Breathing hard? and what size to feed? How old?

[NickP]

Hey guys and gals.

3 quick questions.

My BP is about 19.5 inches now. How can I approximate his age?

Another question, he is always breathing hard everytime I try to pick him up. Do you think eventually when he gets used to it, he won't be breathing hard and will calm down? Currently he's pretty jumpy still but is starting to calm down. I'd say he's settled in alright. Spends most of his time in the hides. Drinks water, eats F/T. The temps and humidity are right. I just need to get him to get used to me a bit more. Is this breathing hard thing nothing to worry about?

And lastly, what size mice should I be feeding him? I've fed him twice already, and the third meal is coming up this monday. Currently he's on Fuzzy mice (the small ones without fur) Should I go bigger? I have 1 fuzzy left in the freezer so after that I must decide whether to get new fuzzies or something bigger.

Thanks for your time. Greatly appreciated!!

[bigballs]

when did you purchase this snake? have you given it a week to settle in without handling? the breathing hard you mention sounds like the snake is hissing at you. that is normal i have some that do it all the time. any other weird breathing noises besides hissing should be checked out right away.

to approximate his age we would need more details but if you just purchased it from a pet store and it is a thin little guy then i would say no more than a couple months old. if hes is that size then he may be able to eat rat pinks. got any pics???

[MelissaFlipski]

We have noticed that our BP has different breathing patterns at different times. Does he only breathe hard when out with you, or can you see it in his tank sometimes, too? I think he will calm down after awhile. How much are you handling him? Maybe you can do short (5-10) minutes sessions once a day? I am not sure how long you've had him, etc.

At that size, he could be a year - give or take 3-4 months, depending on how much he was fed before. They are about 12 inches when hatched (correct me if I'm wrong, someone) and grow, on average, about a 1' in their first year.

The size of prey will most likely depend on his girth more than his length. If his body is as big around as a small adult mouse, go for it. Don't the fuzzies have hair, but not much? Do you have hoppers where you are? (I have never seen them at Petco where we are.)

Let's see what others chime in and say.

Good luck and welcome!

(PS Should this thread be moved to husbandry?)

[NickP]

WoW! Thanks for the super fast replies guys!!

Ok, I got him about a month ago. Let him settle in for a week. Then fed him and didn't touch for another 3 days. Since then I've been taming him. Before he had settled in he would explore the tank and try and get out all the time. Now he happily sits in his hides.

When I got him, at first he rejected his first fuzzy so he hadn't had any food for about 2 weeks until i actually fed him. Ever since then he's gotten a bit thicker and heavier. I'll post a pic later tonight.

The breathing is where it is kinda funny. He only breathes like that when I get him out of the hide to handle him. But once he's on my hand he just chills or explores and doesn't breath as hard. Also slowly he is stopping the jumpiness. I noticed that yesterday he was jumpy ON my hand but today he was much more calmer.

I'm just worried because when I lift off the hide to get him out he breaths really hard. He doesn't hiss or make any other noises. Occasionally he will hiss but recently hasn't hissed that much. About a week ago I was not able to get him out due to the constant hissing, but I think we're getting along

Petco doesn't have hoppers. Fuzzies are the small mice without hair. The fuzzies i feed him are pretty big, bigger than his head, but he happily swallows it and digests within two days.

P.S. I forgot, there are pics of him in my gallery.

[Sparky1]

Most of mine would do the same when i first got them, for the most part mine have mellowed out alot. They still might look a lil tense when i first pick them up but i think its more because i disturbed them than anything. As for size of food without seeing a pick its hard to say, the first one i got was a month old and from the time i brought him home he was on hoppers and never had a problem with those.

[NickP]

These are from today:



This one is from few days ago:


And these were taken on day 1:



Are hoppers bigger than fuzzies?

[bearhart]

Same as Sparky1 here. I used to notice large fluctuations in breathing rate, but the thing that always got me was the irregularity of the breathing.

I haven't though about that in ages. Either its mellowed out over time or I just don't notice it anymore. Either way, I wouldn't sweat it.

[SoundUnsleep]

The breathing sounds pretty normal. Even some of my adults still do that. It just simply shows a bit of surprise, when i. e. they first wake up when I remove the hide.
As to age: Looks to me to be a spring 2007, which would put it at between 5 and 8 months.
Food-wise: Can you get your hands on rat fuzzies? Your BP is big enough to step up and rats provide more nutrition. Another reason for rats over mice: Eventually you'll have to feed several mice in one session and some BP's will not strike and eat multiple times.
Btw, your BP looks gorgeous!

[NickP]

What are you guys doing up so late? Haha

anyway, thanks for the replies. The only reason I was a bit worried about the breathing is that I thought he might have an RI or something along those lines.

Regaring his food, I get the fuzzies(mice) from Petco and don't really know where else I can get them. Does petco have rat fuzzies?

[SoundUnsleep]

Not sure, if petco has them. I get mine from rodentpro. If you know others in your area that keep snakes and feed f/t, perhaps you can hook up with them to do some rat-pooling. That way the shipping costs aren't quite as drastic.