Swapped hides for larger ones....

[TanyaL]

Somebody is not happy with me.....

Foster's hides were too small after the last rat she got so I found two bowls, cut a hole out and swapped them out for the natural looking hides that she had. It was like moving from the penthouse to a trailer and she wasn't happy about it! She moved about her tank for a few hours which was out of the norm since she hardly ever came out of her warm hide so I decided to put the penthouses back in. This all happened yesterday and I have yet to catch her in her hide for more than maybe two hours. What can/should I do before I can afford to buy larger hides? I can't imagine that she is hungry since she just had a rat on Tuesday (largest prey ever offered) so I'm assuming that she is probably stressed. Temp and humidity is on target but I did notice that she is starting to get a pink belly. The tank and hides are also clean so that shouldn't be a problem either.

[TanyaL]

Anybody? Or, have I reached my stupid question quota?

For at least the last 3 hours she has done nothing but cruise around her tank. Any suggestions? Her original hides are back in the tank but she doesn't want anything to do with them. She just won't settle down and this is a first for her to be out of her hides in a long time unless we take her out!

[TanyaL]

DUH! I probably should have posted this in the husbandry forum. Should I repost or will a mod move it?

[Sonya610]

Did you change anything else in her tank? Did you wash the old hides with a new soap or disinfectant that leaves a different odor? Seems odd she would not go back to the old hides. Is she acting normal otherwise? No sign of illness?

[rabernet]

Tanya,

I'd just leave her alone - she was trying to get used to new hides, and then they got switched back again, so she's just trying to figure things out.

If she continues this behavior, just put some loosely crumpled newspaper into her enclosure to help her settle in more. It will calm her as she'll feel something touching her on all sides. This is a GREAT Kevin McCurley tip!

[TanyaL]

Thanks for the replies! I just checked on her and she has finally found her way into her hide! She really had me concerned because she never appeared this stressed even when we first brought her home.

The hides are too small for her since feeding her the rat earlier in the week. When she is in the hide, part of her is exposed because she is too big to fit all the way in. What would be worse, replacing the hides or her possbily feeling exposed? I mean, I know I need to provide her with larger hides sooner or later, I'm just asking if it should be sooner, or later. I don't remember if I mentioned it or not but her belly is starting to show some pink so should I wait until after her shed or do it ASAP? When I do replace them, I'm thinking of upgrading to the same type of hide instead of offering her a bowl like I attempted to. Or, should I just put larger hides in and give her time to settle in?