First Rat!

[alexknott]

My younger than yearling female bp ate her first rat today, i got her as a baby back in march and she was really skinny and sickly looking but i got her healthy now. Shes been eating 3 adult mice a week for a while but wouldnt eat f/t rat pups. 5 days ago she ate three mice and 2 days later she was hungry and looking again so i called the pet store and they dont sell live feeder rat pups but said they had a small rat, i got there and it was a definite medium but it didnt look too big so i got it anyways and she struck it almost as soon as it hit the bottom of the enclosure.

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[Lankyrob]

Nice to have a switch over

Is that its normal enclosure? There doesnt seem to be hides in there from the pics? And how is your humidity with using the carpet?

[alexknott]

Its a little different set up but ive used it forever.lol. The rock on the left is a hide and the water bowl is in the middle and the other side is open space, its how my dad set up mine when i was 3 and ive done it ever since with a few tweeks. ive acclimated a fresh w/c adult female using that set up feeding gerbils in two weeks, and if the shed looks a little dry i mist the cage 3 times a day but ive only had to do it once. all i use is a day light, and a night red heat

[Lankyrob]

What side is the heat on? It seems to me the snake has to choose between the temperature that it requires and safety/security? How do you measure your humidity?

[alexknott]

the heat is on the side with the hide, shes a very active snake, they always are for me. i have a hygrometer and thermometer in the center of the cage about an inch off the bottom

[Lankyrob]

Personally i would puta hide on the cool side too, otherwise if it wants to cool down it HAS to be exposed, give it the choice at least

[jarich]

Always nice when they switch over easily like that.

I'd agree with Rob on the hide on the cool side. It's possible that the increased activity in your snake is because it does not feel secure in that enclosure. Give it another hide and some ground cover and see if it settles down a bit. Not that activity is a bad thing, merely that it is unusual for a nocturnal animal to be very active in the daytime unless it feels uncomfortable sleeping in its hide.

[alexknott]

I'll see what i can do for now, its only a 20 long

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by alexknott

I'll see what i can do for now, its only a 20 long

Don't worry about the size. Just give the snake a form-fitted hide on the cool side. It'll be happier. They don't need "open space".

Also, I'd switch substrate from that carpeting. It's a harbinger of bacteria and gross. Something like a mulch or eco-earth would hold humidity better too.

Good looking snake though.

[alexknott]

Thank you, my humidity reads 5% higher with the carpet than with the mulch but will definitely add a hide

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by alexknott

Thank you, my humidity reads 5% higher with the carpet than with the mulch but will definitely add a hide

K, keep using the bacteria ridden thing. You can make a humid hide if you switch as well. It's healthier for the snake.

[alexknott]

I also change the carpet once a month, i do everything i can to care for my animals

[icole]

That Rat looks huge.

[Lankyrob]

Originally Posted by icole

That Rat looks huge.

What makes you say that? Looks perfect size to me?

[icole]

The lump is half as long as the snake. And it looks quite stretched out.