Guess What!!

[Pythonian]

ok!! here is a brain teaser.. "What am I getting tomorrow morning? ----- ------" I will give you all a hint:
(1) Starts with a B
(2) Ends with LOOD PYTHON!!!!

YAY!!!
I am so psyched!! he will be in a 29G high tank for now, cause thats all i could get. He'll be in there for about a year! but i am so psyched! I will definitly have pics for u all to see! I only have a dinky webcam so they will be grainy but u will see them none the less!! :)

Mike

[Grant vg]

errrr. because u posted in the blood python forum, i didn't need the two hints :P LOL

Congrats!
Where did ya score that?
And just remember, u might find it hard to keep a blood in an aquarium. Try it out first, if your humidity is fine. then u should be ok, but i find that constant sprayings (which you will need in an aquarium) is kind of bothersome for the snake, especially, in the winter time and especially with bloods.
Perhaps you should try a rubbermaid if your using a heat pad.
The last thing you will want to be doing is bothering the snake a lot during those first few critical weeks.
You can always do the seran wrap idea, but you cant really ventilate the enclosure well like that.

Anyways, just somethin to think about and id recommend a digital hygrometer, especially if your using an aquarium.

again, Congrats! and welcome to the club! :P

[Pythonian]

well some people may have needed those 2 hints!! Mr. SmartyPants :)

CobraMan who frequents ssnakess.com works 10 minutes from me. and he has some babies. I think they are wc :( but they are gorgeous and babies and i read wc babies aren't too hard to tame as long as they aren't wc adults. I know it's a bad idea. but i'm going straight to the vet from picking it up. And i have worked with wc snakes before, so i'm fairly confident.
With the humidity situation. I live in Florida it is 80% humidity everyday. and my room has a fishtank with a hot light over it that evaporates water like crazy. I really don't think i will have any problem. any i plan on making a third of the tank sphagnum moss (sp) and moisten it everyday and keep the light over that, plus a decent size waterbowl. and maybe... i want opinions from all of u.. what about a live plant? they give a lot of humidity. Right now all that is in the enclosure is aspen shavings,
a large water bowl. and the light. The moss is coming tomorrow with the snake. and it is so humid in here as it is i don't really think i'll have a problem. Anyway. i'm new to bloods i trust all of ur tips and opinions. So please don't stay quiet. i am quite anxious. i've read every single caresheet known to man already ;). i'm sorry for the long post i'm just so excited i can't sleep. PLEASE DON"T KEEP QUIET!!! even if u think i already know post it anyway! thank u everybody in advance.

Mike

[Grant vg]

oops, soorry man, for some odd reason i thought u lived here in toronto...lol

[Pythonian]

no way! i couldn't handle the temps! lol but i do love hockey :-D

[Pythonian]

I got my baby Blood in the tank now. Everything is set. THe thing is when i got her she was very flabby her body wasn't tight at all. Ray said he fed her around 12/20 so it's been a week so i put in a dead mouse in there. and the blood isn't even moving. I put it right by her face and she is just staring straight ahead. is this normal for a blood? To (a) feel "flabby" and (b) not be interested in food as a ball python is? I can't get to the vet for a few days, so i can't get a check up yet.
I think it is because she is in a new environment, and she doesn't want to eat yet.. Please respond.

Mike

[Grant vg]

I dont think feeling flabby is a good sign, however, i cant really speculate cause i cant see the snake, but i have used the word flabby when describing some of my adults after a long shedding process in which they havn't eaten for a while.
So it could possibly mean its stomach is empty.

Feeding wise, bloods are usually far from the aggressiveness of ball pythons. Most of mine wont even strike at it. they'll just push it around the enclosure for 15 minutes, then pop it down there throat.

But you cant really start worrying now, i mean you just did get it right?
like less then a few hours ago...lol

Give it a weeks time, like really though, give it a week!
Id paper up all sides of your aquarium about 3/4 ways up. enough that he cant see everything thats going on, but u can look on him.
Dont handle it, leave it alone, make sure hes got a couple hides to choose from, and try feeding in a week.

You've probably already read the jan 2002 reptiles article by Pro exotics and i think that the main thing throughout that article that he made sure stood out, was the acclimation period for juvenile bloods. Its a very important process, and if u cant keep to no handling, no trying to feed 7 days a week, etc...u could have a very stressed snake.

Thats pretty much all u can do now, just sit and wait, if he doesn't eat in a week or two, id wonder if he was ever eating at all. And yes, disinterested bloods will just sit there and look at the rat. a few of my tuff feeders do that atleast once a month.
But no matter what, i have always had goodluck getting a snake to eat freshly killed rats, killed right before going in the enclosure.

I also might add, for the next feeding, try a rat. If your woried about its health, then try a F/K rat in 7 days or so.

[Pythonian]

Thank you very much Grant. Yea it feels like she is shedding but... i can feel her bones pretty definitly. i called the vet again and asked them if i can literally run in for 5 minutes in between patients. They said 3:20 so i'll be an hour late for work :( but this blood is so adorable it's worth it.
The guy i got it from said he fed her f/k mice. so thats what i gave her and she just buried herself under the substrate under her water bowl. she has 2 hides. and she smells terrible. like fish blah. So i'm taking her to the vet.. seeing what he says. Then doing what u said about the paper. (which is a good idea) i'll feed the black racer that lives under my pool the mouse i guess.
Thank You for all of ur help Grant :)
Mike

[Pythonian]

i went to the vet yesterday.. we force fed her, and gave her antibiotics. i have a heat rock under her substrate and wet papertowels in her hide. the vet said she has NO muscles at all basically thats why she's so skinny and small. and she NEVER moves :( . i did everything the article in reptile magazine said. i am hoping for a huge difference :(

Mike

[Lisa]

I'm no expert in bloods, but I'd switch the heat rock to a under tank heater or a heating pad, just general snake husbandry.

[Pythonian]

I had one and it BARELY heated the floor. So i put in the heat rock and she is always on it or next to it. Anyway ok so i have a theory. Could these be symptoms of a very dehydrated blood?
Lethargic
Limp
Flabby skin/ skinny body
doesn't move
no interest in food what so ever.

Because thats what the guy i bought it from said. That she might be dehydrated. so she's soaking now. and we're gonna see. She's been soaking for about 8 hours. and i may do it some more over night with the heat lamp under the hide with wet papertowels. and the rat pup in there with her. I think she's gonna be ok. I think thats what it may be.. Again if i can just get her to feed i am sure EVERYTHING will be perfect.

Mike

[Jason77]

Hi Mike,I bought my first Blood in '90,and at the time I lived in Florida..Alright,first time ownership is very hard.Luckily,you have Grant Van Gameren for advice..I didn't have anyone.OK,my Blood was a neonate,and I was told it had eaten and was female.Don't believe anything unless your supplier is a friend or excellent references.Use the spanish moss you have everywhere.Put it in the microwave,washed and wet,for a minute to kill everything.Use alot.Get an undertank heater that covers half the bottom,(petshop),and a rheostat,(hardware store).Saran wrap the TOP where the heat is located.Keep the hot section's moss damp.Put paper towels under that section to hold moisture,too.Try "force-feeding" dead pinkie rats,slippery with cooking oil and use a cotton swab to gently push down it's throat.Do not let anything slip or touch it's throat but the rat.Then use your finger to wiggle it down to the stomach.I did this for almost 5 months.Next,fresh killed mice,put it in it's mouth only.If it's healthy,it'll grab and coil.Sometimes CB babes are dumb when it comes to curing their hunger..Keep handling to a minimum,and don't disturb with vibrations too much,(ie loud music,walking heavily by tank,etc.)..Things to remember when dealing with a local "recommended by a friend vet"..Bloods need to be injected intramuscular,not subcutaneous,and in the FRONT 2/3 of their bodies,(renal port).I had a vet,recommended,stain the hell out of my orange male with BAYTRAL this way.Beware.Good luck Mike and I'll keep in touch.And to everyone on this forum,HELLO!You all sound like great people..Sincerly,Jason

[Pythonian]

Hey Jason welcome to the forums!!
Yea i already did all that except the undertank heater i have a heat rock cause she likes that a lot... problem is i saw water coming from her nostrils so i'm thinking resp. infection. I just saw the liquid this morning

Mike