First time owner, please advise *long post*

[PrincessBunny]

As long as you are feeding an appropriate sized meals, temps are good, and you leave your BP alone for 2 days after a feeding, everything should be okay!

What worries you after feedings?

It's okay, we've all been there RE being anxious/having trouble relaxing.

Just remember, it takes a long time for snakes to get healthy, grow, get sick, get better, etc. Slow metabolism (usually) means nothing changes too fast. Snakes don't eat often (compared to humans or mammals), don't waste often, etc. It takes time for them to adjust to new environments, people, etc. It's the way they are.

No frontal lobe = very instinctual animals. Takes time for them to get conditioned that we aren't going to hurt them and are here to help, etc.

Cold blooded means they don't spend 90% of their caloric intake on keeping their body temps up, but in exchange, have a slow metabolism, and that means everything happens slowly with their bodies. That's bad because it takes time to heal and grow and get healthy, etc. However, it's good because most mistakes you can make (outside of dramatic temperatures - too hot or too cold) take time to hurt them. This means you can relax a little bit knowing that things aren't going to change overnight and that you do not have to be Johnny on the Spot. Checking in with your tank 1-2X a day (barring any sudden changes in the environment around your tank - like summer AC going on, winter heat which can mean drying the air our, etc), keeping things clean, and letting your snake adjust, are probably the best things you can do.

My carpet python, Yafe, got lost in shipment to us when he was 1 year old and 100g. He ended up having a full blown Respiratory Infection (RI) within 24 hours of getting him. 2 months of treatment including injections and nebulizer treatments before we knew if he was going to be okay. Comparatively, my wife, Katie, got walking pneumonia last week. 4 days on antibiotics and she's feeling fine. BIG DIFFERENCE. Yafe is doing fantastic now and is over 1.5kg and about 6ft long. He's eating like a champ and is a total sweetie.

My point is two fold. Again, it takes a long time to see dramatic changes in reptiles. Two, they aren't as fragile as many think. I've kept Yafe's temps and humidity spot on, in general, for years now (like I do with all my reptiles). However, I've paid extra care to his humidity because I don't want a repeat. Sometimes he pulls himself up on me and lets out some air and I spend about two minutes with his head next to my ear, but hey, we all worry sometimes . In any event, you know what? I have health issues too, so does Katie, and we aren't perfect keepers. There have been days when humidity dropped or raised, or temps fluctuated slightly, or one of the reptiles wasted and it wasn't cleaned that day. Again, not common, but very few people are perfect keepers and more so, trying to be perfect usually means too many changes in too short a period of time. Try not to be a helicopter snarent.

Remember, perfect is the enemy of good. Plus, obsessing or worrying all the time will just burn you out. Take a deep breathe. Take things in stride. Those of us with many reptiles have to or else we would burn out very quickly.

Bottom line: You've got this.

And

If you have any other questions or concerns, just ask!

Again, keep us posted and keep up the good work.

Oh sorry, I forgot to address about the mice. He was definitely being fed mice that were too small for him but since he would spend so long without food and has never had a schedule before the vet suggested we dust the mice in vitamins for now and gradually give him bigger prey once he establishes a schedule. I guess I feel bad about that too, he is been SO good eating that I can’t help but cry at how hungry he must feel all the time. Sometimes I feel like he comes out whenever he hears me just to see if more food is coming


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[Bogertophis]

Oh sorry, I forgot to address about the mice. He was definitely being fed mice that were too small for him but since he would spend so long without food and has never had a schedule before the vet suggested we dust the mice in vitamins for now and gradually give him bigger prey once he establishes a schedule. I guess I feel bad about that too, he is been SO good eating that I can’t help but cry at how hungry he must feel all the time. Sometimes I feel like he comes out whenever he hears me just to see if more food is coming


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Actually, when a snake is underfed, it takes time for their stomach to be able to handle more food, so a gradual increase is by far the best way, so he doesn't regurgitate. Keep up the good work.

[PrincessBunny]

Actually, when a snake is underfed, it takes time for their stomach to be able to handle more food, so a gradual increase is by far the best way, so he doesn't regurgitate. Keep up the good work.

I know, it’s just sad thank you


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[Bogertophis]

That is a relief, temperatures always drop at night and it is always when I worry the most.
After today I will feel much better, seems like he excretes on the 3rd or 4th day after eating


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Just bear in mind that with snakes, a significant drop in temperature (day or night) tends to signal a seasonal change to them, which is their cue to stop eating. This is instinctive- as they evolved in nature, snakes that failed to stop eating when it was too cold to complete digestion could get sick & even die from rotting food in their digestive system- snakes evolve behaviors for very good reasons in terms of their survival.

What I cannot tell you is exactly what temperature drop is enough to make your snake say "Whoa, it's winter!" and refuse food. Just like anything else, some are more sensitive than others.