Feeding New Bp's

[snakemum]

Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum and to BP's....I just got a male and 2 females (het albinos) a week ago (all'06s, one is 3 months old, one is 4 months old and one is 5 months old)....the smallest female bp ate no problem a couple of days ago...I fed her in a separate feeding enclosure....when I tried to feed the other 2 bp's (on separate occasions), they wouldn't eat (I tried each in a feeding enclosure). I have aspen in their tanks, so don't want to feed them in their tanks......should I get rid of the aspen and put down newspaper so I can try feeding them in their enclosures? I am worried that if I put newspaper down that my under tank heater will be too hot against their skin....right now they have a cushion of aspen between them and the uth??? How does it work to use the newspaper??

[BP's Rock]

The UTH goes under the tank, not in it

[jcaustralia]

they are probably refusing the food due to the fact that they are being moved to a different enclosure, feeding in the tank is fine. the aspin should not be an issue as they can digest that. if you are using news papper wich "aolt" of us do you will need a t-stat to monitor the temps so they do not get to hot.

[jcaustralia]

The UTH goes under the tank, not in it

dang i missed that, lol, ggod catch.

[snakemum]

Sorry..I know that the uth goes on the outside of the tank....that's where I have them.....I meant that the heat coming through the glass of the aquarium will be too hot, even with newspaper ontop....with the aspen, there's more of a barrier between the glass and the snake (the heat and the snake).....I didn't think they could digest aspen??? Are you sure????

[jcaustralia]

it is not best for them to eat it, but they should not get unuff to cause any issues. snakes stomaches contain a very high acid content.

[snakedude56]

The aspen should be fine. Try leaving the snakes that are not eating alone for a while until you get them to feed. If you can not get them to eat frozen thawed or prekilled you may want to try feeding live. Feeding live is completely safe as long as you closely monitor the snake and mouse. Never leave a live prey item in with a snake any longer than 20 minutes. good luck with your picky eaters.

[snakemum]

What brand/type of thermostat do you recommend? Ultimately I could use one that can regulate more than one heat source at a time...I have 3 tanks to heat, and 6 heat sources total.....I have red uv lights on the top of the tanks....as I have found that to be the only way I can maintain the correct ambient temps (i'm in Canada and it's getting colder here now that it is fall).

[rabernet]

What brand/type of thermostat do you recommend? Ultimately I could use one that can regulate more than one heat source at a time...I have 3 tanks to heat, and 6 heat sources total.....I have red uv lights on the top of the tanks....as I have found that to be the only way I can maintain the correct ambient temps (i'm in Canada and it's getting colder here now that it is fall).

To run three tubs, Ranco or Johnson's should be just fine. You can order them from http://www.reptilebasics.com

If you want to run more than one - the set up's have to be identical (same UTH size, same UTH brand, same sized enclosure). Then the thermostat could run all three enclosures.

I use tubs, and these are controlled by one Ranco thermostat, because they are identical set-ups (Sterilite 1986 model from Walmart, 1 foot section of 11" flexwatt as the UTH).

[racer69]

like stated above don't woory about them not eating right away.....it's not abnormal for a snake in a new habitat to refuse for a few weeks if not more. just don't handel them until they eat.

i'm nto an expert of any means and i just got my first snake, but i've done ALOT of reading on here and 5 books thta i bought...only one of which coninsides with the info i got here...here's the name if ya want a good read. The Ball Python Manual ...The Herpetocultural Library....authors de Vosjoli, Klingenberg, Barker, & Barker...


it explains everythign from origin, to acclimation, to husbandry, to breeding and even diseases and symptoms of the diseases GREAT BOOK!

just my .02