First Thread/First BP/First set of questions

[Eric Alan]

Hello everyone,

First of all thank you to all who have posted such informative threads. I have read quite a bit and it has all been very helpful.

I got my first BP 2 weeks ago from Rodney Miller off of the kingsnake marketplace. I got a Orange Ghost Enchi male. I have two boys 10 & 8 who absolutely adore him. They wanted to name him Khan, a Jungle Book reference. He is currently residing in a 32 qt Serilite Tub lined with paper towel, with Flexwatt heat under half of it on a thermostat. I have a laser heat gun to test the temps as well as an ambient humidity and thermometer placed inside the tub. He has 2 hides, both the same hollow log type, one on the hot side and one on the cool side.

I have the thermostat set to 101 degrees and the temp reading on the paper towel, on the hot side is reading 92-90 degrees (i assume the heat transfer must be losing around 10 degrees once transferred into the tub), on the cool side it reads 78-80 degrees.

He has eaten twice now. Live mice. And he doesn't waste a second once he detects the mouse in his tub.

I have been handling him often. 10-15 minutes at a time. Except after eating. He has a great temperament ... he has never struck at me or my boys. He does flinch aggressively if anything gets near his head sometimes but I assume that's normal while he is young. When myself or my boys do handle him he is pretty active. He hasn't ever just balled up and chilled out. He wants to go and explore. The only time he is still is on or around my neck. Is this just because he is young? Will age chill him out a bit?

My other question is his love of the cool side of his tub. He very rarely goes to the hot hide. Even after he eats he goes to the cool side? I have seen him in the hot side, i don't think it's uncomfortable, but he probably spends 80% of his time on the cool side. I suppose he is smart enough to figure out what to do for himself but I wonder if I am getting bad readings from the temp gun?

Anyways,

Thanks again everyone.

First off, he looks awesome! Enchi and OG compliment each other VERY well.

Each BP has their own personality. I have some that flinch for a second and then chill when I take them out. I have some that could care less when I reach in and mess with them. I have some that tend to ball up when they're out and then relax, and I have some that are constantly on the move. They do tend to mellow out as they get older, but that's not always the case.

For your temps, make sure that you're measuring the tub itself above where the Flexwatt is - NOT on the paper towels. That's where you want the 90ish range. When he decides he wants to move the towels around and redecorate for himself, you want to be sure that he's not going to find temps that are too hot for his liking and end up putting him in danger. Honestly, that could be the reason he's favoring the cool side (temps being too warm for his liking on the hot side). Once you have the temp directly on the tub in the right range, then you can chalk it up to him deciding what's best for himself.