What to expect the fist month of ownership?

[PocketPirate]

Hey guys,

So I'm finally going to be receiving a baby 2015 female mojave in a few weeks, my first bp and reptile in general! I'm very excited and I've been researching since December. Right now I have a tank that is perfectly set up already and has been running for a while. (I do plan to switch her to a T8 when she gets bigger and I save some money) Hot spot at 92-93F (with digital probe reading, 90F with temp gun on surface inside of hide), and 80F ambient, 78-79F surface temps on cool side. There is a long reptiglo bulb that is mostly for aesthetic and viewing purposes, since I know they don't require any special lighting but I keep it on an automatic 12 hour cycle so that it simulates a day/night cycle since my room doesn't really have good lighting.

I'm using cypress mulch and without misting, the humidity tends to stay in the upper 40s to low 50s (I live in south FL so that may be why, I also have a deep and big water dish in there as well). I do plan to mist regularly though to bump it up in the 50-60% range, and of course I'll provide a humid hide with moss for when she sheds. I'm using the 'wet towel' method for now on the top screen to help it last through the day but I might do the duct tape + tin foil thing that I saw around here, not sure yet.

The dank is decorated with a lot of plants and cover to help her feel secure when she gets here. I can upload some pics later on if you guys would like to see!

I'm still extremely nervous though, I really hope she doesn't get sick or dies because of something I'm doing wrong even though I double and triple checked everything, and since i'm a complete novice to the hobby, I was hoping some of you could tell me what to expect or be ready for in the fist few weeks or months of ownership. I know not to bother her for a while while she adjusts to her enclosure for the first week. What was it like for you when you first started caring for your fist bp or snake in general? Feeding and maintenance and everything? Any tips and advice would be immensely appreciated

Thanks!

[kriegsmom]

Congrats! Don't be so nervous, mother nature typically takes of thing but, have a herp vet in case you notice anything unusual. I can't really help on the tank note, sorry. I stopped using em when I moved my snakes to my dorm. Just keep her fed, humid, and handled, and you'll have 10 years of an amazing pet!

[Snake Judy]

Just keep her fed, humid, and handled, and you'll have 10 years of an amazing pet!

You mean 20 or 30, at least!

But yeah, it sounds like you've got all your bases covered! I wouldn't stress.

[Shamri]

I was personally super stressed until Atticus had passed all his milestones - pooping, eating, shedding in one piece. It didn't help that I bought him on impulse and so had to play catch up. You are way ahead of the game, and so the only thing that I can see potentially taking time is learning your snake's feeding quirks. Once you've got that down, they are quite low maintenance

[theoremofgoats]

I'm going to give you a list of things I freaked out about during my first month, and what I've learned since...

1. Sometimes, these guys just aren't going to want to eat for you. But it's pretty common and missing a feeding or two is not the end of the world and it won't hurt them.

2. That little brown spot on its belly is probably just that: a little brown spot, or a tiny piece of substrate sticking on your snake. It is most likely not scale rot or a snake belly invader from space hellbent on torturing you. Keep the enclosure clean and tidy and you won't have to worry about scale rot, and it sounds like you've already done your research there, so kudos.

3. They like to hide. A lot. This is good and normal. You will rarely see them roaming around, and if they are, feeding day is probably around the corner. If it's not, just double check your temps and humidity to make sure all is well.

4. For being so shy and timid, these guys are insanely curious. It's taken me about 15 minutes to type this out because my little python has tried to crawl down my bra three times, into my hair twice, and onto my laptop many more times.

5. If it jerks its head away fast, it was most likely just startled and wasn't actually trying to bite. My ball python has never actually bitten me, and only struck at me once when he got substrate stuck in his mouth and I wrestled it out (couldn't blame him there). Even then, it was the laziest, half-hearted strike I've ever seen out of a snake.

[PocketPirate]

Thanks so much for the confidence guys, it really helps ease the anxiety of wanting to be as ready as possible! I should be getting her any week now, so here's a few pictures of my set up, see if there's anything I should change up or take note of that i'm missing:


Here's the complete set up. The thermostat can go up to 95, but the thermometer prope on the inside of the tank over the UTH usually reads 91-93, and the temp gun inside the warm hide usually reads between 88-90. The lighting is mostly for aesthetic display and I have it running on a 12 hour timer, just to simulate changes of the day since my room is usually dark for most of the day.



Here's the warm side after misting. If I never mist, the humidity stays in the mid-high 40s. Misting bumps it up to 70-80 and gradually falls through the day. The decoration is just to "fill-in" the tank more and provide more cover so she won't feel as exposed, but i'm not sure if I should add more or not.


And here's the cool end. (I had just misted so the humidity reading on the Accu-rite hadn't had a chance to reflect the true humidity yet when I took the picture. I know the water dish is a bit big, but I've been told it will help maintain the humidity, and I won't fill it so much next time. I also switched out the cool hide from that tree stump one (which was open at the top and I felt it would make her feel less secure) for this pyramid looking hide. I think I might just buy another warm-side hide so that they can be identical, what do you think?

Also, this set up has been running for about 2 months now...should I do a full clean before she gets here or is it alright to drop her in as is? For full cleaning, is it necessary to get out every last piece of substrate? And what about the temperature probe-- I feel like un-sticking and re-sticking it on the bottom will weaken the adhesive that is attached to it...any idea how to secure it to the bottom and right on the spot the UTH is??

Thanks guys!

[Naraku]

You may want to keep it in a smaller tank first, that seems overly big for a baby. Atm I'm forced to move my 2 month old out of his 20 long since he isn't eating.

[KitaCat]

You may want to keep it in a smaller tank first, that seems overly big for a baby. Atm I'm forced to move my 2 month old out of his 20 long since he isn't eating.

Maybe. The OP's tank is pretty good in terms of being cluttered with things to make the space feel smaller, and there are a few hide options. It really depends on the snake - she might be perfectly content in there, or she might find it too big and intimidating.

If that does become an issue, I'd recommend throwing in a couple more fake plants to make it even MORE cluttered, and if that doesn't work you could always keep her in a plastic shoebox-sized tub for a cheap temporary option until she grows.

Overall, I think you're very well prepared and things should be just fine.

[JoshSloane]

You don't need a smaller tank. With all the hides, fake foliage and decorations, it will feel plenty safe.

[C2tcardin]

Everyone hit all of the key points, I do agree the tank looks cluttered enough that she should feel secure but if you do have feeding issues then the 6 quart tub idea is a backup just in case.

Keep up the good work and use the search function, plus read all the locked threads (sometimes referred to as "stickies") on husbandry and care that you can, you'll find a lot of us had the same questions and we all went through the same learning curve too.