Digesting in cool hide? Should I move him?

[kiiarah]

Hi guys, so it is finally feeding day and after dropping a F/T fuzzy in front of the cool hide where he was lying, Shesha finally took interest and dragged it into the hide with him (after trying to no avail to swallow it butt first). He is now sitting very still in his cool hide so he either finished eating it or gave up on it, I am keeping it dark in the room to avoid disturbing him but he does not seem to be relocating to the warmer hide. I am concerned that he will not have adequate belly heat to digest. The hot hide is at a stable 90 give or take a degree measured by digital thermometer probe on the glass and regulated by a thermostat so I know it is not too hot (though the hide is a bit larger on the hot side). The ambient temp is 80. Until last night he had never used his cool hide but of course he developed a preference for it the day before feeding. What would you suggest, will he be ok if he decides to stay in the cool hide all night? Should I switch the hides and encourage him to go into the smaller one on the warm side to digest? Really not sure what I should do here. I don't want to disturb him but I don't want to leave him in a situation that may result in a regurg now that he has finally eaten. Any help would sure make me sleep better tonight. Thanks guys.

[KMG]

I would try to make sure the prey was eaten but other than that leave it alone. It knows what it needs and will be fine.

[kiiarah]

Alright, in that case should I give it another hour or two just in case he hasn't eaten it yet and just check him before bed to make sure it is gone? I don't really know how long a snake takes to swallow prey, or how long they might wait before actually eating it. Is there a time frame that it would be safe to say if they haven't eaten it by then they are not going to? I had two unsuccessful feeding attempts with him, one while he was in blue, so that was predictable, but also the day that he shed (I had to assist him with it so he was probably stressed). I just would hate to disrupt him before he is done and put him off eating. I will be stressing like crazy if I have to wait another week to try again, I am really crossing my fingers that he ate it since it would be his first appropriately sized food item.

[KMG]

Waiting until you go to bed is fine. Again its hard to judge your snake's timeline so you just have to learn what it does.

[kiiarah]

That is the tough part, he started the shedding process about four days after I got him so his behavior was pretty heavily affected by that. He had only had one feeding with me prior to that (on a pinky that the breeder provided, and which I later learned was too small for him). Of course, due to the shedding he has not accepted food for about 11 days now. I know that isn't a huge amount of time, but I am not to sure right now what his patterns are. I offered him the rat about an hour and a half ago and he showed fairly immediate interest (no zombie rat dance or anything, just set it outside his hide and watched him by night light). He spent about 10 minutes trying at it from the wrong end, but didn't give up, last we saw he got it by the head and dragged it into his hide so at least he seems like he was hungry. I am just hoping a hungry snake would only abandon a meal if startled or threatened and it has been dark and silent in the room all night, apart from lifting his lid to put the rat in.

[CryHavoc17]

Im sure your snake is fine. Trust their instincts and let them do their thing

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[albinos_rule]

Leave him be, he will be fine..About 90% of the time my snakes stay on the cool side to digest their meals, and they are fine

[Goode05]

I keep my ball with only ambient heat and it's only 81 degrees. He eats every time offered. I honestly think most people keep most snakes warmer then need be

[kiiarah]

Thanks for the replie. =) He did eat his rat and we finally got that lump in the belly that we have been going for. I can't tell you what a relief it is knowing he has taken a proper meal. I am hoping he may be done suggesting tonight so I can get a weight taken. Tonight will make 48 hours since he ate.