Barl has some Q's

[JamminJonah]

First off Welcome to Barl!! 2nd here are his questions -

First off thank you all for this site ...majorly informative.. ive not as yet looked to see the founder of BP.net but .. wow nice work

My family is now the proud owner of a beautiful BP... Its been quite some years since my last herp.. my ex asked me to be rid of it when we hooked up.. broke me heart .. looking back on it ..i gave up the wrong love.. anyway

After laughing at all the missinformation i recived from the pet store operator i returned home with a beautiful new friend .. but i have concerns although it apears to be of exceptional health it is "overly tame and extremly calm. " could it be that domesticated as not to show its natural instincts.. dont get me wrong its reacting to sudden movement and noise .. but seams unconcered ... i find this strange ... could this be a illness?? i realy expected to see some adjustment time ..


and after reading this thread i realy would like to know if there is some others behaveing like this... not shy ....btw its still a babe only bout 13 inches

thanks agin for a wonderful site our new friends life will benifit from all your information

[JamminJonah]

The Godfather is founder of our beloved Bp.net

well a pet store snake you are going to want to take to the vet for sure! Wait until it poops and take the snake with the fecal sample (try to make it a fresh one if possible) into a herp vet (Marla has a link for it somewhere, I can't seem to find mine). The vet will run a check to see if there are any internal parasites or external mites or ticks. Also the vet should probe it to find out the definite sex.

It is generally accepted that snakes can't hear (there is currently debate on that though) his activity could be a sign of stress as well.. I reccomend leaving him alone in his set up for four days minimum without handling... generally you want to wait until the snake has eaten at least twice before handling (outside of necessary handling). Your set-up should include

1 under tank heat pad - this helps keep humidity in, lights dry out the air. Human heat pads work great and are cheaper just be sure they aren't auto shut-off

1 digital thermo/ hygro - this will measure the temperature accurately, most of those stick on dials are WAY off you can get one for about 15 bucks at walmart (be sure it has a probe)

2 hides - one on the warm side (around 90 but up to 95 deg.) and one on the cool side (around 80 - 85 deg.) BP's are very shy snakes generally so hides are needed to make them feel comfortable so that they may thermoregulate themselves.

Substrate - the best are newspaper or repti carpet but others work, I use coconut husk some use repti bark. NEVER use PINE or CEDAR those kill herps.

large water dish - BP's require fresh water daily if you have humidity issues try getting a larger water dish, be sure it is heavy enough not to tip over. Humidity should be 50-60% and you should increase to 60-70% during shed (eyes turning dull or blue indicate going into shed)

IF you have issues with humidity try covering the lid of the tank with contact paper, duct tape or plastic wrap (don't cover the whole thing cut out a hole an inch bigger than the light on top of your cage and possibly another small one for air circulation) also switching to an under tank heater (human heat pads rule) can also keep the humidity higher as the light dries out the air.

your best bet is to be sure your temps are correct and not handle him (you can still change the water daily and such) until you try your first feeding (I would wait about 7 days) if he eats then you are lucky! Mine didn't eat for a few weeks. Once he has eaten twice for you you can start a handling regimine - just be sure to let him digest for 24-48 hrs otherwise he may regurgitate and that is NOT fun.

You may know some of this already, may not - I just tried to cover all the bases I could, I probably still left some stuff out. Hope this helps and welcome to the forums we're glad you're here!!


PS. we expect pictures once he gets settled and eating

oh yeah lots of activity can mean stress, stimulation, or hunting mode. So until he starts getting comfortable I would stop handling for a while outside of the times when it is necessary.

oh here are some possibly helpful pics
My setup (I have light and UTH .. most human heat pads shouldn't go above Med.) also I have a thermostat (rheostats are fine too though) and I had to put a humidifier next to mine b/c of problems with humidity.


I have both the outside and inside covered with contact paper and holes cut out on both sides
hope this helps!

[steelsack]

Pretty much sounds like how mine's always been. Xaero is about six months old now and mellow as the day is long.
Is your snake named yet? From your description may I suggest qualude or maybe zoloft?

[gen]

Wow, nice post Jonah! Ditto on what he said.

[Eddie_Z]

Um yeah, what Jonah said!

[jotay]

Zoloft, that is a great name!