What's the biggest rookie mistake you've made?

[WhompingWillow]

So in the interests of poking some fun at myself, here's the most 🤦 thing I've done so far with our BPs:

When we got Sunny, our Pastel Vanilla Super Stripe, we let him settle before offering a meal. He didn't show any interest, so we left the mouse in overnight, and it was gone in the morning. Yay! A successful first F/T feed.

For his second meal, he didn't show much interest but did eventually strike at the mouse from within his hide and bring it inside. I thought everything had gone great, so we left him alone for the next couple of days - he's still pretty skittish.

Three days later, and I'm asking my husband why it smells like something died in our room. It was awful. And we couldn't figure it out at first! I thought it was something weird happening with our humidifier.

But nope. Turns out it was the very uneaten and decaying mouse from within Sunny's hide. Whoops. 🤢

Moral of the story: Always make sure the food is actually eaten, LOL.

Any rookie mistakes or embarrassing-in-hindsight stories you want to share?

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[Alter-Echo]

Way back when I first got my sunbeam snake I failed to use a thermostat with the under tank heater I had set up in her tank. Being a burrowing snake, I figured that if the substrate got too warm, she would burrow to another cooler end of her tank. I also didn't realize that the heat can build up to near oven like temperatures under 6in of eco earth. She ended up losing her tail tip since it was the thinnest part of her body and cooked the fastest.... thankfully she suffered no other burns but I feel guilty to this day every time I hold her and see the nub where the vet amputated her dead tail.

Needless to say, I use thermostats now.....

[BR8080]

Thinking I was only going to have 1 snake.

[Sgt7212]

Thinking I was only going to have 1 snake.

Truer words have never been spoken. 😂

[bcr229]

Thinking I was only going to have 1 snake.

This.

Other mistakes:
Fed baby BP's pinky mice.
Shopped at Petco.
Bought tanks and heat lamps.
No QT led to mite infestation #1.
Not researching sellers led to mite infestation #2.

[Valyndris]

The biggest mistake I've done was not putting a blanket on this couch, it was scary how deep Crowley went in there. Haven't made that mistake again since then though.

[Craiga 01453]

Well, back when I first started out in 1999-2000ish I thought it was as easy as glass tank, water bowl, astroturf, heat lamp and....ugggh, HEAT ROCK!!

I also underestimated how tiny a hole a snake can fit through. I didn't have a proper enclosure and lost a Kingsnake. I figured "there's no way". I was wrong...

[Skyrivers]

Forgot to put latches back in Miss Snow's enclosure one night. She could have been out all night and day. Found her the next night inside the stove where you keep the pots and pans. She was sitting there rather full (had eaten something) and happy of her new found freedom. 3.5 hours of total panic but thankfully she is healthy and happy today.

[MD_Pythons]

On my first snake setup I had an unregulated UTH, reptile carpet, aspen over the reptile carpet and heat lamps and a log hide. I'm lucky I didn't accidentally broil my poor snake.
Other mistakes are shopping at a Petsmart, not researching sellers and the worst one was not recognizing the importance of a thermostat.

[B.P.'s 4me]

Thinking I was only going to have 1 snake.

Still giggling at this response, thanks for the morning smile!!