behavior of young bp

[Kase]

Hi,

I have a concern about my bp. He seems very scared alot of the time and often hides in the back of the tank away from everything. When I hold him any slightest movements of my hands causes him to get very frightened.What confuses me is that he still flicks his tounge as if he is content. Once he bumped his head into my thumb and it scared him so much that he hid his head underneath his body. Is it just because it is so young? Will he grow out of this the more I handle him? Also, he shows no sign of aggression. My snake is such a coward

[SatanicIntention]

It's very normal. Babies are scared of everything and think they are going to get eaten. Remember, you're HUGE compared to him Ack! Giant Human!

Just so his temps are in the recommended ranges, he has enough hides, and the room he is in is quiet with no harsh lights or anything. Maybe adding some silk foliage for cover would help make him feel more secure in his world . You can also crumple up some sheets of newspaper into balls and place those in the tank so he can crawl through them, and they would act like a continual hiding spot.

Is he in a tank or a plastic tub? If he's in a tank, covering 3 sides with dark construction paper or cardboard will help block out some of the outside commotion that might be making him nervous.

But anyway, just continue short handlign sessions(5 minutes or so) 3-4 times a week(or less) and make sure he eats well each week. Make slow movements whenever you hold him, or even just let him crawl around in your lap with your arms blocking the sides.

Hope everything continues to go well and good luck with him

[Kase]

Thanks alot that is such a relief! Here is a picture of his tank, it is very quiet because I live with a roomate in a 2 bedroom apartment. we both work full time so there is no constant day traffic in the house. I have fed him twice since i got him and he is very interested when i drop a mouse in. He eats it with no hesitation. I will continue to hold hime for 10-15 minutes every other day and see if he gets more comfortable. I guess he is still adjusting to his new habitat becuase I have only had him for a couple weeks.

[SatanicIntention]

The reason he may be feeling stressed is because his hides offer no security. Try some clay pot bottoms/saucers(catch extra water from the planter pot). Get two of those, and place one on the warm end and one on the cool end. They are low to the ground, heavy, dark, and circular, which is very important to a baby ball.

He needs two so he can choose if he wants to be warmer or cooler, and not have to choose between being secure in a hide or being warmer/cooler.

Do you have undertank heating? All I can see is a light. Belly heat is very important for snakes' digestion and metabolism. Heat from above does nothing but dry the air out. Are his temps 92-94 on the warm side and 82-84 on the cool side on a constant 24/7 basis? They should not drop at night. When I used to only have one thermo/hygro unit, I would lay the unit itself flat on the floor of the cool side, and run the probe over to the warm side and place it under the warm hide. That way you are getting an accurate measurement of what the snake is actually experiencing. I have two just because I'm anal-retentive...

I see that your humidity is only in the 40's. The lamps really suck the moisture right out of the air. Try using a heating pad only and see what happens with the temps. You may need to use the lamp on a dimmer in conjunction with the heating pad. To keep humidity in, you can use Glad Press N' Seal on part of the screen(or all of it with only a hole cut out for the lamp). You can also use ConTac paper(kitchen cabinet shelf liner-comes in pretty patterns/colors), or SaranWrap, or pretty much anything that is plastic(pieces of black garbage bag). Whatever you decide to do to make it pretty But the heating pad is a very important aspect, and you won't have any troubles with humidity when switching to one.

Hope this helps a bit, and I hope you don't think I was being critical or anything. Just want your snake to be happy and healthy, and want you to have an easier time taking care of him/her.

[Kase]

Thanks. Humidity is a problem. it's usually in the 43%-55% range. I would switch to an undertank heater but i don't know witch to get. also i heard that you cant leave them on 24 hours a day because of fire risk... What do i get?

[SatanicIntention]

There isn't a fire risk, unless one shorts out, which is a rarity. I have had two heating pads running 24/7 since November, and they have done fine. You can go to www.mgreptiles.com and Matt will be able to help you figure out which kind to get. You can get a $10 human heating pad WITHOUT auto shut off at Target to use for the time being, until you can get flexxwatt or another undertank heating source. Both of my heating pads are from Target and have done fine for me.

If you can't afford a good thermostat right now, Matt sells a few dimmers that will work until you can get a T-Stat. Flexwatt is very safe to use, but only when it is controlled by a dimmer, or more preferably, a good thermostat.

But anywho, Matt will be the person to ask about all of this Just shoot him an email or give him a call. Hope you get it all sorted out.

[daniel1983]

There isn't a fire risk, unless one shorts out, which is a rarity.

Yep... you have that risk with ANY electical device that has a short(including you alarm clock and toaster..ha). There is nothing to worry about if you make sure you are using the proper equipment

[alexrls]

just remeber that to a young bp U R HUGE!!!!!!! i mean ur hand is bigger than he is its very normal for it to be scared and yes as you handle him and he gets bigger this problem should go away


and definatly get an undertank heater the human ones are not meant to be kept on 24/7 so look into a reptile one