First BP / First Shed / Stressed Behavior Question

[fadingdaylight]

I am, but I think I bought my last T8. Animal Plastics takes forever to fullfill their orders. Last time, I waited for literally five months. I bought well in advance of an expo here in Mass, and watched the date blow by and still no enclosure. For $250 (with shipping) upfront that is way too long to wait. The last two enclosures I bought were Reptile Basics, and I'm much much happier with them. The enclosures are just as nice, maybe even a bit better, cost the same (including shipping) and arrive in just a few weeks. End of soapbox.

Good to know, honestly. I wish I had gone PVC from the jump, but the Visions I looked at were kinda pricey, so I went glass, then realized that Animal Plastics had them at prices comparable to glass. It will probably be a few months, but ultimately I would like to go to PVC for the "easier to regulate environment" factor. I will go have a look at those Reptile Basics ones.

[Bogertophis]

Yes, cork tiles work fine to insulate glass (very similar to styro-foam); many things can be used to insulate glass, those are 2 of the most effective if your room
is too cool. I'm answering this because you asked & I don't think you got an answer?

[JRLongton]

I have the reptile basics 2x3x1 and a 4x2x1. I think the 2x3x1 is perfect for the entire life of a BP. I started a hatchling in it and she's been doing great. It holds heat and humidity better than the APs do. The PVC is also shinier and cleans better. Sometimes some of the feces can stick to the bottom of the T8s, but the RB is so slick and sheen that all the filth lifts right off with minimal elbow grease.

The thing that really drives me nuts about the AP T8s is the sliding glass doors. Yeah, they sound like a great idea, but they are in kind of loose so whenever you walk by the glass rattles. I have to wedge Q-tips between to hold the glass in place. The RB acrylic doors latch in place nice and tight.

Now, I wouldn't buy an RHP from them though, but I'm going on. It's a slow day at work and you know how it is when you start talking about a hobby....

[fadingdaylight]

Yes, cork tiles work fine to insulate glass (very similar to styro-foam); many things can be used to insulate glass, those are 2 of the most effective if your room
is too cool. I'm answering this because you asked & I don't think you got an answer?

Much appreciated, I will go that route for now until I can spring for the PVC enclosure.

[fadingdaylight]

Now, I wouldn't buy an RHP from them though, but I'm going on. It's a slow day at work and you know how it is when you start talking about a hobby....

Indeed, kinda slow here today too, so I'm taking advantage of the time to gather more information. On that note... where would you recommend looking for an RHP?

[Bogertophis]

Also, you've only had the snake for 2 & 1/2 weeks...sexing the snake should wait, eating is FAR more important & sexing the snake may further inhibit the snake
from eating. Likewise, it's best not to handle a new snake (of any kind) until they've fed easily for you at normal intervals at least 3 times. Sexing a snake is like
handling times 10...it's "rude" and snakes don't appreciate it much. Since BPs can be hesitant feeders, your focus should first be on that, gender can wait.

I also do NOT feed in shed...some will take food, many will not. Of those that take food anyway, sometimes it messes up their shed, so that it sticks & only comes
off in a million pieces...so why chance it? The reason is that both digestion and shedding requires good hydration from the snake's body to accomplish- not all
snakes are healthy & hydrated well enough to "multi-task".

[WhompingWillow]

Indeed, kinda slow here today too, so I'm taking advantage of the time to gather more information. On that note... where would you recommend looking for an RHP?

Also curious as to why you won't buy an RHP from Reptile Basics. I have 2 and they work well... ProProducts is more of a hassle to order and I don't like that they aren't a hard surface. But safety is important to me, so I'm always willing to hear out any potential safety concerns.

Edited to say I quoted the wrong post, sorry!

[fadingdaylight]

Also, you've only had the snake for 2 & 1/2 weeks...sexing the snake should wait, eating is FAR more important & sexing the snake may further inhibit the snake
from eating. Likewise, it's best not to handle a new snake (of any kind) until they've fed easily for you at normal intervals at least 3 times. Sexing a snake is like
handling times 10...it's "rude" and snakes don't appreciate it much. Since BPs can be hesitant feeders, your focus should first be on that, gender can wait.

I also do NOT feed in shed...some will take food, many will not. Of those that take food anyway, sometimes it messes up their shed, so that it sticks & only comes
off in a million pieces...so why chance it? The reason is that both digestion and shedding requires good hydration from the snake's body to accomplish- not all
snakes are healthy & hydrated well enough to "multi-task".

I agree, I have put the sexing off in favor of acclimation and feeding, and tried to even keep handling to a minimum during this early stage. We have had three successful feedings, all strikes while dangling from the tongs, on F/T mice (will be switching to rats in about another week or so, couldn't find the right size locally). This one (during shed) was the first missed meal, and the snake actually struck at the food, just missed, which I am guessing is a combination of blindness and me not getting the mouse warm enough for heat detection to function in place of sight. However, I don't think I will attempt to feed during shed anymore, I really only did it this time since it was the first, to see what the response would be. Trying to learn this particular snake's normal behavior patterns and all.

But yeah, I don't imagine I would appreciate being probed either, so that will continue to wait for now. I am planning on having a nearby (an hour away) reptile vet do a basic health check to ensure I am not missing anything. To be fair, I did get the snake from the dreaded Petsmart, and being a beginner, it seems the most responsible thing to do. I will have them do the probe at that point.

[Bogertophis]

By the way... I think you're going to be an excellent snake-keeper.

[JRLongton]

Indeed, kinda slow here today too, so I'm taking advantage of the time to gather more information. On that note... where would you recommend looking for an RHP?

Also curious as to why you won't buy an RHP from Reptile Basics. I have 2 and they work well... ProProducts is more of a hassle to order and I don't like that they aren't a hard surface. But safety is important to me, so I'm always willing to hear out any potential safety concerns.

I now buy all my RHPs from Pro-Products (https://pro-products.com/). A lot of forum members here use them to. You need to call and order, which is a pain, but what can you do....

I bought one RHP from Reptile Basics, just to try, and it warped after a couple of days. Before you ask, yes it is, and was, regulated with a thermostat. Subsequent internet research indicates that this wasn't the first Reptile Basics RHP to have warped. I'm still using it and it works fine but, not too impressed. All my other RHPs are from ProProducts. He's more expensive and, granted, a bit of a hassle to order from but the product is top quality. At least none of mine have warped.

Kind of a funny story about the RB RHP. Shortly after she arrived I went to check on my BEL, Helena, and couldn't find her in her normal hide. I tried another and another but she was nowhere to be found. Finally I took everything out from the enclosure, even the paper towel substrate (she was in quarantine at the time). No sign of a pearl white snake in the black enclosure. I freaked! I was about to start tearing up the room when I saw a white reflection in the upper right corner of the enclosure. It was then I learned that the RHP had warped just enough so that a little hatchling could crawl up onto the top of it! A quick fix and she can't get up there anymore! We called her "spider-snake" for a while after that!

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By the way... I think you're going to be an excellent snake-keeper.

Fully agree!