New owner with concerns! Looking for straightforward answers

[alexshae]

Hello, I am so glad I have found this forum! I am a new BP owner, we have had her for almost 3 weeks now. She has eaten twice without issues (amazingly enough), however I worry she is dehydrated and may be losing weight. We bought her from a breeder, but with little information. She was a Christmas gift from my husband, and he (I know, I know...) didnt ask any questions and any he did ask were vaguely answered. We were told she is about 2 months old, judging by her size I would say thats fairly accurate. I have NOT been able to get her to drink. She is in a 20 gallon tank, hides on the warm and cool side. Temps are 80 to 84 on the cool side, around 90 in the warmest spot. She has fresh water every 2 days and her humidity stays at 50 to 60. She has had what Im guessing is leftover shed since weve had her, on her neck face and over her eyes. Ive bumped up the humidity and it seems to help a little. She literally NEVER comes out of her rock hide on the warm side. Never drinks. She will eat ONLY if we feed in her rock, as she is very shy. She is very sweet and hs not once been aggressive when handled. When she is out of her tank she explores, she loves watching our fish in the fish tank and loves blankets. But she is getting a little thin and is quite wrinkly. I have pinched her skin, it seems to go back to place fairly quickly, but today I noticed what i think was a small dent in her eye which I have read is a sign of dehydration. I didnt get close enough to be positive it was a dent and not old skin, but it is enouvgh to worry me a bit. We have fed her 2 pinkies twice now, we will probably try to up the size next feeding. But the saggy wrinkly skin still worries me. Especially since she is not drinking and never leaves her hide. Any advice/criticism/suggestions/comments are welcome. Im a new and learning BP momma and would love to learn more!

[alexshae]

I would also like to add that she is still fairly small, and wondering if her tank and hide may be too big for her and could be causing some of her shy tendencies and never leaving the hide? I am unable to post pictures right now but will try later as I know it would help tremendously.

[Mr. Misha]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Post a couple of photos of her setup so we can give you better advice. You can download the Tapatalk app on your phone and post pictures straight from your phone.

How are you currently measuring temperature and humidity? What are you using for heat?

In regads to the drinking, BPs get most of their moisture from their meals. However, they do still drink but usually it's a rare sight to catch. Most important part is making sure that the humidity stays in the tank.

I assume that you're feeding her two pinky mice. That's very small for a two month BP. She can probably take a fuzzy or even a hopper. First, get a scale and weigh her so you can keep track of her weight (weigh her after she deficates so you can record her empty weight). Secondly, you can either use the this graph to figure out what to feed her or feed her prey that is as big as the widest part of your BP.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

[alexshae]

Here is our setup. Maintaining humidity with a towel over the screen until we can figure something else out. We are using a thermometer recommended by the pet store, it sticks to the side of the glass. Same with the humidity.

Here she is and about.




Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[alexshae]

Heat is also a heat lamp recommended by pet store. We have a white bulb and red bulb for night time.

edit: I believe we actually fed the baby rats, those look more like what we have fed versus the mice.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[KMG]

Drinking- No issue as you are probably just missing it. Like stated above though much of their water is had with their meal.

Prey- Pinks are much to small. Feed prey that is near the same size as the snakes thickest part of its body.

Humidity- It appears to be staying low. The best tip and trick for those with a glass tank is to add damp moss to the hides. While you are having stuck shed or poor sheds keep the moss moist. After you get a nice full shed you can start to allow the moss to dry out before making it moist again. Then at the first signs of a coming shed keep it moist again until the shed is complete at which time you can go back to allowing it to dry out.

What this does is creates a higher humidity zone within the hides. The tank is still going to show low humidity but the snake will be getting what it needs from the hides since that is where they stay most of the time.

[Mr. Misha]

I'd suggest getting a digital thermometer/hygrometer that's on the ground where your BP is. The problem with the circle analog gauges is that they're not accurate and it's not doing you any good all the way up there. You can pick up something like this at any hardware store.



Also, here's a good sticky regarding 20 gallon tanks:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=201740

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

[alexshae]

Thanks for the responses! Weve been meaning to get a more accurate thermometer and hygrometer, and an under heater tank. We fed today this week and she happily ate almost immediately, which is relieving. Tried a larger prey, hopefully she will start to fatten up! We also picked up some moss to put in her hide in a day or so once shes digested a bit!

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[PitOnTheProwl]

Don't forget you will need either a thermostat or rheostat to regulate the heat mat.

[M.P.C]

You also may want to swap that towl for aluminum foil or something else that doesn't absorb moisture