Stressed out new guy

[Marcus_Family]

Hi! First of all, I have learned SO MUCH from stalking your forum. I am so glad that you exist! We just got a 3 month old bp a week ago from a breeder. We attempted to feed him yesterday but he did not eat. I'm sure he's stressed out...he's in a 40 gallon breeder tank which we know is big and we held him even though we knew it was best not to so early...we just for some reason couldn't help it. He's been moving all around a lot after dark. So I think the right thing to do is to put crumpled newspaper in to fill the empty space? We did that this afternoon and are not even going to open the lid to his tank for...how long do you think? When should we attempt to feed him again? And when we do, should we just drop the rat pup in and continue to ignore him for how much longer? How much damage have we caused?

He was being fed live rat pups, but we weren't able to find them anywhere nearby so we tried thawed. We warmed it up.

Thanks for any help you can give us!

FYI, we are using newspaper for the bottom of the tank and have a UTH on a thermostat with warm side at 90 and cool side at 77-80 (having a hard time keeping it at 80). 2 identical hides on either side plus a few shoe boxes with small side holes. And now filled with crumpled newspaper.

[Brixxart]

I'd leave him alone entirely for a week, except for a water change maybe, but don't disturb him for a week at all then try again. Keeep handling to a minimum until he's eating consistently then start slow.

I know it's difficult but it's for the best

[tttaylorrr]

downgrading the enclosure size might be your next best choice. the snake will grow into it but if you keep getting refusals you might need to downgrade to a ~15qt tub.

does the 40gal have clutter? what's your heating like? pictures always help.

like stated above: do not handle the snake until 3 successful feedings. after too many refusals you might need to consider an enclosure downgrade.

@Zincubus, could you post your f/t hairdryer method?

[hollowlaughter]

Yep. Don't handle the animal for a week. You're going to have them for 30 yrs.

Use that week to make husbandry changes to "engage" with your snake. Are the sides of the enclosure covered? Covering three of them can help a BP feel more secure. What size are the hides and do they fit the animal somewhat snugly? If not, consider stuffing them some with paper towel.

It's a point of contention, but the babies I've seen on substrate in large enclosures have done better (YMMV) since they can burrow into it to feel secure.

Also consider adding fake plants from the dollar store, I bought several garlands recently to add to mine's enclosure and it's definitely helped him feel more secure sitting around. PVC pipe has helped as well, giving them tunnels to move around the enclosure out of sight.

Win/win, since that means I get to see him out of his hides looking around far more often. Just wash them first.

Here's how I do the F/T ritual:

• Begin thawing rodent in snake's room at evening.
• Once thawed in water, take it out. Towel dry it a little.
• Start heating with a blow dryer. Continue until dry & fluffy.
• Insides should feel loose. Don't offer half-frozen.

Usually it takes all of 5 minutes until mine is showing interest. This is, for him, coming out of his hide and staring forward through the glass at me, doing an "s curve" with his neck, stiff and alert. Means he smells it coming.

If you get that interest, continue on.

• Focus on warming the head. Aim for about 100F/warm to the touch.
• Immediately offer on tongs to snake, grasping by the feet/tail.
• At this point, your snake may be following the prey already.
• Keep it still, wait for them to strike.
• If they don't, try swinging it very slowly/moving it side to side.
• If there's no response to this, take it out, reheat the body/head.
• Try again.
• If this continues not to work, try making the rodent seem alive.
• Keep the head heated up through this.
• If none of these work you may have a shy feeder.
• Heat the rodent one more time, leave in enclosure on cardboard plate.
• Check if it's been eaten in the morning.
• If not, remove. Do not reheat or refreeze. Toss it.

[Marcus_Family]

[IMG]IMG_921.jpg[/IMG]

Let's see if my picture worked...it did not. Haha. Basically, the tank is filled with balled up newspaper now. His hides are probably too big. He likes his shoebox best, maybe because it's like a mini enclosure. Should I fill up half of the shoebox with paper towels?

[hollowlaughter]

Pic's not working but a regular shoebox seems a little large for a 3 month old. I'd advise investing in hides when he's an adult and for now, getting a matching pair of tupperware, bowls from the dollar store, etc and make him a tight hide by cutting a hole into it.

Here's a pic of my 2 yr old in his improvised "flipped dog bowl" hides to show the rough fit.



(These fit him tighter in reality since I keep a bed of moss in there.)

He's still growing so I haven't established fancy homes for him yet. Aim for something non-transparent and easily cleanable. If you cut holes yourself, use sandpaper or a lighter to smooth them down. I've seen hides for baby snakes made out of just about everything from plant saucer dishes to takeout containers. Plus no risk of moldy cardboard from humid conditions.

[elleon]

I used plastic cereal bowls from the dollar store and cut a U-shaped hole in it, as the ones above, but I put four of these in my 20gal tank to make it feel more secure for my 8 month old bp. For the first couple weeks, my bp was very active at night, then seemed to settle down and now spends most of his time in his hides. I've heard fake plants (without loops or wires sticking out) can be used to add clutter as well, though I wouldn't suggest changing anything for a couple weeks (except possibly adding more hides) so your snake has time to settle in to his new home.