New Ball not feeding

[satomi325]

Good luck. Keep us posted.

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[anatess]

Wow, thanks everyone! So this is what ill do, I'll get a new hide and ditch the half log, and I won't handle her all week and ill attempt feeding again this weekend with a live mouse

From my experience, security and proper temps is very important in the first few weeks of getting a bp. This is usually the reason for the bp to go off feed evern if they've never skipped a meal at the store.

So, my advice - wrap 3 sides of the glass enclosure with dark paper. Replace the log with something that looks more like a cave. An appropriate-sized flower pot with a hole carved out of one side will do. Or even an opaque tupperware. The hide needs to be small enough that the snake's body touches the sides as he is curled up inside. Have 2 of these hides - one on the cool end one on the hot end. Then clutter up the place so that the snake slithers under something to move from one side to the other as it thermo regulates. Crumpled up newspaper will do. Check your temperatures so that the hot end is 92-95F and the ambient (general air temp inside the enclosure) is at 82-85F. Check the humidity so that it is above 50%. To raise it, you can use a bigger water bowl (a sturdy tupperware will also work here) or add a container of damp moss. Usually the ceramic heat lamp sucks out humidity.

Okay, after you got that all settled (don't worry about aesthetics right now if it's too much work to get it done, you can always redo the tank later when the snake is more established), give the snake a few days to settle (don't worry, they won't die of starvation that quicky unless your snake is really sick). Then feed small live rat (if it's the proper size or you can use mouse).

Okay, this is my snake's set-up the day I brought my snake home. I left her in here for a few days then I moved her to an opaque tub to feed and she ate right off. No problem. Now, I feed live rat and if you see the enclosure, it is a rat heaven with tons of places the rat can hide forever inaccessible to the snake... and it will be difficult for me to interfere incase the rat takes a swipe at my snake. So, I feed all my snakes in a separate feeding tub. No problems at all. If you don't have this same challenge, or if you feed frozen/thawed, it is better to feed in the enclosure to avoid having to move the snake.

Every single one of my snakes are transitioned this way (except for my very first one - I was a newbie and didn't know what I was doing).

So here's a picture of my snake's house to give you an example of how "cluttered" it is. It was a baby snake, under 200 grams if I'm not mistaken, so I put her in a 10-gallon (the smaller the better for baby snakes). I moved her to a 20 once she reached 500 grams and moved her to a 30 when she got past 1500 grams. She's a big girl.

[eatgoodfood]

Wow, thanks everyone! So this is what ill do, I'll get a new hide and ditch the half log, and I won't handle her all week and ill attempt feeding again this weekend with a live mouse

Thats a start, but its the rest of your setup that concerns me the most. I cannot see a thermostat in the pic, and do not see anywhere you mentioning that you are controlling BOTH the heat lamp and the heat mat with a thermostat of some sort. If you are not, get one, and get one now, while your at it get a IR thermometer so you can measure the surface temperature on the hot side (over the heat mat) and get that adjusted with the thermostat to about 91 (or at minimum a probed thermometer). Ignore calling the pet store about if they fed in the enclosure or not, judging by what you got the snake in, they are clueless about proper care. Another member mentioned blacking out three sides of the tank, that would also be a good thing, will help the snake feel more comfortable.

[Eazyyyb]

Thank you guys so much. I have a thermometer on the side of the tank with the UTH that stays around 82~85. A new thermometer and humidity gauge will be here in the mail tomorrow which will go on the opposite side for ambient temp regulation. I will ditch the half log and get 2 new hides tonight as well as covering 3 sides of the cage.

[Eazyyyb]

Question: should the "hot side" have both the UTH under and the lamp above?

[NYHC4LIFE8899]

My tank set ups as,2 hides,one on hot side one on cool...a heat mat on the warm side and a uv and heat bulb I thug warm side as well..a red light night time heat bulb at night also. A heat strip thermometer on the hot side and a dial hygrometer in the middle of the tank ,leaning more towards the warm side...some plastic plants on both sides and a wet rag on the top of the screen covering 60% of the screen.. My humidity I keep at 55-70 and the tempos the hot side is always around 86-88.. I also spray mist the tank2-3 times a day to keep humidity up. I have no thermostats set up controlling anything. My snakes uses both hides fine,eats regularly,but I have him only 3 weeks and is yet to shed,has pooped a dissed normally. A few buddies that have snakes have the same set up as me,which is where I gt my advice from,also spoke to a guy at the recent reptile expo who had a few bps and also told me the same set up he has that I now have,he as well don't have anything regulating his lamp and pad. Neither do my friends. I also have the back of the tank covered and that's it,not the sides. My one friend has the same be up as me and hissed tail boa was one foot when he got it,4 yrs later it's now about 5 and eating and shedding perfectly fine.

You will drive yourself insane if u try to control every single inch of humidity t the cool side to the warm side,u will go nuts,cause don't forget the inside temp your place will also affect the temp and humidity,that's common sense. Keep it simple,he will be fine.

here is my set up http://imgur.com/8gjLvzX

the bottom tank is what I'm starting to get set to get my second BP and the LI reptile expo on Oct13

[Shera]

Are you actually measuring the temperature of the hot spot on the floor? If not you definitely should be. Those UTHs can get WAY too hot. Is your BP hanging out on the hot side at all? An unregulated hot spot could be a part of your problem. You should really have a thermostat to control that (you can get a cheaper on/off kind for ~$30), and failing that, at least a lamp dimmer and thermometer with probe (but you will be in there several times a day adjusting it if the room temps aren't extremely stable). If you do not have a thermometer on the hot spot, or any kind of regulation, unplug it until you do, your BP will be better off with too little heat, than too much.

ETA: I personally do not agree with what NYHC4LIFE8899 said. A thermostat isn't necessarily needed, but I have run my Zoomed UTH full and it gets up over 125F. That is not an ideal, nor is it a safe temperature for a BP. At the very least you should have a dimmer and be measuring the floor temps with a probe thermometer or temp gun.

[Eazyyyb]

Are you actually measuring the temperature of the hot spot on the floor? If not you definitely should be. Those UTHs can get WAY too hot. Is your BP hanging out on the hot side at all? An unregulated hot spot could be a part of your problem. You should really have a thermostat to control that (you can get a cheaper on/off kind for ~$30), and failing that, at least a lamp dimmer and thermometer with probe (but you will be in there several times a day adjusting it if the room temps aren't extremely stable). If you do not have a thermometer on the hot spot, or any kind of regulation, unplug it until you do, your BP will be better off with too little heat, than too much.

i have a strip thermom about 4" above the UTH and the snake doesnt seem to mind, she is there alot, in fact she is there right now

[Shera]

Question: should the "hot side" have both the UTH under and the lamp above?

I have a single heat lamp in the middle to bring the ambient temp up to about 80-83F. A dimmer can be used with the lamp as well since enclosure temps will vary with room temps.

[Shera]

i have a strip thermom about 4" above the UTH and the snake doesnt seem to mind, she is there alot, in fact she is there right now

Ok, that's not going to tell you the floor temps, I would highly suggest a probe thermometer (Often under $10 in the aquarium section), or a temp gun so you know what the actual temps are.