New to Blood Pythons

[Bonecrusher82]

Well during my 12 month deployment someone stole my 3ft long ball python :confused: who would do that honestly? So her replacement is a 1 1/2ft long blood python. I'd post a few pics but she's being real shy ie burrowing under her substrate, if I handle her she's fine while in my hands but when I put her back she freezes in place, and still wont eat. So is there any tips or tricks to keeping her? I have her temps and humidity set by the book, 78 degrees cold side, 88 hot, 2 watering dishes, and some stuff she seems to like to climb on when she thinks no one is around

[infernalis]

About the only solid advice I can offer is to cease and desist handling.

Recent acquisitions require some time to settle in. The stress of moving and then handling the snake will cause lack of desire to eat.

[Bonecrusher82]

I kind figured that so now I guess I have a pet mouse until she decides to eat lol, I was hoping she would have warmed up to me like my ball did, she ate for me the day I got her. It is funny when she burrows, she leaves her nose sticking out

[infernalis]

Just keep the mouse in a separate "cage" provide daily supply of food and water.

For super cheap mouse food, I use generic corn flakes, bran flakes or shredded wheat from the dollar store.

Wal mart sells a box of mouse food for $2.44 that is balanced.

If you leave the mouse in the snake enclosure, you risk the mouse injuring the snake.

[Bonecrusher82]

OH NO! I never leave a snake unattended with a live mouse

[shaunyboy]

i would leave her in a quiet place,only disturbing her to change her water every other day.also give her as many hides as you can.at the very least 1 at hot end and 1 at cool end.this will let her settle down and feel secure.after 2 weeks offer her the same kind of food item her last owner had her feeding on.total bummer that some nasty **** stole your other snake.
cheers shaun

[Bonecrusher82]

Yeah it is kinda cute how she leaves her nose sticking out when she burrows under her bedding. So do Bloods like climbing? I know Balls arent supposed to like climbing but mind did.

[Bonecrusher82]

Is there anything I should watch for with my new BP? I havent seen her in 2 days, I know she's in the tank obviously but she has stayed burried, I'm a bit worried

[Bonecrusher82]

Jasmine decided to come out while I was adding water to her dish so I stole a few pictures for you guys

http://i427.photobucket.com/albums/pp356/Silverado2500HD/SAM_0783.jpg

http://i427.photobucket.com/albums/pp356/Silverado2500HD/SAM_0784.jpg

[dragunov.762]

awesome blood

[Will0W783]

She is very pretty. Bloods are naturally reclusive, secretive snakes. They love to burrow in their substrate and they need a thick layer of it for that purpose. The major problem I see with your setup is that you have her on aspen. You are going to run into the issue of keeping it moist enough in there for her without it molding. Aspen molds very easily and is really only good for lower humidity snakes. I keep my bloods on cypress mulch and mist them once a day with a good heavy misting. They also need large bowls and will spend a good deal of time soaking in their water, often for days on end. I can't see your water dish in the picture so I have no idea how large it is, but for my 3 foot bloods I use a tupperware container that is 1.5 feet long x 1 foot wide. That way they can curl up comfortably in it. I would strongly suggest you get her off aspen as soon as possible and get her some cypress mulch so you can hold humidity for her better. Bloods are very delicate, IMO pains in the butt, and if it's too dry they tend to get respiratory infections, but will also get very sick if it's moldy and soggy and too wet, or too hot or too cold. They are not a forgiving species. Beautiful to look at, but notoriously cranky and difficult to keep healthy. Best of luck with Jasmine though, she looks good!

[Bonecrusher82]

Thanks Willow, I have a humidifier in the tank which even with a screen top seems to keep her humidity at about 82-88% depending on the weather here, she does like her water dish and fits in it nicely without me having to worry about her drowning. I like to use aspen because it doesnt seem to cause a problem if some does happen to get ingested. She also likes to go climbing on her drift wood branches(when she thinks no one is around). I havent really been messing with her much as I've only had her for a little over a week but when I work in her tank she seems be get a little curious, she hasnt displayed any ki9nd of aggression towards me or anyone really.

[Aaron_S]

Why are you working in her tank if you've set it up properly? You only need to change water and then not be in there again.

I would take Willow's recommendation on changing the substrate. Once you've stopped messing around with the enclosure and everything then try feeding the snake a live prey item. Don't move the snake beforehand. They are ambush predators.

[Bonecrusher82]

I took her water dish out and cleaned it, I'm new to Blood Pythons not to Pythons in General. And I will check into the Cypress Mulch and give it a shot again. I previously had a Red Tail Boa that got sick from Cypress Mulch.

[Aaron_S]

How did it get sick from cypress mulch?

Just because you've had other pythons doesn't make them all the same. They can come from different parts of the world and have different requirements.

[Bonecrusher82]

I know they are from different parts of the world, and there was a parasite in a fresh bag of Cypress

[Feebo]

Hi Bonecrusher, I keep Blood pythons, looking at your tank in the photograph I`d say you need to up your humidity by quite a bit. The glass should be speckled with water most of the time, they need it good and humid. As for the things you`ve mentioned, Bloods aren`t really a snake that can be handled very often, especially as they start to get bigger. They`re nervous and they`re grumpy. They hide ALL the time, I hardly ever see even my biggest Blood python just loafing about the viv, he`s always hiding.
They aren`t a display snake, they really don`t want to be in a high traffic area at all and as I say, even moderate handling is too much for a Blood. That`s not to say you should never handle your snake! I get to handle all of my snakes at some point during the course of looking after them and doing health checks, but some species just aren`t for touchy feely and Bloods are most definatly one of those snakes. A fantastic snake though! I adore my Bloods!

[Bonecrusher82]

The water spots are there from me cleaning it with wipe out before I put her in it. I am very picky on keeping things clean ever since my red tail got sick before I left for Iraq. I do apologize for not dry wiping the spots off. Jasmine has been spending a fair share of time today out of hiding which made me happy

[marvelfreak]

No feebo saying you want to see water most the time . That way you know the humidity high enough. Also at a foot and a half long it should be eating rat fuzzies. Blood can eat rat from the time they're born. Plus they have less fat than mice. Nice looking blood by the way.

[Bonecrusher82]

She hasnt eaten for me yet but I will prolly try again tomarrow, also what do you guys think about moss for humidity? I've read that it'd be quite good for her as it's something native to her. I basically am trying to set her viv up as close to what she seen in the wild. Granted I have reused the tank and water dishes from my ball but she does seem to be happy so far

[Aaron_S]

Native eh? I'm sure she burrows deep into the piles of aspen deep in the jungle of Sumatra.

You could use a 6 inch deli cup and cut a side out and keep damp moss in it for a humid hide. I personally used paper towel when I first got my borneo short tail python. She did fine with just hides. She's now in a rubbermaid with some jungle earth substrate for humidity purposes.

[Bonecrusher82]

Wow really? I must have joined with a big kick me sign on my back

[Aaron_S]

Remarks aside, I still answered your question with a method on how to utilize the moss if that's your preferred humidity.

Don't listen to people who say "you need wet sides to tell you it's humid." You should be using a hygrometer and I assume you do since you mentioned it's in the 80 percentile.

[marvelfreak]

She hasnt eaten for me yet but I will prolly try again tomarrow, also what do you guys think about moss for humidity? I've read that it'd be quite good for her as it's something native to her. I basically am trying to set her viv up as close to what she seen in the wild. Granted I have reused the tank and water dishes from my ball but she does seem to be happy so far
I have a friend who use peat moss for his rainbows an it works perfected. Hold humidity real good. He mist it once a day, twice a day when they're in shed.

[Bonecrusher82]

I figured it's be worth checking out, try something different, maybe a soaked stuffed monkey with a big goofy grin :)

[Terence]

Try geting rid of the "fish tank" and get a reptile enclosure. I know cash is frequently an issue, just wanted to give you a little food for thought. Screen tops just don't work well with maintaining high humidity.

[Bonecrusher82]

It's actually an R-Zilla reptile/amphibian encloser size:40 Breeder

[marvelfreak]

Like Aaron S i keep mine in a tub. It makes keeping the humidity up lot easier. Remember they are very touchy as babies. Do you use a under the tank heatpad? If so put a second smaller water dish over the heat pad part way help up the humidity. This works really good. It's how i keep the humidity around 80% in my Borneo and Rainbow cages.

[Will0W783]

I keep my bloods in melamine cages-even the reptile R-Zilla tanks have a screen lid which is often too much ventilation for a blood. Moss might work, but you need more than just moss since she will want to burrow. I do not recommend keeping a blood on paper since they really are a burrowing snake, but I know many do it and have success. If you want, you can put moss in a humid hide for her and have cypress mulch or jungle floor dirt (basically a clean peat stuff). There should not be parasites in cypress mulch; if there are, get it from a different store, but you NEED to have a good mulchy, heavy substrate that will hold humidity well for her to be truly healthy. She most likely won't eat if the conditions are not good for her in her cage. We are trying to help you here; some of us may have a more blunt approach than others, but really we all just want the best for your snake. I would also recommend reading as much as you can on blood pythons, both their wild lives and their care in captivity- websites of established keepers and books published by reptile-oriented publishing services are very good sources. In the future, it's always a good idea to have a proper enclosure set up before getting a new species. Some species are not for everyone, and you need to know beforehand if you can give a certain animal proper environment; it will save you tons of stress, headache and heartache. :)

[Bonecrusher82]

Yes I do have a UTH. I only have 1 pet store in the area and it's Petco. I will look into some Cypress Mulch. I know you are all trying to help and you are. I am planning to build a viv by hand with all the comforts of her home as I plan to keep her for a very long time. Then her tank gets to be the new home for my behemoth red eared slider:)

[Bonecrusher82]

Then again she may be going to a new home

[Bonecrusher82]

Right now I'm kinda watching her stalk a mouse, I've never seen anything like this before

[Feebo]

Wow it really does get difficult to help people out when people are willing to post "don`t listen to so and so" Aaron. Obviously a hygrometer should be used yes but at a glance the first thing I see wrong/not helpful here is the fact that it doesn`t look humid in there at all. A screen top won`t keep any moisture it at all, you need an enclosed environment which a screen top certainly isn`t. Glass tanks, no matter what label the shop puts on them aren`t suitable in the slightest. Wood or plastic is best and in this high humidity species, that leaves plastic. Might I suggest Bonecrusher, as I see you`re going to make your beautiful Blood an enclosure, that you look into using some form of plastic? Being careful it will withstand the heating of course. It might be worth checking the cost of your build against the cost of a nice Herptek plastic tank second hand, those things are just the best but they are pricey if bought new. Well worth looking for a cheap deal though! I use moss aswell, I put quite a bit of it in a seed tray right at the warm end and I give it a good soaking every day, with the odd day here and there left out. I also have a moss hide with a hole just big enough for them to get through and a decent amount of moss in there. This wants checking fairly often but you can usually tell when they`ve soiled it if you watch your Blood often. They`ll start to hang out in the corner instead of in the moss hide where they`d prefer to be. Usually because they`ve left a huge turd for you in the moss hide. lol Obviously because it`s so humid in there, (mine are 75-80% cyclic and down to 60%) any missed turds OR shed skins will quickly go mouldy and you want to try and avoid that. I notice you say there`s only one pet store near you, can you order from the internet and have your stuff delivered? Right then, that`s how I keep my Bloods, those are my observations of your set up and this has been my genuine attempt to help :)

[Bonecrusher82]

Thank you Feebo. However I may not have her after today, I have been made an offer on her thats pretty tempting. In which case I will probably get me either another Ball Python or another Columbian Red Tail

[BlindOne]

Yes I do have a UTH. I only have 1 pet store in the area and it's Petco. I will look into some Cypress Mulch. I know you are all trying to help and you are. I am planning to build a viv by hand with all the comforts of her home as I plan to keep her for a very long time. Then her tank gets to be the new home for my behemoth red eared slider:)

FYI: You can get good cypress at Lowe's

[Bonecrusher82]

Thanx blind but Jasmine has a new home and I have a very young male ball python.

[Will0W783]

If you do keep her, check out The Boaphile's plastic caging. Also PMHerps.com make some nice very affordable plastic caging that is ready for radiant heat panels or Flexwatt.

[Bonecrusher82]

She's already in a new home willow however I will look at those once my new rescued friend gets up to a decent weight

[Will0W783]

What did you end up getting this time around? :)

[Terence]

Have found vision cages with radiant heat panels to be a great setup. Controlled by a model 419 controllers made by Johnson controls. Pal that up with a tempgun and you are thermally stable as it gets IMO. Plastic tubs until they get big enough for the above mentioned set up.

[Bonecrusher82]

I got a very young and relatively malnourished ball python