Quote Originally Posted by Smulkin
FROM other topic:
Well ventilated, not too big for her, 70-80% steady, timed lights (vis) + red heat, paper towel atm (sphagnum on bark layer otherwise), 89-78 gradient, digital thermometer/hygrometer w/ probe, handling still minimized (only had her a few weeks giving her plenty of acclimation room but the striking behavior has about disappeared) 03 yearling, 14" from xtreme reptiles. Think that about covers it. phew
First of all, that is not a yearling. She may be a CB '03 (which I doubt), but at 14" she is not a yearling. What you've pictured is certainly the blood's umbilicus, and I really can't help but wonder if that snake is actually much younger than you were led to believe. As far as the umbilicus is concerned, you can apply a triple antibiotic ointment, like polysporin, to it a few times a week, but outside of that it doesn't really appear to be too much of an issue, compared to getting your blood fully acclimated.

You say her enclosure is "not too big for her" and "well ventilated"...well, what do you mean by not too big? How big is the enclosure and what kind of cage is it? What kind of ventilation does it have?

From what you've described, your blood is in a very high-stimuli environment. If you truly want her to acclimate (which she obviously hasn't done) some enclosure modification is going to need to take place.
Here's what has worked for me time & again when it comes to dealing with difficult bloods.

Get a large plastic shoebox - either the Rubbermaid 2220 or the Sterilite 1754 model (which I'm particularly fond of for bloods since it's so deep). With a drill or soldering iron, make 20 ventilation holes in each of the "short" sides of the box. Use a very simple substrate - newspaper or paper towels work especially well. Add a couple of hide spots & a small water bowl. Maintain the entire shoebox at 82-84 degrees, and DO NOT UTILIZE A BASKING SPOT. Young blood pythons & basking spots are like oil and water - they do not mix!!!! Get them too warm & they freak out & stop eating. Put them in too big of a cage & they freak out & stop eating. In fact, there are a lot of factors that can cause a young blood to freak out & stop eating.

At this point your blood is probably freaked out by the overhead lighting & hot temperatures within her enclosure. If she's in a glass tank, the high visibility setup is likely to be stressful as well. The best thing to do IMO is to move her into the shoebox setup that I just described. Leave her alone for a week to 10 days & keep handling to an absolute minimum. After a week or so, introduce a large hopper mouse or appropriately-sized rat fuzzy/crawler into her enclosure. Do this after you've turned out the lights in your snake room. If you use a mouse, leave her alone for 20-30 minutes or so, and if she hasn't eaten it, remove it. If you're using a rat, it's safe to leave in overnight. This is a case where it's almost better to use a fuzzy/crawler rat, because they tend to bumble around a lot & create movement that will get your blood's attention. They're also too small to do any damage to your snake.

Hope this helps...let me know if anything needs clarification.

K