Not sure if I should worry

[BPgilmore1]

we just got out first BP on 11/30. He is extremely shy and seems to have no interest in F/T fuzzies which is what he was eating at the store we got him from. He last ate according to them on 11/29. I think we messed up by handling him too soon after we got him. But we did not handle him at all last week and he still looked like he had no idea what food was. Should I worry?, should we not handle him anymore until he eats? The temp during the day is ~88 to 90 and at night ~76, humidity is 55 to 60%. He just seems so shy i cant believe he ever eat.

Thanks

[PitOnTheProwl]

Why are you dropping the temperature at all?
Mid 70s ambient, 88-95 hot side surface temperature all the time.
Fuzzy mice or rat? Fuzzy mice are way too small.
How are you heating them up?

[BPgilmore1]

I am heating them up by submerging them in a plastic bag in warm water.

For heating, i guess i need a different heat source. I cant maintain 88 plus degrees at all
all times on the hot side. I was just using overhead heat lamps, one for day and one for night. I will get an under the tank heater.

[ItsAllNew2Me!]

Can you please list your setup? Tank, substrate, heating, etc.

You will definitely need a uth and thermostat. Those night temps are way too low and may be whats putting him off food. Also I would get a kitchen scale to weigh him so that you can know what size food item to provide. I do the 10-15% weight rule. I follow the prey item chart from this thread:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ht=feeder+size

Also don't change the bulbs for a day night cycle. If the room lightens up during the day and darkens by night then that should be good enough. The snake i have in a glass tank (aquarium) has a heat bulb running 24/7 with a uth and he gets a day night cycle by the natural light in our living room. I am actually going to be moving him to a CHE but it seems this bulb wants to run forever lol.

[BPgilmore1]

20 gallon aquarium, aspen bedding, 2 hides, water and the only heat source currently is the heat lamps a day and night one. I just bought a uth but they ran out of thermostats.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Here are some of the issues

Enclosure size

Prey item size

Handling

Any animal under 150 grams I would highly recommend to keep in a small plastic tub 6 quarts, 150 grams and up you can keep in 12 quarts.

Use aspen as bedding, provide a hot spot of 86/88 max

Use a plastic flower pot saucers as hides

Offer adequately sized prey (a fuzzy is way too small, that's colubrid food) , an hatchling out of the egg can take a hopper and quickly move to adult. Offering too small of a prey may not be recognize.

NO HANDLING until the animal eats for you.

Offer food in it's enclosure.

I would suggest to make the switch temporarily and until you animal gain some weight and eat consistently for you, I would also offer live and convert once the animal eats for you.


With hatchling your priority number one is to make sure to provide optimum security, BP are not forgiven and husbandry issue are the number one cause for feeding issue.

[ItsAllNew2Me!]

20 gallon aquarium, aspen bedding, 2 hides, water and the only heat source currently is the heat lamps a day and night one. I just bought a uth but they ran out of thermostats.

Ok lets get started. There are a lot of threads here on how to set up an aquarium setup

A good one with pics:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-With-Pictures!

You are going to want to modify the screen lid first. I used aluminum foil and foil tape to cover most of the screen. I left an area for the heat lamp and for airflow. This will help with both ambient heat and humidity. Do not add any tape to the inside of the enclosure. This can damage the snakes scales. All tape is to be externally used on the tank.

I say forget the day bulb and use only the heat bulb right now constantly until you get a thermostat for your uth. This is not ideal but it is what we have to work with. Do not put the uth on there without the thermostat as it can get too hot and burn your animal. There are a few tstats available in a pinch that are not badly priced:

http://www.amazon.com/MTPRTC-ETL-Cer...ermostat+plant

I personally use this right now and have had no issues but it requires wiring

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281294885235...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

That is where you need to start. Also if you don't have one already get an IR temp gun. This is what i use:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o04_s00

Also i realized your animal is rather small. I would either get a smaller enclosure or somehow safely add a divider to that tank as it is way too large for your size animal. You can add a lot of clutter such as fake plants and multiple hides and whatnot but still the space is rather large. i currently keep snakes from about 100g in 15qt tubs. these i get for $4 at target. This will give you a smaller environment to work out of also and make him feel more secure.

[BPgilmore1]

Good news he actually ate!!!! The silver bullet was feeding at 10pm and warming the meal up more than i had been.

Thanks to all for your suggestions.