how much should it weigh?

[Kaorte]

Put that tiny baby in a smaller enclosure and get some REALLY small hides that the snake barely fits into.

If your snake isn't eating, first thing I would suspect is husbandry. If it doesn't feel safe where it lives, it isn't going to eat.

I don't reallt think this is a matter of feeding live or F/T at the moment.

[SnkChrmr650]

the vet i took her to is the only all exotic vet in my area which sucks if they are giving me bad advice! the meds were purely to stimulate appetite not to de-worm they gave me a cup to get a poo sample as soon as she pooed out what they force feed her. i have a 15qt sterilite is that still too big? any suggestions on small hides i got some small gladware bowls but they are kinda tall should i cut them in half?

[SnkChrmr650]

does anyone know of a good vet in the raleigh/durham NC area?

[Kaorte]

the vet i took her to is the only all exotic vet in my area which sucks if they are giving me bad advice! the meds were purely to stimulate appetite not to de-worm they gave me a cup to get a poo sample as soon as she pooed out what they force feed her. i have a 15qt sterilite is that still too big? any suggestions on small hides i got some small gladware bowls but they are kinda tall should i cut them in half?

I have never heard of an "appetite stimulant" for bps.

a 15qt would be fine. I would cut the hides in half to make them more of a tight fit.

[rabernet]

does anyone know of a good vet in the raleigh/durham NC area?

Call NC State School of Veterinary Medicine and the NC Zoo Reptile Department and ask them who they recommend in your area. Check with your local Herp Society and ask them as well.

You can also check the link provided above.

As for small hides - go to Home Depot/Lowes/Walmart and buy a few small plastic flower pot water saucers and get a $10 solder wand while you're there. You can solder out an entrance to make nice tight hides.

This is a 15 quart tub that I set up for a baby:



After that picture, I replaced the green hide with an identical flower pot saucer hide on the other side.

There IS a baby under there:



After you get the baby set up in that enclosure, leave it alone for a week (no handling) and then drop in a live small mouse hopper into the enclosure (or rat fuzzy) and walk away. Check back in 1/2 an hour. If the prey isn't eaten, remove it and wait another 5 days (I feed hatchlings every 5 days).

Good luck!

[SnkChrmr650]

ok well the only uth i have is on the bottom of my current 20L glass tank and i have no way of getting one till monday night i have the tub setup except for heat and by the time i get the uth for the tub it will be five days after the force feeding. What should i do? should i just leave her in the 20L or is there another way to heat my tub?

[elevenphoenix]

You can't take off the UTH and put it under the tub?

I would leave her in the 20L until you have the appropriate heat source for the tub.

As for feeding, I would start her off with some fuzzies and then move up to hoppers. The fuzzies won't hurt her, they barely move and usually don't even have their eyes open. After she's eaten a few of those, I would try to switch to hoppers. I was told to start feeding my baby BP hoppers so I tried that, but she acted like she was terrified of the hopper so I had to remove him and let him free outside lol. I kept her on fuzzies for a while and now she's been chomping hoppers like they're going out of style. She's also finally put on some weight.

I bought her in early May and it's taken her a good 2 months to get used to her surroundings and not be terrified when I walk into the room. She was not CH bred though.

Where did you purchase this snake?

[SnkChrmr650]

i can remove it from the tank but i need some where to put her and keep her warm while that happens so im kinda in a catch 22! im going against the vet and getting live fuzzies for the next feeding attempt (the vet told me to feed her f/t pinkies cause the fuzzies were too big but they honestly look a little small themselves so i think fuzzy is the way to go. as for where i got her i got her at a local pet show about 8 wks ago and didnt know enough to ask some important questions about her such as if she had been fed!

[cinderbird]

I was told to start feeding my baby BP hoppers so I tried that, but she acted like she was terrified of the hopper so I had to remove him and let him free outside lol.

not to get too off topic, but this is an incredibly poor practice. domestically bred rats and mice do not belong outside. they can pass diseases and parasites back and forth to wild rodent populations, among other things.

if a reptile dosen't eat a live rodent you have a few much more acceptable options:

- take the rodent back to the store, assuming they will take the rodent back
- hold onto the rodent until the next feeding attempt
- rehome the rodent to a pet home
- give the rodent to another snake of yours (assuming the originally fed snake was not in quarantine)
- give the rodent to a friend who also owns reptiles who can feed it off.

hope this can help!

and to the OP

I had a baby who i picked up who had NEVER fed before i got her (brand new hatchling). I have her in a 15q tub. I first offered her a live small adult mouse/big hopper mouse. It took her about 45 minutes but she finally got the idea. The important thing for her was the movement. After 2 live feedings I successfully switched her over to F/T. It is do-able, dont worry.

I'd recommend a quality thermostat and a plastic enclosure. 6q or 15q tubs are great. Flexwatt or an UTH are good heaters. If you're looking for a good, affordable thermostat a Johnson Controls or Ranco wont burn your bank too much and they're more reliable than a dimmer.

make sure the enclosure is in a low traffic area that isnt disturbed. give her some time to settle in, and try offering a live hopper.

[SnkChrmr650]

is there any good way to heat a tub other than a uth?