Help please

[LittleTreeGuy]

you're doing the right thing by seeking help and asking questions. The snake is obviously in it's best care of its life so far, but there is a bit of a learning curve. Hang in there... it's hard to get things right from the beginning, but once you get it, things stay pretty consistent.

Males don't normally get as large as females, and I've read where growth can be stunted a little, but I've also read where underfed snakes come around and grow to be the same size as any other adult. In my own personal opinion, I think a lot of it is genetics. Like humans, we're not all the same size, height, weight, and we grow at different rates. There are guidelines out there for growth, but we're all still different. Same with the snakes.

Feeding - if he's around 300 grams, an adult mouse may be on the small side. I would try to switch him to rats, if possible. Either rat pups or weaned rats. He'd probably do fine with weaned, if they are on the smaller size. I like to feed by the 10-15% rule... so I weigh my snake often and make sure her prey is 10-15% of her body weight. I fed every six days until she hit about 800g, now I feed about every 8-10 days. Some weeks, she doesn't take it, so then she goes until the next week. You have to find what works best for you.

Humidity - The towel trick is a great idea. You need a good size bath/beach towel for that. Some other things you can try... go to lowes and ask them to cut you a plexiglass top for your enclosure. If you have lights/heaters on top, make sure they cut openings for those, as the heat could melt the plastic. Maybe put some metal screen over those holes so the snake can't get out, but the heat won't melt anything. That will help keep moisture in. Or, you can wrap the top with plastic wrap or foil. Again, keep away from heat sources for obvious reasons. In addition, I would add more and larger water bowls. that will increase humidity. If you still can't get it in check, fold some paper towels and soak them in water and put them inside the hides. That is a simple way to increase humidity inside the hide where the snake spends most of it's time.

[Mangiapane85]

The tub idea intimidates me as well for some reason.

Why? ... it will make your snake much more comfortable. Check out the video of my snake room I posted yesterday. All small plastic tubs. All very happy snakes.


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[Mangiapane85]

Ok so I guess we will start with the hides then. We have spent a lot of money on all of this so I would hate to just put him in a tub and everything be wasted.
Any idea on the humidity issue? We live in Colorado so we already have very dry air. I bought a humidifier for the living room where he is at but it hasn't seemed to Help any.

That's probably because he's in a screened top tank. Just saying. .. at least that's what I'm assuming he's in cuz I can't see your pictures. The tub idea COULD just be a temporary thing. It's to get your snake eating and comfortable. Your tank setup will always be there. But I can almost guarantee you, if you watch my video and see the way I have them set up. They will totally change for you. A snapping snake is a stressed snake. A puppy dog badass eating snakes, is a HAPPY snake.


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[Abouse]

That's probably because he's in a screened top tank. Just saying. .. at least that's what I'm assuming he's in cuz I can't see your pictures. The tub idea COULD just be a temporary thing. It's to get your snake eating and comfortable. Your tank setup will always be there. But I can almost guarantee you, if you watch my video and see the way I have them set up. They will totally change for you. A snapping snake is a stressed snake. A puppy dog badass eating snakes, is a HAPPY snake.


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Yea it is a screen top. I'll go check out your video now. I figured he was stressed for one reason or other. But at this point I just need help from those who have experience☺ and I'm processing what everyone has told me so far and everything seems like a valid idea. You can only Google so much before you confuse yourself hahah. I really just want him happy so I'll do what has to be done too get there.

[Abouse]

you're doing the right thing by seeking help and asking questions. The snake is obviously in it's best care of its life so far, but there is a bit of a learning curve. Hang in there... it's hard to get things right from the beginning, but once you get it, things stay pretty consistent.

Males don't normally get as large as females, and I've read where growth can be stunted a little, but I've also read where underfed snakes come around and grow to be the same size as any other adult. In my own personal opinion, I think a lot of it is genetics. Like humans, we're not all the same size, height, weight, and we grow at different rates. There are guidelines out there for growth, but we're all still different. Same with the snakes.

Feeding - if he's around 300 grams, an adult mouse may be on the small side. I would try to switch him to rats, if possible. Either rat pups or weaned rats. He'd probably do fine with weaned, if they are on the smaller size. I like to feed by the 10-15% rule... so I weigh my snake often and make sure her prey is 10-15% of her body weight. I fed every six days until she hit about 800g, now I feed about every 8-10 days. Some weeks, she doesn't take it, so then she goes until the next week. You have to find what works best for you.

Humidity - The towel trick is a great idea. You need a good size bath/beach towel for that. Some other things you can try... go to lowes and ask them to cut you a plexiglass top for your enclosure. If you have lights/heaters on top, make sure they cut openings for those, as the heat could melt the plastic. Maybe put some metal screen over those holes so the snake can't get out, but the heat won't melt anything. That will help keep moisture in. Or, you can wrap the top with plastic wrap or foil. Again, keep away from heat sources for obvious reasons. In addition, I would add more and larger water bowls. that will increase humidity. If you still can't get it in check, fold some paper towels and soak them in water and put them inside the hides. That is a simple way to increase humidity inside the hide where the snake spends most of it's time.

It's a lot to learn that's for sure. I'm going to put a towel on now and hope that gets him some humidity.
I'm not worried about his size we just really wanted a bp and when they told us his story we decided to go with him over all the others. I wanted to give him a good life so that's the goal. As long as he's happy and healthy I don't mind if he stays the size he is now. When he s not stressed or whatever's going on he's a really chill little guy. You can pretty much do anything and he will just hangout so that's why my concerns have come up from the sudden attitude of you will.

Tomorrows feeding day so I will be grabbing him some little rat pups tomorrow and see if that helps him out a bit. I do like the 10-15% idea that seems like that will help me stay on track of how much /what he needs.

Is there substrate that hold moisture better than others? We had repti bark in there then another pet store told me that was to dry for a bp...? But I have seen a lot of people use it... So idk They recommended gorilla hair from home depot which we got but doesn't seem to Help any it's just softer than the repti bark

[Coluber42]

The problem with misting is that while the moisture you do introduce evaporates right away (since it's in little droplets all over the place) and increases the humidity quickly, but you aren't actually introducing very much total, so it doesn't last. Basically, the total amount of water in a few squirts of a spray bottle is not very much.

There are basically two ways to raise humidity: reduce the amount of ventilation by which humid air leaves, and increase the amount of surface area from which water can evaporate.
Putting a towel over the top is better than nothing, but a towel is permeable. So it's not going to be as good as aluminum foil, sheet of plastic, etc. Cover the entire lid with foil, except for whatever opening you need for heat lamps if you have them. (For that matter, that's really the problem with heat lamps - you have a big hole that the hot air is rising out of and taking the humidity with it.)
Then put something inside that water can evaporate off of over time, in larger amounts than the total amount introduced when you mist. A bowl of water with a bunched up paper towel sticking out of it will let the water evaporate faster than just the bowl of water by itself, because the towel effectively increases the surface area off of which the water can evaporate. A pile of damp sphagnum moss will help, or a damp sponge sitting in a dish of water, etc.
There are substrates that hold moisture better, too. Eco earth, coco fiber, etc, are all good for that. Over time they will still dry out though, so you will still have to "water" them. Live plants are also good for humidity, because they lose moisture through their leaves and also the soil holds moisture and lets it dry out slowly.
Incidentally, you don't have to use the same substrate everywhere. You can mix in some of a different kind, or make a humid hide that's stuffed with moss or is dug into a pile of eco earth or similar.

[Yzmasmom]

I was going to suggest switching to rats too. They are nutritionally whole, whereas mice are not.

[Zincubus]

I was going to suggest switching to rats too. They are nutritionally whole, whereas mice are not.

Is that true though ?

I'm sure I read somewhere just recently that they are the SAME value nutritionally BUT rats have a higher fat content so they're helpful and indeed popular with breeder wanting to get some weight on their snakes.

As regards substrates , orchid bark holds moisture better than most , looks fabulous and let's your snakes stand out unless it's a dark coloured one .

[PitOnTheProwl]

I was going to suggest switching to rats too. They are nutritionally whole, whereas mice are not.

Not.....
The major difference is one rat to multiple mice but gram per gram there isn't much difference.
Feed what your animal will eat.

[OTorresUSMC]

You have gotten a ton of info here so im not going to really add to it and get things even more convoluted. Just two comments 1. My humidity has been leaps and bounds better since i switched to coconut husk for bedding. I only mist it every couple days and im good to go. Of course i dont have screen tops even tho i use plexiglass tanks. 2. You dont need to put your snake in a tub to get him to be less stressed and feeding. While i think tubs are great for large operations and higher number of snakes, and yes they do well for the snakes as they are secure and confining, the average BP owner is looking for an aesthetic aspect as well and tubs are useless for that. Your enclosure is big for him but i think if you dial in your temps and fix those hides you should be fine. I use those reptile basics ones and i think thats the best way to go. Very small opening and tight on all sides for the snake. Lastly pet store people are useless. At least for snakes.

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