Brand new BP owner, first shed(I think), and advice on some other topics.

[Craiga 01453]

Hello and welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of snake keeping!!

There was a lot there, so I may miss a thing or two, but I'll cover the important things that stood out and do my best to address more.

It sounds like you got the snake right in the middle of the shed process. It typically goes as follows: pink belly and dulled skin colors, followed by cloudy eyes (known as "in blue"), then the eyes clear and the skin appears normal. A few days later the snake will shed, hopefully in one beautiful piece.
If your snake has skin peeling off, it is shedding. Since you've only had the snake a few days, all you can do at this point is assist if needed. That does NOT mean peel the skin off, never do that. What that means is a soak or a crawl through a damp towel. (If youre unsure of this process just ask and we'll help you out.)
Also, the humidity being too high for a few days until your equipment arrives isn't a big deal. Extended periods can cause illnesses such as RI.

To answer your bulb question, you'll get mixed answers here. Some will say switch to a CHE. I personally use dark purple bulbs, have for years, day and night. BPs do not require a light cycle. The light entering the room during the day is plenty since they're usually hidden anyway.
IMPORTANT: ALL HEAT SOURCES SHOULD BE REGULATED BY A THERMOSTAT,. This includes bulbs, CHEs, RHPs, etc...

I don't know what probes you're talking about because to my knowledge you only have a heat bulb at this point. So I'm confused and can't help there.
Nor do I know what you mean by "heated sides hide".


Moving on...

5- Pinkie mice are WAY too small for a BP. They eat hoppers right out of the egg for their first few meals, typically 3-5 meals and quickly move up to small adult mice.

7- that may be too big to start. 45 gallons in huge for a juvenile BP. It is recommended to start smaller so the snake feels more secure. You may get lucky though, but for this to work you will need multiple appropriately sized hides (BPs like their hides snug fitting), lots of clutter and to black out the sides, back and top of the enclosure. (Feel free to ask follow up questions on this if you need to). Security is SUPER important to BPs, and without a lot of modification a 45 gallon does not offer much security for a young BP.

10- I already mentioned this, but I'm repeating it due to the importance: ALL HEAT SOURCES SHOULD BE REGULATED BY A THERMOSTAT. Including heat bulbs.

12- Also very important: be sure to measure the actual glass surface, not the top of the substrate. BPs can and will burrow, push substrate around, etc...so it's important to measure the glass itself, since that's the hottest point and your snake WILL come in contact with the glass.

14- I mentioned having proper hides earlier, but I'll elaborate here. It's important to have identical hides, for a young BP especially, because they will often sacrifice proper temps to feel secure if they dont have proper hides. By proper, I mean single entry, cave style, low to the ground hides. Not half logs, not skulls, castles, etc...(Those are a nightmare and should NEVER be used). They should be somewhat tight fitting to the snake, but if they're a little too big you can add some crumpled newspaper or something similar inside until the snake grows into it. But don't go too big. It should still be snug.

17- daily handling of 30 minutes is too much, especially at first. Start short and sweet. Start with 2-3 sessions per week at about 10-15 minutes each handling session and work your way up. Over handling is a sure fire way to stress the snake. Build trust over time and work your way up to longer, more frequent handling sessions.
Keep in mind you'll have to give the snake 48 hours after a meal to digest with no handling, no handling before feeding, no handling while the snake is in shed.

Also, it's important to let the snake acclimate and get eating before handling starts. For new keepers I recommend no handling at all until the snake has eaten 3 consecutive meals without refusal. It's health is most important, and as a juvenile regular eating is paramount. You'll have 25+ years to handle your snake. Start slow and make health a priority.



I hope I helped you out. Feel free to ask follow up questions. I'm sure others will chime in too once they wake up and make their way to the forum.

Please read all you can. Study, learn and learn some more. The more you know about your pet the better you can care for it. This forum is a fantastic resource.

Also, remember to cross reference multiple sources before believing anything to be true. Unfortunately, the negative of forums like this and the internet in general, is anybody can throw any info they want out there, true or not. So, make sure to learn from the right people (unfortunately, that is usually not pet store employees). Just because one person tells you something doesn't make it true.

Good luck! And ask any questions you may have, we're happy to help!


P.S. there was no mention of whether you planned to feed in the enclosure or use a seperate feeding tub. Feed inside the enclosure. If you were planning to use a seperate tub I'll be happy to fill you in on why NOT to use a seperate feeding tub.