my bp wont sit still

[Lrptls]

my ball is acting really odd, shes always moving. i dont think shes hungry, she just ate and i only give her one mouse, she refuses a second, acts like its going to kill her (FT by the way) before she only sat on the top of her branch about 1 inch away from the bulb where her basking spot was 95 degrees. but now shes constantly slithering around the cage, shes only in a 10 gallon right now, its even big enough for her to stretch out all the way but i take her out alot to get some exercise, and i even took my empty 40 gallon, filled it with branches and plants and all kinds of things to climb on for her. i put her in there and she again, never stops, just climbs every where and all over the place, every little place. ever have a snake do this? think somethings wrong?

[tHeGiNo]

A couple of things. What size was the mouse, and how long ago was she fed? Do you have a hide on the cool end? Maybe she is looking for a retreat away from the heat but it is not available? I don't think there is anything wrong but a little more information will help.

[Tigergenesis]

In addition, do you have a hide on both sides? What are the temps on both sides & how are you measuring them?

[snakehunter]

is that a current pic, b'c shes in shed, and maybe shes searching for a good place to hide for a few days

[Lrptls]

no snakehunter, thats kind of old, she shed about 2/3 weeks ago. there is a hide on the cool side of the cage and there are even alot of plants she could hide under, but she does go in the hide, shes usually in there in the morning. the cool side is about 82 degrees. i use the black strip thermometers.

[tHeGiNo]

Thats for first problem there. Those black strip thermometers are garbage, I would invest in a digital. They aren't to expensive. What is your hotspot like? When and what size did she eat last?

[Lrptls]

what do you mean what is the hotspot like? and she eats adult mice, about 3 inches long not including the tail and she is about a foot and a half long

[tHeGiNo]

Ok, the food size is adequate although if I were you I would switch to rat pups now. I mean what is the temps on the hot spot.

[Tigergenesis]

Just to clarify - is there only one hide in the tank and it's on the cool side? If so, you need one on the warm side too. And make sure the hides arent too big or small. Your ball should be able to curl up and fit snug (touching all sides) for security.

I'd get a temp gun and/or a digital thermometer for more accurate temps. I've never used the stick one kind, but here nothing but negatives about how inaccurate they are/can be.

What are you using to heat the warm side?

Is there a water dish in the tank?

[scalawag]

The stick on strip thermometors measure the temps of the glass, not very accurate. Is there a water bowl in there?

[sapphire_moon]

Is there a water bowl in there? Make sure it is large enough for your BP to soak in.

What is your humidity? If you don't know get a hydrometer *sp?*

Get a indoor/outdoor probe and put it directly over the UTH. You do have a uth right? If not maybe she's looking for belly heat. You should get a (under tank heating pad).
Usually you have to have a lamp dimmer of some sort when using a UTH because they get to hot.

What is your daytime night time cycle like? How many hours of "light" does she get?

Are there any small animals in the same room as she is? hamsters, rats, mice, gerbils anything like that?

Why not go ahead and move her to the 40 gal? I have my 2ft bp in a 4ft long rubbermaid.

[Lrptls]

thegino-the hottest spot of the tank is right under the light n her log, the therometer sais its about 95 degrees. and i do want to put her on rat pup as soon as i get to the next rep show to buy a crap load.

tigergenesis-yes, theres only one hidespot and its on the cool side, but it is right size. and i plan on geting a temp gun as soon asap. right now, i have a lamp on her with a 100 watt bulb (regular cheat, white bulb) and the water dish is on the warm side to help create humidity. also i'm ordering a bunch of cages for my reptiles from moonstruck exotics. i'm geting a 4 foot cage first with a devider to put her and my little bci in. i should be geting them in a few weeks, once i do, i'll have more room to put 2 hides in the cage, in a 10 gallon, there is no room for a 2nd hide.

scalawag-yes theres water, its big enough for her to soak in as well.

sapphire moon- (^about the water) i hate to say i'm quite not sure of the humidity, i have a humidity gauge thats falling to peices, i doubt its accurate but it does let me have an idea of what the humidity is in my cages untill i get a new one, its also my only one so i toss it in different cages all the time to check what there like, i put it on her cool side and it said 65%. i know thats low, so i'm going to work on that. and i dont know what the heck a hydrometer is, but i'll look for one. and with the moonstruck cages, the guy gives you 2 feet of free heat tape with each cage, so that will solve that. normaly, on my school days, i turn all the reptile lights on at around 7:30 am and the lights go off at around 10 pm. there are no mammals in the room but there are cats right outside the room. i dont want to put her in the 40 gallon because i'll need it when i get the hundreds of crickets my friend is supose to be giving me soon and i dont have anything else other than 10 gallons, which i need to be emty cause thats what i feed some of the reptiles in (my little boa, my bp, my water dragon and my sav monitor.

every thing right now is junky, no good cage, no good thermometers and a broken down humidity gauage, but in a short time i'll have every thing.

[sapphire_moon]

I don't think I spelled it right though!! It's basicly a humidity gauge. lol, and 65% is good for a bp that is not in shed. When in shed then you want it to go around 70-80%.

Maybe up the prey size a bit? She could just be an active bp?

[tHeGiNo]

There is your problem right there. Get another hide on the hot side. For now, put the hide on the hot side, not the cool side. Also, I do not think a regular 100 w is really getting 95 degrees. You might want to double check that and invest in a heatbulb or a heatpad. I would strongely suggest towards heatpads, and against heatbulbs.

Now for the humidity. A 65% ambient humidity is ok, however you will want to have a humid hide. To fix this, put a damp substrate (such as cypress mulch) in the hide and keep it moist. There is not a high humidity where they are from in Africa, however they do live underground in humid burrows. This compensates for that. Switch the water bowl to the other side, in the corner maybe, and she will have a second thing to hide behind.

Good thinking, get the little bugger on pups asap. Also, in the future, get everything properly done and set-up before you get the herp. Saves a lot of problems this way.

[Tigergenesis]

If the tank is big enough for her to stretch out in it is big enough for 2 hides and a water bowl - provided they are the correct size and not too big. I've seen people do it. She could be cruising because she has no where to hide and feel secure on that side. She could also be so active becuasuse the temps are off. Do you have any pics? Try and get this all remedied quick - as stress can lead to illness. And make sure everything is right in her new cage before putting her in there.

[tHeGiNo]

Thats what I was thinking, either an insecure snake, improper temperatures, or just nothing at all.

[Auskan]

I have my BP in a 10 gallon & there is more than enough room for two hides of the size needed for a 1 1/2 foot snake. The hides should be snug for security.

[jathoma]

Originally posted by tHeGiNo
Thats what I was thinking, either an insecure snake, improper temperatures, or just nothing at all.

That about clears things up...

:D

[Lrptls]

i think i solved the problem! i went into my herp room and i looked in her cage (i moved things around too, but her water bowl and another hide spot on the cool side) she was up on her log basking, not even a minute later when i turnd and looked in her cage agan she was all over the place, so i thought, its me, she wants something. so i dethawd a mouse and gave it to her, she ate it on monday, she last ate on wednesday (she was supose to wait till this wednesday) but sence then shes been either basking or hiding. so i think she was just hungry. =P =)

[tHeGiNo]

At that age you might want to up the feedings to every 5 days.