Meet Mr. Slithersworth

[TraconSnake]

Or possibly Ms... hasn't been probed yet.



He's the one in front of the two aliens.

I don't really have any questions, but here's a bunch of rambling to consider in case anybody has recommendations.

Had him for a week now. He's in a 20g glass tank which I set up with correct temperatures before getting him. Currently I'm at 83/92 on temps (using the digital thermometers) with an inside temperature of 84, which is pretty much also the temperature in the room right now. Humidity is a little bit of a struggle - he's going into shed and I think is near the end of the blue stage, so I've been trying to keep it in the 70-80% range. I have some moss in there now, but I think I'll go ahead and make the DIY humidifier tomorrow.



The sides of the cage are insulated with styrofoam sheets, and I put up a forest type background as the plain white was pretty boring. Temps are controlled by the ZooMed thermostat with the cool side on a dimmer which is controlled also by the thermometer. The heat lamp I haven't been using much as it's been pretty warm lately, so keeping the ambient cage temp up hasn't been a problem.

The top is screen, which is covered with two 11x14 sheets of plexiglass wich I found at Home Depot in the plexiglass section. Great stuff as I didn't have to cut it or anything. And I can easily slide them to adjust how much of an opening there is in the top.

There are currently four hides... originally I had two, which are the tree things near the front. I quickly realized those are waaay too large, so I added the two half logs near the back. He has since been moving between the two of those. He was burrowing beneath the water bowl, but I fixed that by removing the Repti Bark substrate from beneath the bowl so there is no place to burrow.

The day I got him, I left two F/T fuzzies in the cage overnight. The next day there was just one, which I threw away. I'll be putting in the other two I got tonight, and will then purchase the small mice as the fuzzies seem a bit small for him.

Right now I think I have pretty much everything I need with the exception of Provent-A-Mite and Chlorhexidine, both of which are on order from MG Reptiles. No signs of mites, but I'll give the cage a preventitive treatment to be sure. Also, I need a large bottle of hand sanitizer so I don't have to keep using up all my hand soap each time I do something in the cage.

He's only been handled three times - once at the store, and twice each time I found him under the water bowl. I plan to start handling sessions after he's finished with this shed he's building up to. So that should give him probably a good week and a half to have adjusted to this new environment.

No doo-doo or urates yet.

Any questions or suggestions?

Thanks

[recycling goddess]

There are currently four hides... originally I had two, which are the tree things near the front. I quickly realized those are waaay too large, so I added the two half logs near the back. He has since been moving between the two of those. He was burrowing beneath the water bowl, but I fixed that by removing the Repti Bark substrate from beneath the bowl so there is no place to burrow.

The day I got him, I left two F/T fuzzies in the cage overnight. The next day there was just one, which I threw away. I'll be putting in the other two I got tonight, and will then purchase the small mice as the fuzzies seem a bit small for him.

it is my understanding that half logs are not good hides for balls as they like to hide... curled up in a little ball and feel really safe. so something they can get into which is a tighter squeeze seems to work better for them. that's probably why you found him/her under the water dish! that's a nice safe place.

when i feed f/t i find that once the prey item has cooled... they will no longer eat it. so i put one in at a time... allowing them to eat it while it's still nice and warm.

congrats on your new ball!!!

aleesha

[recycling goddess]

just did a little search for ya... here's two examples of hides.

the first one... i use for my snakes. i get the size that's appropriate for them:
http://www.ptgeckos.com/main/hides.html

and this one i know is very popular:
http://www.reptilesupply.com/product...roducts_id=834

[Grim91Z]

Wow, you have quite a set up there. Most of that is jsut for and gonna be aesthetics. BP's aren't really aboreal, so don't expect him to climb much. Seems like you fed him too soon, but at least one got eaten. Nice BP and congrats.

[Razaiel]

Impressive set-up it looks really lovely Cute little BP too - love the name


~Sue

[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

Love the name and the cage

[jglass38]

Nice setup! Welcome!

[TraconSnake]

it is my understanding that half logs are not good hides for balls as they like to hide... curled up in a little ball and feel really safe. so something they can get into which is a tighter squeeze seems to work better for them. that's probably why you found him/her under the water dish! that's a nice safe place.

These half logs are the smallest ones they sell, and he's all curled up and touching three sides. (the other end of the log is against the rear of the viv) I really think the water bowl would have been the best hide compared to pretty much any hide. One small entrance, and only as big as he makes it. The downside I saw was no chance for thermoregulation, and he seemed pretty cold, possibly due to the fact that the waterdish would be cooler due to evaporation.

Oh, and yeah, I know the whole forest motif is wrong for a BP, but that's what matched up well with the substrate. Perhaps a couple years down the road I may change to a desert motif to change things up... would that add undue stress, or should Mr. Slithersworth be able to 'get over it' without too much trouble?

[Chanarita]

Your setup is wonderful!


I am only guessing on this, but if you change the habitit completely...it might get confused..its hides are in different places, and so on. You might have to wait again for him to get settled.

Again, this is just a guess! Good luck with Mr. Slithersworth!

[Lady Python]

Love your snake's name - and he's a real beauty

My BPs shed in the humidity range of 55% - 60%. They have perfect sheds every time. I use a spray bottle with a fine mist several times a day. Works a treat.

They don't need a lot of humidity, and too much can lead to problems such as scale rot and respiratory diseases. As soon as they've shed, I let the humidity come back down to around 50%.

Mine have got little caves as hides. I also have one of those half logs...they use it for a toilet so it's been named "The Log Bog"

Humid hide with my BP didn't work out either. He went in it and promptly decided it made a very good bathroom LOL.