Found a wound (while taking these)

[Smulkin]

Gracias

[Smulkin]

I was looking for the listed CB babies, but the woman on the phone siad all they had left were yearlings. Based on scaled pics of them at various ages it definitely looked too small to be anywhere near a year old. She arrived about 50 degrees from poor packing and settling so initially my fears were that she might develop an RI. I am sure that in itself was stressful enough. No she hasn't acclimated yet

We covered the fromt of her tank (in addition to the other 3 sides already being masked) to increase her feeling of security since I knew that'd be a bit freaky for her on top of everything else. She's not in a very high stimuli environment and pretty much the only time she is disturbed was to change the water moss and clean. At first that was an intrusion she didnt appreciate. I've only had her out twice now so I could get to everything - both times for cleaning and just snapped pics while in the process. We're not playing with her or rushing her along, but seeing that umbilicus (thanks for the confirmation on that) gave me good reason for concern and I am glad I saw it when I did instead of maybe another week or more down the road.

Basking spot and gradient nixed - thanks for that heads up.

When you use the method you described how often do you go in to change water? Do you use anything other than the small water bowl for humidity? Also, what level of humidity should I strive for?

On the fuzzy/crawler thanks again - someone had suggested I use quail (which we're fresh out of). The first feed atempt actually was a crawler, which she struck at, though defensively and let it huddle in the far corner. I'll keep this updated.

[Kara]

How big is the tank? Having her in a large, cavernous enclosure is NOT going to help the situation one iota. Baby snakes, and especially bloods, are extremely sensitive to being in large enclosures. For perspective, I even consider a 10-gallon too "large" for baby bloods. When a snake is as small as your blood, its constant mindset is that everything is out to eat it (and for good reason!). This is why using something like a tight little shoebox makes such a big difference - the snake feels more secure, can wedge itself into a corner under a hide & not feel like anything can attack it from above. Even covering the sides of the tank is not enough - the height of most tanks is simply too much for these little guys to feel secure in. Period.

Depending on the size of your tank, you can put the shoebox in it, or put it in a separate location completely, but getting the snake out of the tank is probably very important in helping it acclimate. Considering you've now had her for awhile with no luck in feeding, this is something that needs immediate attention for the well being of your snake.

Humidity is not a crucial factor right now with regards to your snake's acclimation, and with bloods, too much humidity is more detrimental than too little, especially with delicate babies. With the method I've described, the water dish is removed, bleached, rinsed & refilled once a week. Since the snake is in a much smaller setup with this enclosure, the small water dish does a fine job of creating the right humidity level for the time being. Get humidity out of your mind for the moment. Put this aspect down pretty much altogether and revisit it when the snake is comfortable & feeding steadily.

Don't worry about quail right now. Your snake shouldn't have a problem turning on to rodents when she's settled. Right now the #1 priority is getting her into an enclosure she feels comfortable in. Trust me on the shoebox setup. Get her going in that & keep her in it until she outgrows it. And I mean REALLY outgrows it. Once she's rocking for you & pounding rodents on a regular basis (several months...not weeks!) and growing well, it will be time to move her up to a different cage.

K

[CTReptileRescue]

I am in support of K's posts on this one smulkin.
Not a biggie, and a somewhat easy fix.
So at least it's not anything worse
Rusty

Ditto what Kara said. Baby Bloods are much like baby Balls in that they stress easily and this can lead to going off feed. nce she is acclimated, you should have no problem getting her to eat. Good luck!

[Smulkin]

Won't swapping her environment after 3 weeks stress her and pretty much get back to square one in terms of the acclimation? Clearly the reduction of her initial defensive behavior is a good sign.

Thanks all for the advice.

No, because she obviously hasn't acclimated fully yet anyways because she isn't eating yet. If theres anyone who knows what they're talking about when it comes to Bloods, its Kara.

[Smulkin]

okie dokie.