New setup not working well? Also is my snake okay?

[miatb]

Okay so I've repositioned her temp probe but I still can't get the temp high on the substrate. Even the glass below the substrate isn't too high. The glass gets to maybe 92 degrees on a good day. The substrate over the glass gets to a max of 85 on the hot side. The thermostat is at its highest setting so I'm not certain what to do now. Any tips?

i would say 92 is just a touch too high actually, don’t worry about the temp of the substrate too much, snakes will burrow to get to the heat and i put a thinner layer of substrate over the hot spot to facilitate that. you don’t want the glass to get any higher because your snake can and will come in contact with the glass.

[Sandaconda]

What size prey are you feeding her and how often?

Why on Earth on your handling her so much? She does sound thin and needs to be eating and resting not spending energy being handled.

A young BP should be handled for 5 minutes at a time or so, every few days, if healthy. They stress easy and again, are often pet rocks when not being handled, so they do not spend a lot energy normally.

I recommend basically leaving her alone and getting some weight on her and then worry about handling.

On the live vs. F/T issue, you might be able to switch her at a later date, but right now you need her eating, so give her what she will eat.

EDIT: I realize this may sound a little harsh, but we are here to help. There can be little margin of error with young snakes and we want your BP to thrive.

Feel free to ask for clarification on anything.

You're fine it didn't help I've been in and out a lot. So she is eating one hopper a week and she seems to eat that fine. I know I need to stay live for now. As for why I handle her so much, it's so I can keep trying to get her cage fixed. I know it should have been set up before hand but I didn't get that luxury so it's tough and go. She at least is getting used to it and just slithered all around me. I don't handle her at all after she eats so those are times I hope the temperature is ok. At one point it was too hot getting up to 100 but now it's barely 85 above and she no longer moves to the cool side cause of it. Cool side gets to 69 degrees to so that's another work in progress but I want her to get the warmth she needs right now. I finally got humidity up at least so that's one good thing. I'm also worried her one hide might be too big for her but I'll post pictures as soon as I get to a computer.
I'll be keeping good track of her weight but I just have nothing to go by to know if it's a healthy weight. Sorry for the long reply so many things in my head going off at once

[Sandaconda]

i would say 92 is just a touch too high actually, don’t worry about the temp of the substrate too much, snakes will burrow to get to the heat and i put a thinner layer of substrate over the hot spot to facilitate that. you don’t want the glass to get any higher because your snake can and will come in contact with the glass.

Wait so even though the glass is hot enough, the substrate is alright to not be at basking temp? She also no longer moves from hide to hide cause of the temp difference I feel. She just stays in the hide over the pad all the time never moving to the other.

[EL-Ziggy]

I like for the temperature on the glass to be 88-90. I'm not concerned with the substrate surface temperature. As mentioned before the snake will usually burrow pretty close to the glass. Best wishes with the new BP.

[Southpaw91]

Set your tstat so that the temp of the glass is between 88-90. Dont worry about the temp of the substrate. The snake will burrow down to the warmth. Check temps with your IR thermometer. As long as the glass is between 88-90 you are fine!

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[dakski]

You're fine it didn't help I've been in and out a lot. So she is eating one hopper a week and she seems to eat that fine. I know I need to stay live for now. As for why I handle her so much, it's so I can keep trying to get her cage fixed. I know it should have been set up before hand but I didn't get that luxury so it's tough and go. She at least is getting used to it and just slithered all around me. I don't handle her at all after she eats so those are times I hope the temperature is ok. At one point it was too hot getting up to 100 but now it's barely 85 above and she no longer moves to the cool side cause of it. Cool side gets to 69 degrees to so that's another work in progress but I want her to get the warmth she needs right now. I finally got humidity up at least so that's one good thing. I'm also worried her one hide might be too big for her but I'll post pictures as soon as I get to a computer.
I'll be keeping good track of her weight but I just have nothing to go by to know if it's a healthy weight. Sorry for the long reply so many things in my head going off at once

While you are doing things in her tank, it's probably best to put in her a separate container instead of holding her. That would be less stressful.

Hopper mice are recommended for the first few meals, but given her size, that might be appropriate. CAN ANYONE ELSE CHIME IN?

Either way, you should be looking to move to a small mouse ASAP.

When you say, "work in progress" on temps, what's your timeframe?

Temp adjustments take hours. You have a snake that needs your help, please make this a priority.

She is probably underweight, being fed small prey, and doesn't have proper temps.

Again, not trying to be harsh, but she is depending on you.

[Caitlin]

At her weight she is fragile and needs to have as little stress as possible. Handling her so much is stressful. She may not be acting scared when you handle her, but that still isn't a reason to handle her that much. If you need a safe spot for her when working on her enclosure, please set up a separate holding container with a little substrate, some paper towel, and a hide or just some crumpled up paper towels so she can feel sheltered.

If her current hide is too big for her, you can crumple up some paper towels and put them in there to help her feel more enclosed.

If she is 66 grams that's hatchling (right out of the egg) size, and you you say you've had her for four weeks and that she was at the pet store for awhile before you got her? Then she's underweight. You say you 'believe' that's her weight? Can you weigh her? I would feed her every 5 days (maybe even more often - can someone with more experience chime in, please?) and offer her rat fuzzies or small mice as soon as she will take them.

[Zincubus]

i would say 92 is just a touch too high actually, don’t worry about the temp of the substrate too much, snakes will burrow to get to the heat and i put a thinner layer of substrate over the hot spot to facilitate that. you don’t want the glass to get any higher because your snake can and will come in contact with the glass.

^ This .. every single word ^


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[Sandaconda]

I'm doing everything I can and I check everything every day which is where the adjustments are coming from. One day they work, next they dont. I think I might have struck gold though as the glass temp is staying in good range now that I know that is the one to worry about. Just gotta give her time to see if she'll go to the other side now or not.

[dakski]

I'm doing everything I can and I check everything every day which is where the adjustments are coming from. One day they work, next they dont. I think I might have struck gold though as the glass temp is staying in good range now that I know that is the one to worry about. Just gotta give her time to see if she'll go to the other side now or not.

Glad to hear things are settling in.

Keep up the good work and keep asking questions.