Help With Tub For Blood Python

[BallPythonWannaBe]

Such a pretty girl! ( Sorry, had to say it!)

[MD_Pythons]

You could certainly clutter it up more to help her feel more secure, but it's not necessary to buy additional accessories like plants or rocks to do so quite yet. In my experience, layers of paper, such as kraft or newspaper, make a good substrate in this sort of situation, as you can easily fold and arrange multiple layers for your snake to hide under. Sitting between/beneath layers of paper mimics their natural behavior of hiding beneath leaf litter.

As an alternative, you could also use a particulate substrate such as the prococo chip-and-fiber mix, or even long-fiber sphagnum moss (Chilean or New Zealand are popular and easy to find on Amazon). By doing so, you could provide a thick layer of substrate for your snake to burrow into that will also double as a hide, and allow your python to feel secure regardless of where it is in the enclosure. If you do so, keep in mind you'll want to have extra on hand to replace when it becomes soiled to avoid ammonia buildup in the enclosure. As I'm sure you're aware, these snakes can pee a LOT!

At this point I would advise against feeding outside of the cage. It really isn't a necessary practice, and can stress the animal by all the additional activity of moving to and from a separate tub/location. I'd make a few tweaks to your enclosure as described above, let the snake settle in for another week or so, and then offer prey at night after the lights go out.

Have you been offering live, pre-killed or F/T?

I always feed my snakes inside the enclosure, I folded a chunk of cardboard to take up some of the open space. She's eaten live for me once, but her breeder said she would take f/t. i've offered prekilled and shes shown no interest. Apologies for the crummy picture.

[Kara]

I'm not sure that a piece of cardboard is going to do the trick. The tub appears to be rather tall for a snake this size, which can add to the cavernous feel. Instead of trying to clutter it with a few items, perhaps consider using a different substrate that will allow the snake to burrow a bit (again, a natural behavior for this species). This will give your snake the freedom to choose where she wants to be in the tub, while feeling safe and secure at the same time.

A tip when offering p/k or f/t prey - ensure that the rodent is warmed to approximately 100° - 105° (F). The warmer the prey item, the better a feeding response it usually elicits with bloods & STPs.

She appears to be a nice little blood. Hopefully with a few minor changes to the setup she'll be back to feeding in short order.

I always feed my snakes inside the enclosure, I folded a chunk of cardboard to take up some of the open space. She's eaten live for me once, but her breeder said she would take f/t. i've offered prekilled and shes shown no interest. Apologies for the crummy picture.

[MD_Pythons]

Ok, I have some Aspen and Cypress laying around that I can put in there

[MD_Pythons]

A little update, I up some cypress in and I've seen her burrow around in it. I tried feeding her live, but the mouse,just seemed to stress her out. She didn't show any feeding response. I'm a bit concerned at this point, not sure if I should try to assist feed.

[Dxw425]

A little update, I up some cypress in and I've seen her burrow around in it. I tried feeding her live, but the mouse,just seemed to stress her out. She didn't show any feeding response. I'm a bit concerned at this point, not sure if I should try to assist feed.

dont. You should be able to feed fuzzies that wont be able to do her any harm, i would leave one in with her and let her be. My guy was difficult at first and that was the only way he'd eat. Now i can feed f/t, but still have to leave it for him to grab on his own terms.

[MD_Pythons]

dont. You should be able to feed fuzzies that wont be able to do her any harm, i would leave one in with her and let her be. My guy was difficult at first and that was the only way he'd eat. Now i can feed f/t, but still have to leave it for him to grab on his own terms.

Do you know where I could order some? The local pet store carries live feeders but they are too large for her.

[Dxw425]

Do you know where I could order some? The local pet store carries live feeders but they are too large for her.

That i dont unfortunately. Try searching the forums on here to see if there are any small time breeders in your area would be my best guess unfortunately, or calling any shops in your area to see if they do their own breeding. Big box stores wont but if thats all that you have near you you could possibly try to see if their supplier does small scale shipments. I dont think rodents that small live too long away from the mother though so finding a mom and pop nearest you would be your best bet.

[Dxw425]

If you still cant find anywhere, try leaving a f/t meal in the cage and either keep the lights off in the room of the tub or cover the tub, to help your snake feel completely secure. I dont like to leave f/t for too long but a couple hours shouldnt do any harm, if your snake is hungry and feels secluded enough it should hopefully go for the meal. I had to do this once with mine and i placed the f/t in before i went to sleep and checked it as soon as i woke up. The first time he hadnt touched it so i removed and disposed of the rat (i left it on top of a papertowl not his bedding). The second time he had eaten it. You just want to be careful bevcause if you leave the dead rat in too long the bacteria growth it supports can be harmful.

[Zincubus]

As regards the feeding .. the hairdryer trick has got to be worth a try !!


This method WORKS 99% - if done properly ...
I wait until evening as they're nocturnal of course . I let the rodent thaw out in the reptile room so they get the smell ..
Then I warm up the mouse / rat with a hairdryer and offer with tongs IMMEDIATELY whilst still warm . If refused simply repeat the heating and offering as many times as needed. .
A couple of mine will only strike feed from within their hides so I dangle the warm rodent in front of the hide's entrance - usually works but if it fails simply reheat the rodent with a hairdryer and immediately offer again whilst it's still warm continue until it's grabbed ...


Incidentally , if it shows no interest at all not even a tongue flicker maybe it's best to leave for a week or so.

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