Hello. I'm New (With a Couple of Questions)

[fionak]

Hello everyone. My name is Fiona. I live in Swindon which is in South West England, UK.

My husband and I went up to my home town of Aberdeen, Scotland earlier this week to visit my family there and came back with a beautiful baby Pueblan Apricot Milksnake (Ringo), so my family now consists of:

1 long suffering husband (Graham)
2 grown up kids
11 cats
1 German Shepherd (who thinks she's a cat)
and Ringo the Milksnake

(oh, and later this year if all goes well, I shall be a grandma too )

I've got a couple of questions though. I'm a bit worried about Ringo today. He travelled a long way yesterday (over 500 miles in the car sat on either my lap or Graham's lap for heat) depending on who was driving. When we got home we set up his tank, heating etc. and let him settle for a couple of hours. I fed him a pinky mouse (he should have been fed the day before but were advised to feed him when we got home because of the travelling). He ate the mouse no problem at all, but today he's still coiled up in exactly the same place he was last night (the cooler end of the tank). Is this normal after they've eaten? The care sheet I have says not to handle him for 24 hours after he's eaten, so I've left him alone - apart to gently prod him to see if he's still alive - he is. Is this normal behaviour after they've eaten?

The other thing is there's a bit of condensation on the lid and sides of his tank (it's a plastic box) which is probably coming from his water bowl. Will this harm him?

I'd hate anything to happen to my lovely little serpent.

He's about 3 months old and measures approximately 13 - 14 inches long.

[lolaophidia]

It's completely normal for them to sleep it off. Just think about how you would feel if you ate a weeks worth of food in one sitting! Give him a week or two to really settle in and develop a feeding routine before you start handling him. He's got a new home to get used to and handling right away could prevent him from feeding regularly.

I wouldn't worry about the condensation too much, though you don't want it to stay damp in the enclosure all of the time. Pueblans are more of a desert type snake, so they may develop skin issues if kept constantly damp. Can you increase the airflow into the container? If it's like a rubber maid tub, you may need more air holes drilled into it to help with evaporation. If you've placed your water dish directly on your heat source for the cage, that will increase evaporation and if there isn't enough airflow, it will stay damp in the cage.

Also, do provide your snake with at least one (preferably two) hiding places in the cage so that he can curl up and feel secure. I've found that toilet paper, paper towel rolls cut to appropriate sizes, or butter/spread tubs (small plastic containers with holes cut out of the lids) make easy hides that are disposable or can be cleaned as needed. Milk snakes tend to be shy snakes, so you may only see him out of the hide and cruising about when he's hungry.

Enjoy your new pet and once he's settled in and feeding regularly, post some pics so we can check him out!