Concerns...

[jenaero]

I posted my first questions last week and got a lot of helpful replies..Thanks

I also warned I'd be back with more so here goes...

I got my bp in May. She's been eating/shedding/acting fine up until now. She's refused the last 3 feeding attempts. I know bps are notorious for going off feed for no reason and if there were no other issues, I wouldn't worry as much. She's been literally climbing the walls most of the day for about the last week. I'm talkin 6 hours or so a day! The only change I've made to her habitat was to make her a new cave, as she'd outgrown the first one. I'm told 'she' may actually be a boy looking for a mate. I never did get her sexed. Is she stressed? Should I handle her more to get her mind off of it if she/he is looking for a mate? Also, I woke up the other day to see she'd made a hole in the substrate (paper towels) and buried herself completely, in the cave. Is that normal?

Any help is appreciated!

[rabernet]

How large an enclosure do you have her in? If it's too large, the roaming could be stress related.

[jenaero]

Well she's a bit over 2ft long and I've got her in a 20gal. Seems a little small even, but I'm still relatively new at this. All temps are fine, setup is complete with humid and dry hides, same as always.

[JLC]

How old is she? They don't usually go off feed for mating reasons before they've reached sexual maturity.


Based on what you've said, my guess would be that she doesn't like the new hide you provided. Is it very different from the smaller one? Sometimes, what seems too small for us is actually just perfect for them...even if it looks like they're wearing a turtle shell or hat!

Also...you only mention one "cave"...she really should have two identical ones so she doesn't have to choose between feeling secure and finding the right temperature range to hang out in.

[jenaero]

I don't know how old she is exactly but I'm guessing she was only a couple months old at most when I got her in May.

The new hide is different. The old one was just a small reptile cave I bought at the store. The new one is a gladware container covered with cardboard to keep it dark. Her humid hide is also a gladware container but covered in reptile carpet. She's always used that one. The new cave seemed to freak her out at first but she started using it just a couple hours after I put it in there. Her old cave was definetly too small. She'd go in and the whole thing would lift up over her and a good portion of her body would stick out from underneath.