Growing Concerns

[OB23]

Hello out there!

Alright, I got my little 'Nagini' in mid September of this year. She so far has seemed to do very well with socializing and being active. She had her first shed near 8 weeks after I purchased her from what seemed like an avid reptile hobbyist, which I took her to the vet for as she had some difficulties as a result of low humidity. I remedied this by switching her shredded aspen substrate for coconut brick substrate which has ramped the humidity. Since then though, she has been very inactive; like moving from one spot under her heat lamp, to 6 inches away. She kinda folds herself in half rather than coiling, and won't go in her shelter anymore!
Furthermore, she hasn't eaten in over a month! I'm worried and plan to call my vet however, I wanted to get as many voices on this as possible. My vet isn't a herpetologist so I can't say that I trust them unquestionably.
I appreciate anyone's thoughts or experiences on this.

[OB23]

Haha! I got caught up in the activity and eating concerns that I forgot to mention my concerns of her size. When I got her (September) it was said she was 3 months old and approx. 19 inches. Based on what I was told she's now about 6 months and is approx. 20 inches... From what I've read she ought to be growing much faster than this no?

[starmom]

It would be helpful to know what you are feeding her, how often, environmental specifics, what her weight was at time of purchase and what her weight is now, etc. etc. etc.

[hawaiianice99]

also what are the temps and humidity levels?

[OB23]

Oh, yeah.
I feed her hoppers, pre-killed. Brown cause she's picky and doesn't like white ones. From the beginning she has been finicky eating every 2 weeks on average. I've only been able to get her to eat 4 in the 3 months that I have had her.
Her environment during those feedings was aspen. She has a rock looking hide, which she has usually been very keen on spending time in prior to changing the substrate to coconut fibre. That was a little over a week ago.
Her temp. - warm is 84-90 F. - cool is 76-80 F.
Humidity since substrate change has been 60-80%. Before then I was misting several times a day to keep it above 40%.
I would like to go back to aspen however, are there any other ways to stabalize the humidity at 60 with aspen?
Note: I combed the glass vivarium post by Cassandra last night and will evidently be making some changes to the tank in terms of the heating, temp. monitoring, and a lid to maintain humidity better...
Anywho, hope that helps. I apologize for not posting all this. I am new to the forums and new to owning a bp so needless to say, I'm still learning lots!

[Kaorte]

Well the reason she isn't growing fast is because she isn't eating enough. She should be eating every 5 days or so. How often do you offer her food? Have you thought about switching to live food?
I would up your warm side temp to 93 though, 90 is a liiiitle low.

Are you using a glass terrerium? If so thats probably why you are having problems with humidity. Try covering about 75% of the screen lid with tin foil and duct tape, this will help considerably. Also, that heat lamp eats humidity like crazy. You might want to ditch the lamp in exchange for a under tank heater.

Hope this helps. I have had my BP for about as long as you have

[OB23]

Thank you for the suggestions! I know that ideally she ought to eat more, and perhaps it is due to me not offering frequently enough. I had thought that switching to live might bring better results. I will do this when I pick up her next one. Should I try a mouse instead of a hopper?
I have a UTH as well as the lamp. The UTH is under her hide which I wonder might be too warm? Also, after reading the glass vivarium setup thoroughly, I am going to cover up the two sides as well with foam core and tape to provide some extra insulation/privacy.
Wish me luck and I look forward to any other suggestions! It is all very much appreciated! Thanks a bunch

OB
1.0 Norm BP - Nagini

[MiniJ83]

What are you measuring your temps with?

[anendeloflorien]

Well #1 the prey size sounds far too small. I feed most of my snakes around that size rat fuzzies or adult mice. #2 she might not be feeding because she is feeling stressed. If the tank is in a high traffic area it could be causing her to get stressed out and go off feed. Try moving the tank to a different area where there is not as much going on.

You also want to bump up the temperature on the warm side a bit. Does she have 2 identical hides? One on the warm side, one on the cool side? Also what size tank is she in? Balls prefer smaller tanks and for a snake that size either a 10 gallon tank or a 15 qt tub would be ideal. The most important thing is to get the snake in an ideal environment and everything else should follow.

[pillowtalk6188]

the food item should be about as big around as the diamater as the largest part of your snake. offer a mouse every 5 days and if she doesn't take it right off, leave it over night. my snake will only eat eat in the dark with nobody in the room. (thats why i feed in the evenings, just incase i have to leave it in there, it won't be long before lights out) they are just shy eaters. if she still doesn't take it, just wait till next feeding day to try again.