New BP owner needs advice.

[Corrupt_Kitten]

Hi there !

Just wondering if i can get some help with a couple of things.
My neighbours came over ( today actually ) and gave me their BP ( female, almost 3 ft long, BIG girl too ). They have a newborn baby at home and no longer have the time to care for this snake.

Ive got leopard geckos, and a Columbian Rainbow Boa at the moment and I have kept a variety of Colubrids before...but never a BP. ( ive had some expereince with friends pets and "snake-sitted" before but thats about it )

The information i was given is that shes eating LIVE prey. Can anyone tell me if i can change this successfully ?? I dont want to feed her live prey and would like to switch to fresh killed or thawed. Can i do this or will she be fussy and stick with the live?

Also...I dont know how large of a cage she will need ( i would like to have her in one big enough to last her the rest of her life .... meaning something that is good to house an adult in ) . Right now shes in a 20 gallon and i dont want to keep her there ( its temporary considering i dont have anything else right now. )

If i make something...what will the cost be approx?

Also, shes got a heat lamp on her, there are thermometers at both ends of her tank, a hide hut and relatively good humidity so far.

I've heard that theyre renowned for being escape artists so shoudl i be puchasing a lock of some type ?

So any adive for a noob would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you :)
K.

[peterm15]

the best thing would be a rubbermaid.. 48x16 or something close.. will last her entire life... or a custom made.. i made mine for under 50 bucks..

uth with a dimmer or rehostat is the best bet for heating and yes you can switch to f/t it may take some work but it can be dont...

[nita]

The rubbermaids I personally like best are the model 2221 they are 24" x 16" x 6" and I have found the ones in them eat better than the ones in the rack that holds 32" x 17" x 6". Not to mention getting in and out of the larger tubs in the rack is a pain. With BP's small is good for housing.

As for switching it all depends on the snake. What is her weight, how often were they feeding her how old is she? I found that the ones I adopted all switched to ft rats really easily but had been underfed for years so I think it was simply they were hungry and ate whatever was offered. Of the babies I raised that were on mice to start with and had been fed live were hard to switch, took me 3 years and only 2 of the 3 have switched one is still on live. Babies are way easier to switch than a settled adult who wants only mice. Best advice is to offer a FT and make it dance if she turns it down offer the live but follow with the ft while she is still in feeding mode.