Not eating at first feed

[Kaorte]

So, got the thermometer w/probe; maybe a dumb ? but where does it go? in the tank? just the probe in the tank?

Put the probe right on the glass where your uth is. Stick the rest of the unit of the cool side, opposite the uth.

[mega8]

Put the probe right on the glass where your uth is. Stick the rest of the unit of the cool side, opposite the uth.

did that; the reading is 98! that is with the probe stuck directly to the glass where the uth is. When I had the probe dangling in front it was 95. the other side is 80............

and I just read about clutter in the tank? do we need more stuff; oh, my family loves clutter.......

[Kaorte]

You need to regulate the heat pad with a thermostat or a temporary rheostat. I usually tell folks to get a thermometer first just to they can see for themselves how hot they get unregulated.

The reptitemp 500r is a cheaper thermostat that is good for single setups. It is widely available online for about $25.

[DJ_Bizarre]

My snake didnt eat the first week i got it, I tried frozen thawed but the breeder said that it was being fed live. I tried about another half a week later with a live rat pup and went right for it. Then tried one more time with another f/t today and made sure it was nice and warm and just shook it lightly in front of him for a minute or two and he struck it. I am glad he ate f/t, just try and make your snake comfortable first. The first time i fed was in the enclosure and this time it was in a seperate box.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Since you have the UTH on the side of the tank you wont need to worry about a thermostat just yet but it is recommended to get a bigger UTH and have it on the bottom for belly heat. Put it on the underside of the tank. Raise the tank with those small rubber feet or plastic discs for furniture legs. Just enough to let the air circulate under. You can find these at walmart by the light switches and fixtures.

With it on the side it will keep the ambient temp pretty good. At night you should cover the top of the tank with a towel or foil to hold in the heat.

Sounds like you just need to do a few minor tweaks and it will be perfect. Do try enclosed hides. If you want just leave the logs in there for clutter and get 2 more. You can cut dollar store plastic bowles with a hole in the side for the snake. Put one on each side and see which hides the snake prefers.

As for feeding. He probably just needs some more time to adjust. He will eat when hes ready.