Starting to fail at husbandry…

[Homebody]

So good news is that humidity problem seems to be taken care of.

bad/questionable news is the heat. I put the thermostat probe right on top of the substrate that’s above the UTH and set it to 94 degrees. After 12 hours the temperature only got up to 91 and the ambient temperature per digital thermometer on the warm side (right next to it) says 80 degrees. Should be hotter right? I got a 10-20 gallon heater. Should I have gotten bigger? :/

The thermostat probe goes between the heat mat and the bottom of the tank on the outside of the enclosure. I know that's counterintuitive. You want to put the probe where the snake is, but if the snake can access it, he'll move it. A probe that has been dislodged will no longer regulate the heat mat and the heat mat will overheat burning your snake.

Once you've properly placed the probe. Thin out or remove the substrate directly over the mat. Let the mat heat up and use your temperature gun to test the temps in the enclosure and adjust your thermostat accordingly.

[Albert Clark]

The thermostat probe goes between the heat mat and the bottom of the tank on the outside of the enclosure. I know that's counterintuitive. You want to put the probe where the snake is, but if the snake can access it, he'll move it. A probe that has been dislodged will no longer regulate the heat mat and the heat mat will overheat burning your snake.

Once you've properly placed the probe. Thin out or remove the substrate directly over the mat. Let the mat heat up and use your temperature gun to test the temps in the enclosure and adjust your thermostat accordingly.

Definitely this ^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Caveat to Homebody’s recommendation would be to point the temp gun onto the top of the glass over the heat mat to see where your temps are. That way you will know the safe zone for your thermostat setting. Maybe let the setting start out at about 92F then check and recheck as the thermostat does the work to regulate the heat mat. Then go up or down as you see the temperature on the glass directly on top of your mat. Nice work.

[MedicalAuthor]

So I tried the blow dryer method of f/t (or am in the process of trying) and at first thought it was a success. Python grabbed the rat from the opening of the hide and dragged it in. Didn’t look like he wrapped it but had it in jaws. I turned down lights and left the room.

a few minutes later the snake is leaving the hide and exploring the enclosure, leaving the uneaten rat inside.

is this a rejection? Does it mean it wasn’t hot enough? Should I leave him alone and see if he ends up eating it, take the rat out warm it up and try again, or consider this failed and try next week (at this point it’s been about 5 weeks since eating).

[MedicalAuthor]

Perhaps he’s trying to make sure the coast is clear before eating. He was specifically looking right towards me as I walked in. Peeking in now, he’s re-entering the hide. So I wonder if this is a ‘I’ve killed my food now let me make sure it’s fine to start the vulnerable eating process’

[MedicalAuthor]

just checked. Tail hanging out of mouth. He ate the rat!

*runs out of room before snake can change its mind*

[Bogertophis]

just checked. Tail hanging out of mouth. He ate the rat!

*runs out of room before snake can change its mind*

I think most of us know the feeling! Congratulations!

[Bogertophis]

He seems to have already answered your questions. You're figuring him out better- when we study our snakes behavior from their perspective, they make sense & it gets easier to understand why they do what they do.

[MedicalAuthor]

Yes! I think that there wasn't room to eat it properly in the hide, so it came out to check the surroundings, which was why it was in threatening stance to me when I walked in, and after being left alone when I came back and saw him finishing the meal he was actually well outside the hide where he would have had to drag the rat to start eating.

Also, the f/t method with blowdrying is not bad at all. Definitely better than my exploding previous attempts

[Albert Clark]

He was deep into feeding mode and that’s where all wild instincts kick in. That’s just how these guys are wired, captive animals with wild instincts. There only needs to be that one trigger that will set it off and food tops the list. Good job all around.

[Homebody]

Caveat to Homebody’s recommendation would be to point the temp gun onto the top of the glass over the heat mat to see where your temps are.

That's what I meant. Thanks for the clarification.