Transitioning 6 y.o BP from hoopers to rats.. help!

[BPmom]

[IMG][/IMG]

[BPmom]

I can’t see it on my phone but if you click the box it will bring you to the photo.

Or here is the url to it

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps0kdcryr3.png

[Craiga 01453]

Tough to tell juat looking, with no known weight.

[BPmom]

I am going to work on weighing him today.

My fiancé got a hold of the previous owner to see if he had ever been fed rats or frozen. She told him that he would eat 3 small mice OR one small rat but that she had never fed him rats before nevermind frozen ones.

I paced back and forth just worrying that the rat may be a bit big for him in one meal but I know snakes can swallow prey bigger than their mouths lol so I thawed out a small rat for him. He could smell it so he was searching and searching even before I put it in there. Going from live to frozen, I completely forgot about the feeding tongs for the frozen rat until last minute so while he was on one side of the tank, I dropped the warmed up rat on his log hide. He instantly rushed to that side and not even hesitating for a second, took the rat no problem. I was so shocked! I know a lot of snakes are harder to transition from mice to rats or from live to frozen, but he was so hungry he took it down! AND he stayed in his hide all day yesterday (with the exception of night exploring of course.) Now, I just have to watch for regurgitation (not sure how long that would take IF it were going to happen), and if I am able to feed him one small rat every 7 days. He was on hunting mode still until yesterday evening so I figured id give him an extra day to digest and enjoy a full belly before handling him.

Im going to make another thread, but for a UTH, any suggestions for a thermostat? Im having trouble finding one near me so I am going to have to order online and theres a lot of debate between a rheostat or a thermostat. (a set temp controller or a dimmer).

Thanks again everyone!!!!

[jcorsaletti]

firstly, make sure your husbandry is on point. one hot hide w/ a UTH, one cold hide, thermostats/hygrometers to measure temps and humidity. Personally speaking- you want a hot spot of about 90-95, ambient temp of about 80-82 on the hot side and about 72-75 on the cold. again, these numbers are a personal preference based on what my danger noodle perfers and thrives at.

as far as FEEDING goes: my suggestion would be first starting to feed him LARGE ADULT mice. get a bigger, more sustainable meal in him and the hunting and pacing around the tank should start to subside. my friend has a female BP who still to this day will not eat rats, but she is happy and healthy eating an adult mouse once a week. work on getting bigger meals in him, then try and get him from a large mouse to a similar sized rat. they smell different to the snake, so trying to make them look and seem similar as prey should help.

ALSO make sure you weigh him EMPTY (aka after he urates/poops and before you feed again) it's kind of hard to say an average weight, but I'd say a healthy +3ft male should be EASILY 700g.... my female is about 3ft 8in and she weighs 982g just to give kind of an idea.


keep us posted!

[jcorsaletti]

I am going to work on weighing him today.

My fiancé got a hold of the previous owner to see if he had ever been fed rats or frozen. She told him that he would eat 3 small mice OR one small rat but that she had never fed him rats before nevermind frozen ones.

I paced back and forth just worrying that the rat may be a bit big for him in one meal but I know snakes can swallow prey bigger than their mouths lol so I thawed out a small rat for him. He could smell it so he was searching and searching even before I put it in there. Going from live to frozen, I completely forgot about the feeding tongs for the frozen rat until last minute so while he was on one side of the tank, I dropped the warmed up rat on his log hide. He instantly rushed to that side and not even hesitating for a second, took the rat no problem. I was so shocked! I know a lot of snakes are harder to transition from mice to rats or from live to frozen, but he was so hungry he took it down! AND he stayed in his hide all day yesterday (with the exception of night exploring of course.) Now, I just have to watch for regurgitation (not sure how long that would take IF it were going to happen), and if I am able to feed him one small rat every 7 days. He was on hunting mode still until yesterday evening so I figured id give him an extra day to digest and enjoy a full belly before handling him.

Im going to make another thread, but for a UTH, any suggestions for a thermostat? Im having trouble finding one near me so I am going to have to order online and theres a lot of debate between a rheostat or a thermostat. (a set temp controller or a dimmer).

Thanks again everyone!!!!

AMAZON- Thermometer/hygrometer- OMEM 2 pack digital (theyre like $12 and work amazingly, i bought 6 to always have extra lol)
AMAZON- iPower 40-108 digital heat mat thermostat- $21.19

[Craiga 01453]

firstly, make sure your husbandry is on point. one hot hide w/ a UTH, one cold hide, thermostats/hygrometers to measure temps and humidity. Personally speaking- you want a hot spot of about 90-95, ambient temp of about 80-82 on the hot side and about 72-75 on the cold. again, these numbers are a personal preference based on what my danger noodle perfers and thrives at.

as far as FEEDING goes: my suggestion would be first starting to feed him LARGE ADULT mice. get a bigger, more sustainable meal in him and the hunting and pacing around the tank should start to subside. my friend has a female BP who still to this day will not eat rats, but she is happy and healthy eating an adult mouse once a week. work on getting bigger meals in him, then try and get him from a large mouse to a similar sized rat. they smell different to the snake, so trying to make them look and seem similar as prey should help.

ALSO make sure you weigh him EMPTY (aka after he urates/poops and before you feed again) it's kind of hard to say an average weight, but I'd say a healthy +3ft male should be EASILY 700g.... my female is about 3ft 8in and she weighs 982g just to give kind of an idea.


keep us posted!

First, these temps are off.
Hot spot should be no higher than 92, but you'll find most experienced keepers, myself included, go.89-90.
Also, temps should never drop below 75.
Not to be rude, but having one snake for 5 months doesn't equal the experience needed to tell what the snake "prefers" or thrives at.

Also, a 6 year old female BP should be eating much more than a single large mouse.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

firstly, make sure your husbandry is on point. one hot hide w/ a UTH, one cold hide, thermostats/hygrometers to measure temps and humidity. Personally speaking- you want a hot spot of about 90-95, ambient temp of about 80-82 on the hot side and about 72-75 on the cold. again, these numbers are a personal preference based on what my danger noodle perfers and thrives at.

Before giving advice you actually might want to make sure your advice is sound.

You do not want the cool end to fall below 75, below 75 is considered unhealthy.

And 92 is the most I would recommend for a hot side everything is is over-killed and 95 is TOO HOT

No offence but you have owned your FIRST BP since 01-04-2018

[BPmom]

I ended up going to Home Depot and the guy there told me that he knew what I was talking about but turns out.. he talked me into purchasing the wrong thing!

I know what I’m looking for, just tried my best buying locally but APPARENTLY that’s not gonna happen.

Soooo my little guy is now acting like a ball python and is in his hide most of the day with the exception of his nightly wandering. He weighs about 510 grams. I’m already seeing a difference since feeding him the small rat and since he took the last one no problem, I’m going to start feeding him on a weekly basis.

[Cheesenugget]

I just wanted to add that a bp that moved around all day and night does not necessarily mean it is only hungry. Many other threads where the bp was "active" like this and the owner misunderstood that behavior as driven by hunger or wanting to say "hi" to the owners. A content bp would be hiding during the day, fairly active at night especially close to feeding day, and gets into a strike pose when it is ready to eat, usually the day before or on feeding day. My bp is always found this way on feeding day. When he was not eating due to stress, he was super active and it is easy to misinterpret that as hunger by he would not eat at the time. Sometimes it is because the husbandry was not on point and it is looking for a more suited environment to live in. It is not like most corns or kings where they actively seek prey and tackles it down without a strike pose.

I'm glad your bp took the rat at first try. Please note my comments are based on my experience and what most others (including breeders) experienced too. So if your bp is being super active day and night, please double check your temps to make sure everything is on point. For example, log hides are usually not recommended. BP likes to feel snug. A hide with a small opening works great. You can pick up a large dog bowl, cat litter pan or plastic bowl as a hide. I recently bought a large dog bowl from Petsupermarket for $10, drilled a hole and stuff the extra space with papertowels (Moss, fake plants or newspaper works too) for my growing bp. He loves his new hides.

About the thermostat, I use the one from Zilla or Zoo med, cannot remember, sold at Chewy. It is not cheap but it has been working well. I also bought a thermostat from Amazon that is advertised for general use (reptiles and plants) and it was much more affordable. I use that for my Children Python with no issues. Always confirm the temps using a temp gun or digital probe thermometer but temp guns are preferred.