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Quote Originally Posted by porangi.chris
Hi,

Brian, my 2yr BP moved in on Friday and is now living in a wooden 4ft,2ft,2ft enclusure. I have placed a hide at each end (Bark) and am using bark chippings as substrate. I'm hoping to get some plant matter to decorate and provide further cover soon until then its just some more bark/twig type stuff.
What sort of "plant matter" were you meaning to get? BP's will pretty much destroy any live plants you try to put in there. But plastic fake vines and such can work nicely. Just be sure to keep it clean.

He seems to yawn alot - he's otherwise healthy and I don't believe the shop would have sold him if he was unwell so could this mean he is hungry? I was told not to feed him for 7 days.
Yawning can be a sign of nervousness and is commonly seen in BP's that have just moved into a new home. Some RI (Respiratory Infection) signs to watch for would be him having his head propped up at an angle all the time...drooling or bubbles around his mouth...him rubbing his face up against stuff in his enclosure...and noises while breathing such as whistling, popping, or wheezing.

I am heating the viv at one end with a ceramic heater hung from the ceiling. Directly below the temperature is just a sneak under 90 so I'm assuming it should be much cooler at the far end. However I am not adjusting the temperature on a daily basis dropping it down to 80 ish at night. Should I be? In which case is there an easy automated way? Currently Brian is spending the whole day curled up under the cool end in his hide, he's not touching the hide at the hot end but gets a little active during the late evening.
I bolded the words that most concern me. Is the heater hanging down INTO the cage? If so...there is a danger of him being able to touch it and get burned. Even if it seems too high up, you'd be amazed at how far they can stretch and how well they can climb. A picture of your enclosure would help.

You need to get an accurate digital thermometer to measure both the warm side and the cool side of the enclosure. You can't make any assumptions about what the temps are. Even in a small enclosure, the warm side may not provide enough radient heat to keep the cool side warm enough.

You want a basking spot around 90-92...and the rest of the enclosure an ambient temp around 82...preferably nothing below 80. You can maintain these temps 24/7...there's no reason to offer a night-drop in temps.

Finally how do people go about feeding the snake. Should I take him out the viv or leave him in. Am I right to defrost the mouse for 8 hours and then warm it up in a bag immursed in warm water?
I, and many folks here, prefer to feed BP's within their own enclosures. If you're concerned about him ingesting some substrate, you can put a papertowel or something down under the mouse. (This obviously only works with f/t or prekilled... lol) If you defrost hours ahead of time, do it in the fridge...don't leave the rodent out on the counter overnight. Then warm it up in a bag dipped in hot tap water. (Never use boiling water or water heated in a microwave, as it may be too hot and cook portions of the rodent)

What other plant matter do people recommend?
Plastic.

AH - I knew I'd forgot something. How does one measure humidity????
A little device called a hygrometer. Don't use the plastic dials from the pet store...they don't really work. You can get a single digital unit that measure temps in two different places (warm side and cool side) AND humidity...all at once. Pretty inexpensive, at Wal Mart, Target, Home Depot or other such stores. Usually in the lawn/garden or hardware sections.

(I was interrupted while working on this post, so there may already be answers posted ahead of mine...but I'd put in this much time already so I thought I'd go ahead and finish...hope it helps!)