Won't eat and shedding wierd

[bluemisscutie]

I've had my BP for about three weeks now. He's close to 3 months old. He ate once rite after I got him. I first tried feeding him a pinky (thats what the girl at PetCo told me they were eating when I bought him) and he wouldn't touch it. Then I tried a fuzzy and he ate it right away.

I keep him in a 20 gallon tank, I use aspen shavings as the substrate, he's got a warm side and a cool side, two hiding spots, large water dish, under tank heater...all that good stuff, but he's not eating.

He started shedding 2/01 and still hasn't finished so I haven't tried to feed him since. I'm worried about him because he's not shedding in one piece (as I was told is healthy).

Any suggestions on how I can help him or what I'm doing wrong would be really appreciated.

[GirDance]

As far as shedding goes, what is your humidity at? It sounds too low.

Are you using a screen top? If so there's a sticky on glass tank set ups that will walk you through raising the humidity. You could also make a humid hide (also a sticky). To have a garenteed great shed humidity needs to be at least 70. Every bit lower than that really risks a poor shed. You could also try soaking, but if you do this I would suggest setting up the sink you've got with your thermometre probe in it for about 5-10 minutes first, and keep the temp around 83-85 - too warm and he'll heat up too quickly, and too cold cool off too quickly.

As far as eating, he could be stressed out right now from the bad shed, or could have been offered while in blue and mostly blind. Wait till you get the shed sorted out and then worry about food.

[bsd13]

I've had my BP for about three weeks now. He's close to 3 months old. He ate once rite after I got him. I first tried feeding him a pinky (thats what the girl at PetCo told me they were eating when I bought him) and he wouldn't touch it. Then I tried a fuzzy and he ate it right away.

I keep him in a 20 gallon tank, I use aspen shavings as the substrate, he's got a warm side and a cool side, two hiding spots, large water dish, under tank heater...all that good stuff, but he's not eating.

He started shedding 2/01 and still hasn't finished so I haven't tried to feed him since. I'm worried about him because he's not shedding in one piece (as I was told is healthy).

Any suggestions on how I can help him or what I'm doing wrong would be really appreciated.

Read this article

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=43403

Should do the trick if you follow the advice.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

What are your temps and humidity?

Do you measure them with a digital thermometer/hygrometer?

Are you hides tight and identical?

Have you handle your BP since you have had him?

Remember that pinky and fuzzy are WAY TOO SMALL for a BP, most BP are started on hoppers and quickly transition to adult mice.

Did you offer live?

[bluemisscutie]

It's a glass tank with a screen top. The temp on the warm side normally stays between 75-80F and the cool side is always around 70F. Is this too cold? The hides are identical but I wouldn't say there tight (after reading some posts I'm going to go to PetCo today to get new hides and cover the sides of the tank with black paper) I'm hoping this will solve any security issues.

The humidity stays at about 60...i'm still reading a post on how to raise it.

I feed him F/T fuzzys. Should I try something else?

[bluemisscutie]

He's only been handled maybe three times since I bought him. I was not to mess with him for a few weeks until he gets more used to the enviroment.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Is this too cold?

Yes your temps should be 80-84 on the cool side and 90-94 on the warm side (this mean having an accurate reading with a DIGITAL thermometer/hygrometer)

And keep in mind temps below 75 are un-healthy and will increase the risk of RI (Respiratory infection)

I feed him F/T fuzzys. Should I try something else?

Your BP is very young and if he was fed live before I would suggest you to feed live for 4 to 5 feeding before attempting to switch to F/T

Feed a prey slightly smaller than the girth size (widest part of your BP's Body) - Again pinky and fuzzy mice are too small.

Once you make your changes leave your BP alone for a week (no handling) before offering food.

[bluemisscutie]

Thanks for the help. I'll post again after I try some things and let you know what happens.

[NickP]

First of all, don't get anything from petco unless its an emergency. I ordered one hide, background paper, water bowl, bendable tree, substrate bricks, mister, tongs, two UTHs, dual thermo/hydro gauge and red light bulb online from reptile supply and with shipping that was 1/3rd the price I would have to pay at petco. I also got two thermometers from LLLreptiles.

To raise humidity, put the water bowl either under a lamp (if you have one) or directly above the UTHs. You can also insert an additional water bowl with wider tops. During sheds what I do is I wad together 3 papertowels, damp them and put them in the tank. When they dry you can either mist them or re-damp them. That is a great way to ensure your humidity will stay high enough over night. Also, I'm not sure if this works or not but while my Bp was shedding I damped a towel and covered the top of the tank (the screen)

On a side note if you get a chance, take measurements (weight, length) of your bp. And take a pic in some kind of a box (shoe box or whatever) Trust me in a year or two you can take another pic in the same or similar box and enjoy the huge growth difference.

[bluemisscutie]

When I got home yesterday I sat his water bowl on top of the undertank heater...within an hour the humidity had raised from 60 to 70 so I was happy about that. I covered the sides of his tank with a towl which seemed to help the temp. problem.
I tried feeding him again lastnite to no avail. I'm worried because it's been 11 days since he last ate.