NEW HERE.. WITH QUESTIONS.. sorry if its long im concerned

[Kaorte]

Sounds good! Good luck Post pictures when your setup looks all nice and pretty.

[toddsbabygirl]

of course i will..

im still very curious as to how old he/she is.. i know she/he is 16" long and been fed once a week.. maybe my vet can guess

someone told me approx 4-6 weeks old

[Chocolate Muffin's]

I can vouch for the great advice I've gotten from Kaorte and others here. People here are so knowledgeable.

You are asking the right questions and most importantly, you are listening.... Definitely post photos when done.

Whats your new pet's name?

Welcome to the obsession!

[toddsbabygirl]

I can vouch for the great advice I've gotten from Kaorte and others here. People here are so knowledgeable.

You are asking the right questions and most importantly, you are listening.... Definitely post photos when done.

Whats your new pet's name?

Welcome to the obsession!

dont really have a name as of now, we just got her/him home today.. is it true about telling sex by length of tail.. if so then my she is a HE... lol

however my boys are calling it ziggy and my girls are calling it gaberielle.. so maybe ziggy gab

[Lolo76]

dont really have a name as of now, we just got her/him home today.. is it true about telling sex by length of tail.. if so then my she is a HE... lol

You can tell the gender of a BP on looks alone, at least not with 100% accuracy... only way to know for sure is by popping or probing, which I'd leave to an expert. As for his/her age, it would help to see a picture, but I would guess 2-3 months based on your description. Congrats on the new addition, and beware of the addiction - LOL.

[Chocolate Muffin's]

I think what Lolo76 means is that you cannot determine the animal's gender accurately without probing or popping the snake. I learned to pop from YouTube and have done it a zillion times for younger snakes. A vet can do a proper probe, but they may charge for this service. As you become more experienced, you can decide the best way to determine the gender of your new friend : )

[Lolo76]

Oops - typo! Yes, I meant that you cannot tell the gender on looks alone... and I'm learning the popping technique myself (with videos), but haven't been brave enough to try yet.

[Lolo76]

Btw, did you (chocolate muffins) find that YouTube videos were enough to learn? I was hoping to get an in-person demonstration before trying, but it seems many have learned through videos alone.

[Chocolate Muffin's]

Btw, did you (chocolate muffins) find that YouTube videos were enough to learn? I was hoping to get an in-person demonstration before trying, but it seems many have learned through videos alone.

Yeah, I watched several of them. Ralph Davies has one that I thought was especially good. He really keys in on how to move you fingers slowly up the tail, and then over the vent (it's done with 2 hands). If I had the link I would post it but I don't.

Ralph Davies was as good as anyone I thought to teach how to do it. I think it is very easy once the technique is established. I know that one has to be careful though, they say if not done right it can be dangerous for the animal, but you already know that

[Vypyrz]

okay a few Q's again.. one what kind of digital thermometer??? and where do i find one???

two my house is COOOOLD.. it stays about 68 at night and 69-70 during the day.

i do have the under tank pad but its meant for a 1-5 gal tank and i have a 10.. i was worried that this wouldnt be enough heat for her... right now i KNOW that she is cold and i have the pad and the light going I felt of her when i put water in there a few min ago and she was like ice

Hello and to the forum. You may also be able to find the AccuRite thermometer at Lowes in the Outdoor or Lawn and Garden section. Since your house temps are cooler, you may want to insulate your tank to help keep some of the heat in. You can cover 3 sides with something like foam board, cardboard, or polystyrene insulation. I like using the foam board because it's easy to work with and is available at Wal-Mart in the school supplies section. You can also get it in different colors. Whatever you decide to use, you can use stuff like aquarium scenery, paper or fabric to help decorate it up a bit. This all serves the purposes of insulating to keep in the heat. It helps the tank seem not so open to the snake which may help reduce stress.
Next, since you are using a screen top and a heat lamp, you may have problems keeping the humidity up. You can fix this by covering most of the top with something like aluminun foil, cardboard, foam board or polystyrene insulation wrapped in foil or a piece of plexiglass. What I did was cut pieces of card board into panels and wrap them in foil, that way I can add or remove individual panels as needed depending on how much I need to raise or lower the humidity. If you decide to use something wrapped in foil, make sure you leave about a 3 inch gap of exposed screen between the covering and the heat lamp, which will allow for ventilation and reduce potential fire hazard, and if you need to cover that gap then use only foil for it.
When your snake gets ready to start the shedding process you will need to get the humidity up to about 70% for a few days. there are a few ways you can do this. 1) mist more frequently. When you mist, make sure that you aren't saturating everything. 2) make a humid hide 3) add another water bowl with wet sphagnum moss or 4) fold up a wet towel (not dripping) and lay it on the screen, and just keep re-wetting it as needed.
Since it has already been a week or so since it ate it may be hungry, however, it is good to wait for about 5-7 days for it to acclimatize to it's new surroundings. It may eat now or it may not. It is also a good idea not to handle the snake for 24-48 hours after feeding, unless it is necessary for spot cleaning, and should be kept to a minimum.
If it is going to be a while before you get a thermostat for the UTH, you can always pick up a lamp dimmer switch or rheostat from Lowes, Wal-Mart, etc. for about $10 or so, which will give you a way to control the UTH.
That's about all I can think of for now. Hope it helps...