eat then you probably already have a strong feeder on your hands, which is amazing. Your temps are perfect, god knows mine werent, and your hides are the right size, so it seems like you have everything in order. Pretty soon, though, you'll probably nix the fake plant, because it will get peed on and that white stuff is a pain to get out. And you may find him under the reptimat and end up nixing that too. The coconut hides will probably end up being what he rubs his shed off on, so the branch may prove unused and if he can climb on it, he will, and he'll try to pop the top off his tank from it and flop to the ground off it.

Did you get a thermostat or are you getting your temps just with a probe? Because everyone will suggest the thermostat.

As for the dryness: Aluminum foil is your best friend, cover half/ 3/4ths of the top with it and it should keep the humidity up for you, meaning you can throw aspen in. And if your using a lamp you may end up dropping it since they usually kill your humidity and with a nocturnal snake they often arent necessary.

Not trying to point out flaws, just throwing out advice from my own experience, it took me a year to figure all that out and I'm still learning new things. I wish you luck and may he prove to be a strong eater, a healthy shedder, and a wonderful pet.