BRAND NEW BP-- Spends all time in warm side

[skylarmlc]

So I just picked up a new BP- few weeks old, female. I have her in an Exoterra enclosure- double doors in the front with a mesh top. The enclosure is aprox. 36''x18''x12'' (WIDE LOW Exoterra terrarium).

I have had her just over 24 hours and I have been keeping her in the enclosure just minding my own business checking temps from every now and then.

I have two digital temp probes both in the rear corners of the enclosure, one on the cold side and one on the warm. I have a 100 watt ceramic heat emitter on the warm side as well as a UTH from ZOOMED on the warm side for this appropriate sized enclosure.

I have found that she is spending all of her time on the warm side thus far and has not really been too interested in the hides. I have one hide on each side, one being a "cave type" of hide with both a lid and a bottom section to it(cold hide). The hide on the warm side is a half moon log type of hide because i wanted her to be able to benefit from the UTH while being under the hide.

She hasn't really moved around too much and I did touch her back while she was facing the opposite direction which is my bad. She did make a quick hiss and I quickly drew back from the enclosure and left her alone. I plan on leaving her for a few more days before I plan on handling her but I do plan on trying to feed her soon. She hasn't even from what I can tell been on the cold side of the tank.

The temps in the corners of both the cold and hot are:
Cold (73 deg F)
Warm (85 deg F)

The temps have been sticking pretty close to those for now. I live in a basement apartment so it can be a bit chilly but I haven't run the A/C or anything.

I also decided to black out the sides and back with black cardstock in hopes of helping her be less stressed about the new environment.

My questions/concerns are:

BP's are supposed to spend most time in the hides, correct? so why does she spend so much time out of the hides?

Are these good temps? I am getting a infared thermometer to try and help see what kind of temps im getting towards the center of the tank.

When do you recommend the first feeding time and min time to wait to handle?

Is it okay for her to like the warm side so much?

Is there anything based on what I said above that I should be doing differently?

THANKS GUYS!!! look forward to your responses.

[Bmocken]

Are you controlling your temperatures with a thermostat? Your cold side should be 80 most times 75 at night. The hot spot should be 90. The general rule for a new snake in a new environment is 5-7 days with out disturbing it except for adding water. Then after that acclimation time try to feed it. If your husbandry is correct with correct hot, cold, and humidity you have a solid chance in your new snake eating. Feed it the same type of food as they did before you got it. If your snake eats, then wait 24-48 hours before you handle it so it's good can digest and the possibility of regurgitatation is minimized. If he doesn't eatwait another week and try again.

[MissterDog]

Cold side is too cold. You generally don't want it any lower than 75, but ideal is 78-80, which may be the reason she is favoring the warm side.

[skylarmlc]

Are you controlling your temperatures with a thermostat? Your cold side should be 80 most times 75 at night. The hot spot should be 90. The general rule for a new snake in a new environment is 5-7 days with out disturbing it except for adding water. Then after that acclimation time try to feed it. If your husbandry is correct with correct hot, cold, and humidity you have a solid chance in your new snake eating. Feed it the same type of food as they did before you got it. If your snake eats, then wait 24-48 hours before you handle it so it's good can digest and the possibility of regurgitatation is minimized. If he doesn't eatwait another week and try again.

I am not controlling the temp with a thermostat, I am just using the probe digital thermometers on either side of the enclosure. I don't know how accurate I am able to get the temperature readings when the probes are in the corners of the enclosure. Once I get the readings from the IR heat gun I am going to try and correct the temperatures.

As far as correcting the temps, do you suggest any other equipment? I already have the UTH and Ceramic unit in there so would I consider adding another Ceramic Unit in it, or is that overkill?

Thank you for your feedback!!

[chickenooget]

I am not controlling the temp with a thermostat, I am just using the probe digital thermometers on either side of the enclosure. I don't know how accurate I am able to get the temperature readings when the probes are in the corners of the enclosure. Once I get the readings from the IR heat gun I am going to try and correct the temperatures.

As far as correcting the temps, do you suggest any other equipment? I already have the UTH and Ceramic unit in there so would I consider adding another Ceramic Unit in it, or is that overkill?

Thank you for your feedback!!

Be sure to get a thermostat asap! It's really important in keeping safe temperatures for your BP. When you get your thermostat you can set the desired temperature and go from there.

And by the corners of the tank do you mean like on the side? Or the bottom? The probes should go under the substrate to get more accurate readings And yeah the temp gun is a great idea

If your cold side is too cold you could put another UTH + thermostat there. I don't have too much knowledge about ceramic heaters though, sorry. Although they need something to regulate power output too (so like a lamp dimmer).

You should also have identical hides on both sides of the tank.

And congrats on the new spaghetti!! I recently just got my first one as well, and this forum has been hellaaa helpful. ^_^

[Craiga 01453]

A) Please unplug your UTH until you get a thermostat. You're risking serious burns or worse to your snake by operating any heat source without a thermostat. Your UTH is there strictly to provide a hot spot and isn't there to affect the ambient temps. Your CHE should also be on a tstat. This is what will provide your ambient heat temps.

B) I suggest getting rid of the half log hide and replacing it with something with only one opening. BPs like tight, secure, dark, safe places. Those log hides provide none of that.

C) I would get a temp gun so you can get your surface temp right once your tstat is set up. That means the temp of the glass above the UTH. This should be about 90-92.

D) Your cool side temps are a bit low. 75 should be the absolute low, but you're better off staying in the 78-82 range.

E) I would wait until a week after her last meal to feed. You should have gotten this info when you purchased the snake.

F) I would wait until she has at least 2 or 3 meals in her before doing much handling. Minimal handling for enclosure maintenance is ok, but the less the better until she's eating regularly. You'll have this snake for 20+ years if raised properly, so you'll have plenty of time to handle your snake. Let her settle in an get eating, her health should be priority number one.

G) You definitely shouldn't need to add a second CHE. CHEs will make humidity harder to maintain, two would make humidity control a nightmare.

H) What is your humidity? How are you measuring it?