!!!Need help and advice!!!

[Homegrownscales]

Gale- that's funny. I have a few the exact same way.
Op- like youre seeing. All are different. Everyone even snakes like something different. Give him a set schedule and stick to it. He will eat for you soon and this will all be behind you.


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[dave g]

gold, i am not an expert with bps and am new to the site but i see you are from michigan and i am betting you got your bp from the store in livonia. in my search of my second ball we made the trip to that place. lets just say i walked in and left within 5 minutes and i had to drive an hour plus. i talked to the lady and looked at the pile of a dozen baby balls all being kept in the same tank. the first thing out of her mouth was "they just ate yesterday and are on sale today" then i said ok well i am just looking right now and left. i would not think of that place as much better than petsmart. they did have a nice arachnid selection though. i suggest if you want to check out a pet store in michigan go check out pruess pets in lansing. good place with employees who know a little bit about and actually care for what they are selling.

good luck, dave

[gold217]

How many times have you held your snakes since you've had it?

2 times

[CCfive]

It's really early to just give up. With the correct research you should have learned That YES! They can be wonky eaters. It's important that I say that babies especially need more security. Your temps are also about 10.f too cold. That is a reason your snake doesn't want to eat. Each snake has their own personality likes and dislikes. Some are easier than others. The first thing that gives you one strike is that this little baby came from a Petstore. Petstores are Notorious for bad husbandry and highly stressed animals. That right there will mean that you will have more of an issue acclimating that baby. As others have said Give him time. I also think you are stressing him out even more by trying all these different things to make him eat. I promise he's not going to starve to death. Give a minimum of 5 days inbetween refusals, no handling, just bare maintenance.
Giving the snake back to the Petstore and getting a different one is also not going to help your situation. The process will start all over again. Even though I don't think you need a vet at this point in time. Vets are a necessary evil with pets. Theyre something that you should plan for at all times. If a vet really isn't an option and illness was really the only option, then perhaps a pet wasn't a good idea. Dont take that the worng way though. But in any case I don't think your snake is sick. I think the poor baby is stressed beyond a doubt. And your husbandry Is incorrect. Fix these things wait a week or two and offer a meal. You also should invest is a scale. They are a meager 10$ and will save you a hell of alot of worry and issues with fasts in the future. Scale and a notebook. Write down all weights, feeds, sheds, defecation. Then when you go through a fast in the future you can look at that complete husbandry and know what is normal and not. And believe me you WILL go through another fast in the future.

Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

Sorry to interupt.. where do you get scales for $10 I can't find one for less than $25

[gold217]

gold, i am not an expert with bps and am new to the site but i see you are from michigan and i am betting you got your bp from the store in livonia. in my search of my second ball we made the trip to that place. lets just say i walked in and left within 5 minutes and i had to drive an hour plus. i talked to the lady and looked at the pile of a dozen baby balls all being kept in the same tank. the first thing out of her mouth was "they just ate yesterday and are on sale today" then i said ok well i am just looking right now and left. i would not think of that place as much better than petsmart. they did have a nice arachnid selection though. i suggest if you want to check out a pet store in michigan go check out pruess pets in lansing. good place with employees who know a little bit about and actually care for what they are selling.

good luck, dave

Thanks dave! Yeah, I did get my bp from stingers exotics in livonia, the guy said they eat every wednesday....well I mean they've been in buissiness for 9 years you'd think those morons would know what they're doing i mean that old lady told me 86 is good for a hot side which its obviously not -_-...just curious what didn't you like about the store? thanks

-Jared

[dave g]

i just didnt like it much. i dont like seeing baby snakes piled on top of each other. i feel that should not be common practice even if it is more economical for the biz. when you go to pruess's in lansing the snakes all can get hidden away from the human traffic if they want to. there used to be a shop in flint who was mainly a fish place but he had reptiles that he kept in the back corner of the store where they were secure feeling and in very basic setups and kept one per cage. they seemed to always be very heathly and thriving. i would like it if they claim to be a specialty store they would carry some better thermostats and such. the lady i talked might love reptiles and such but just seemed like she really wanted to sell stuff and was sort of pushy. i have been to other places where i just talked to the people and had good conversation even if i was just buying feeders.

later, dave

[kitedemon]

Temp on hot side: 87 (digital them.)
Cool side: 80 (analog reads 90 but you subtract 10 degrees)

TOOO HOTTT NO NO do NOT take ten degrees off if it says 90 assume it is DO NOT GUESS!!!!! Your snake cannot digest food correctly if too hot or to cold !!!

Two hides
Fresh water
Heat lamp off unless needed
Have not handled it

http://www.flickr.com/photos/6489240...in/photostream

WHOA!!!!! did I miss something here!

Your temps are 90ºF on an analogue thermometer on the side of the tank That is TOO HOT WAY TOO HOT! what is the temp on the floor under the hides? The digital one for the hot spot is a little off but 87 to 90 is too much! WHY are you subtracting 10ºF from the analogue thermometer they often are incorrect but often not much more that the typical digital ones!

[Homegrownscales]

Sorry to interupt.. where do you get scales for $10 I can't find one for less than $25

eBay, amazon, I got mine a kitchen scale at my local drug store for 10$. Works like a charm weighs in grams, oz,lbs and goes up to five lbs. But you do have to do some looking around. Try searching kitchen scales.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

[tikigator]

To the OP....WHAT exactly are you offering your new BP as food? Everyone is correct in inquiring about your husbandry...but your issue may be the food itself.

Are you offering live or f/t? If you are offering live, what size? If you are offeringt f/t how are you offering it? F/t is not an easy meall to feed if you don't know what you're doing....my friend just got a BP and called me and said it wouldn't eat. I asked what she did to prepare to meal and she said "I thawed it out on the counter and then left it in the tank".........so I told her she had to heat it in HOT water, or with a blow dryer, get the temp upto 90-100 degrees....get a set of big tongs, and dangle the mouse, and make it look alive....her snake took it in 2 seconds.

Let us know what exactly you are offering as food and how you are offering it!

[Kyleena]

You can try feeding at night. If you're feeding f/t try to make sure the prey is warm by letting it sit in a container of warm water for a bit. For me, the first few feedings with my BP she wouldn't strike at the prey I just left it in the enclosure and she eventually ate it. Covering the enclosure with a blanket or towel may help to so its quiet and dark making your bp feel more secure. Good luck!!