New BP not using hides...

[akillian24]

Hello!

Herman, our BP arrived today and he's been in his enclosure.. but not in his hides. He's currently sprawled out over a piece of wood and some fake plants. He often looks as though he's looking up/attempting to crawl up the sides of the enclosure. Should I be concerned that he isn't settled? If not cause for alarm now.. when should I start to worry?

Husbandry:
48" PVC enclosure: UTH and mild heat lamp for a 90 temp on hot side, 75 on cool side. Humidity 59%. Eco-Earth substrate.

[SRMD]

Are you using a thermostat?

and that is normal behaviour if you have only just got him, he will want to explore his new home, but i would advise not handling him till you have him eating regularly, how big is the BP? weight and length?

[PorcelainxDoll]

When there little itll take them some time to get used to the hides and to learn to use them.

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[akillian24]

Are you using a thermostat?

and that is normal behaviour if you have only just got him, he will want to explore his new home, but i would advise not handling him till you have him eating regularly, how big is the BP? weight and length?

Doph, yes. Herpstat. Sorry, left that out.

He's a little guy, I didn't weigh him before getting him into his cage. He was born sometime in June I believe.
Is it normal that he keeps trying to ball-up behind the fake plants instead of his hides?

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When there little itll take them some time to get used to the hides and to learn to use them.

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Ok.. so don't worry? At what point should I start being concerned if he's still not using them?
I know I sound paranoid. LOL. It's my first BP. :-)

[KMG]

Having him in a 48 inch cage can cause stress. Young bp are usually kept in a 20 tank. Crawling up the sides and exploring is normal but the open area of the huge cage will cause him stress.

If you want to use it you need to junk it up. Meaning fill it up with plants, logs, multiple hides giving it plenty of cover.

This is mine to give you an idea. I have live and fake plants.



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Here are better shots to see how much cover she has. She is crawling through the tank in the pics. My tank is only 36 inches long and is considered to large.

[akillian24]

This is awesome KMG! My enclosure has quite a bit of stuff in it, but of course I can fit more.
I know the cage is pretty large, but since this is a family pet and in our study - we wanted one that had some visual appeal as well... and from my research on here, we quickly realized that a glass tank wasn't the best route. (Ya'll can remind me of my choice of that when I'm fussing about having to pull everything out to clean....)

I'll take a picture and post. Would love any insight. He was doing quite a bit of exploring when the sun went down last night.... but this AM he was coiled up under the mopani log and fake leaves. He was nestled in there pretty good (took me loonnng time to find him) but still not in a hide.

[Rickys_Reptiles]

Those are nice setups - but I gotta ask.... how long does it take to clean and disinfect everything in there?

[akillian24]

Here's his current cage:



And here is where he's hiding. Between/under the mopani log behind all the fake plants:

[Plunks]

I got my guy 5 days ago and he's been hiding in the corner under a fake plant. Today I finally decided to show him the entrance of his hide by picking him up and putting his head in. I don't think he knew it was there.
It seems to have worked because he's been in there all day

I'd give him a few days to settle in and if he's still not using his hides maybe gently show him the way.

[KMG]

Those are nice setups - but I gotta ask.... how long does it take to clean and disinfect everything in there?

Well I have a very small collection of snakes not a huge collection like you. If I had a large collection I'm sure I would not do as much as I do.

I really enjoy keeping my snakes in a natural looking cage. I Think they present well and look nice in my home and don't mind taking care of them. I can be kinda OCD on things and cleaning the cages doesn't take me that long but it helps that I constantly clean them so a full break down is never that bad. At least I don't think. That's just me though.


OP you have a good start. It looks really good.