Meet Thurman!

[roodles]

Hey all! A couple of weeks ago I posted about setups for a bp that I was planning on getting. Sure enough, last Saturday I picked up a gorgeous boy from the Richmond Reptile Expo!

His name is Thurman, and he was advertised as a PewterBee (Cinnamon/Pastel/Spider). He's about a month old, super sweet, and very forgiving of my new owner jitters.











(His temps have since settled. He's in a 10 gal, as I originally had a tub set up for him, but my brother spilled his water, and the humidity was through the roof. I'm currently waiting on a smaller Ultratherm UTH to arrive to replace the really, really crappy Zilla one he has now, and will pick up some standing foliage.)



Baby pictures from his breeder, American Made Exotics!









I'm going to try and get a meal in him today. He's been really chill, not showing too many signs of stress. I've tried to leave him be, but had to handle him a bit to switch the tanks, and get everything settled. He's wary when I reach for him, but instantly chill when being held. I'm looking forward to a good many years with this little guy!

[Aercadia]

He's so cute!! Congrats on your new little guy :) and good luck with the first feed!

[tembii]

He's so cute I love the pattern along the side of his face, what a sweet boy. That's why bps are my favorite snake they just have the cutest faces!! They look very gentle. Tell us how his first meal went!! Congratulations!! xx

[roodles]

Thanks everyone! I picked up a hopper mouse on the way home, and plucked up the courage to give it a good thump before dangling it in front of Thurman with tongs.

Before that I put the mouse box on top of his cage to let him know food was imminent.


He was chilling under his hide, and I did the sad mouse dance, wondering if he was ever going to get it. Then BAM he snatched it and constricted. I was worried it would be a little bit big for him, but he got it down after some amusing "which way do I bite?" shenanigans around the mouse's head.

Can snakes preen? If they could, Thurman was preening.

I'm hoping I don't come home to regurgitated mouse, haha.

Overall, it was a positive experience! I think I would prefer F/T, and could live without the queasy guilt (which I'm sure will fade), but we'll see next Wednesday how this holds up! (Will post pics when I'm not on my phone)

[tembii]

Yee I feed f/t to Louie, I just put it on the fridge in a Ziploc bag the night before then I USED to warm it up on a cup of water- but then he got finicky and wouldn't take it so I switched to warming it with a space heater (I don't have a blow dryer lol) and he takes em whole heartedly!! I'm glad your bby ate and hope they continue to do so!! xx

[Kath]

He looks very sweet.
Kath.

[Snake Judy]

Thanks everyone! I picked up a hopper mouse on the way home, and plucked up the courage to give it a good thump before dangling it in front of Thurman with tongs.

If you do a search, there are a few good threads on here in which people elaborate on why you shouldn't "thump" your rodents. If you're feeding live, you want the mouse or rat to be calm, well-fed and watered, and unaware that it's in danger. If you're concerned about the risks, the only acceptable alternative is to use rodents that have already been killed humanely.

[roodles]

If you do a search, there are a few good threads on here in which people elaborate on why you shouldn't "thump" your rodents. If you're feeding live, you want the mouse or rat to be calm, well-fed and watered, and unaware that it's in danger. If you're concerned about the risks, the only acceptable alternative is to use rodents that have already been killed humanely.

Thank you so much! I will definitely do a search, because I really didn't enjoy it, and felt bad for the mouse. I seriously want to do right by Thurman and his mousey prey, so I will do my best to incorporate this knowledge into our feeding routine. Hopefully I can get him switched to F/T and this will be a non-issue in the future.









He's been in his warm hide since last night, and I don't plan on disturbing him until tomorrow, when I switch his Zilla UTH to the Ultratherm. The breeder got back to me today, and confirmed that hopper mice were around the right size, so that was a good feeling. I'm seriously excited about this little guy!

[Snake Judy]

Awesome. Admittedly I have a soft spot for rodents so I like to see them getting the best treatment possible under the circumstances. Enjoy Thurman, he's a pretty little guy.

[Ax01]

congrats on your new baby BP! Thurman looks fantastic!

also I feed a mix of live and f/t. live as their 1st meal of the week and f/t for the 2nd. my snakes take both happily. i'll probably switch over to f/t fully at some point.

i've also accepted the fact that it's the circle of life and my snakes need to eat too and it just happens they eat rodents.