Help - Juvi BRB rescue , some questions.

[Tekpc007]

So some time ago i traded a juvi BRB that i had had for only a few weeks to someone who bred BRBs , I traded for a 2010 hog island lemke line boa , i was happy with the trade as the BRB hid all the time and i wanted a boa i could handle more which the hog is great for but i missed the BRB after a few weeks as they are so awsome.

So I was picking up some FT rats for my hog island about 9 days ago, and I saw a 2.5 gallon tank labeled BRB with dates it ate , 7 day schedule for the last 6 feedings. i looked in the tank and saw a dried out moss box , tank was 86 and it was green carpet and a small water dish . no hygrometer , heat was a spot . i saw the little guy poke his head out from under the green carpet , he didn't look too happy.

I asked to look at him and he seemed healthy if not small and a little thin , they told me he was bought at a show as a CBB dec 2011 and was a picky eater. they had just decided to put him on display a few days ago and had been in the back room most of the time as when they first put him on display to sell he was a biter and everyone who wanted to look at him wanted to hold him and got bit but the owner wanted him sold so he went back on display . So i told the worker kid that he is not in the right temps/conditions and he will likley die , so he says to me its the same as any other boa and proceeds to show me a RTB care sheet. sigh..

I looked him over and he seemed ok so i said pack him up I'm taking him home before he dies in there, they said he was on FT fuzzy mice so i got 4 for now . I only had a 105 qrt tub available right now ,i know thats huge for him but i have him setup nicely with cypress and 2 hides , water bowl and i have a 6foot leafy vine from Flukers i laid in the tub so he has nice ground cover to hide in , one of the hides is a tupperware filled with damp Sphagnum moss with a few holes to go in and out and cool side is 74F , warm side is at 83F and 88% humidity much like the previous BRB setup i had.

He cruises the tub once the room is dark and i turn on a red LED to watch him , seems ok and has settled down and he ate with no problem for me . Now im not sure what his size and weight should be but he is 64 grams and 20 inches right now , he has meat on him so ribs or spine showing , seems healthy and i was able to handle him for 20 minutes with no bites or strikes to look him over several times as i saw some stuck shed on his head and tail that i removed. what should he weight and size be at this age roughly? i wonder if he was runt at birth though to begin with, as he is so darn small. I will get a pic later but he just ate so i dont want to handle him.

Now i'm going to put him a 5 day feeding schedule for a while and move him to pinky rats to get some weight on him if he will take them , otherwise i'll keep him on the fuzzy mice until he has some weight to him. Whats odd to me is he will not ever go to the warm side , even after eating , and there is a good hide there for him. I check everything with 2 digital therms and laser temp gun so I know temps are good. He just buries himself in the cold side moss box at 73F night 75F day for days at a time. is it normal for BRB juvi's to like it so cold? What weight and size do i want to set as a goal for his age? I want to get him fit and to normal BRB size for a 7 month old as i know he isnt.

So far he seems quite happy in the large tub with all the cover and humidity is perfect so I likley will not move him to a smaller one .
any advice on my feeding plan and why he likes it so cold will be welcomed. I'm going to add a moss hide to the middle of the tub to see if he will go to that as it will be a little warmer.

[Rainbowsrus]

Several answers for you, first of all, congrats on likely saving this baby from almost certain death. If the per store had not killed it, they would have likely advised the new owner to continue the same care and eventually kill it any ways.

1) Forget typical size for a 7 month old and trying to "catch up". Feeding to catch up would be over feeding and I feel that's never a good plan. IMO it's best to go with you have, a baby that right now is 64 grams. BTW, that's about 2x birth weight so the little guy has been eating some.

2) I'd stick with the weekly feeding schedule and go with mouse hoppers (smaller ones t start with if you have a choice) Rat pinkies are not as nutritious IMO as a more grown mouse.

3) Temps are fine although yes, he is hiding at a little bit low temp. Maybe as you suspect there is not a adequate hide on the warmer side. They will go for cover over comfort so good cover needs to be provided at various temps.

Hope this helps.

[Tekpc007]

Thanks Dave ! I'll try some hoppers once these fuzzies are gone like you suggested. there are now moss hides to both sides and 2 normal dryer hides also so he has more choices and i put the warm side to 81F for now . When i checked him this morning he was on the warm side moss hide so that was good and I can see the lump from the fuzzie i gave him yesterday. Though he seems small and underweight , he seems fine proportionally and is muscularly strong though a bit skinny . i did give the fuzzy a few tugs and he was squeezing hard. i will get some pics with a ruler in a few days and post them up ,his coloration is very vivid and i wish i knew what breeder he came from.

[Tekpc007]

Well i got him out as it was 48 hours since he ate and i wanted to be sure he didn't regurge and get some quick photos.

That is my left index finger at 3/4 inch across for scale, and a few shots with a ruler but could not get a pic of him straight , he is 21 inches when i got him on the carpet. tape measure is 1 inch wide.








his color is just awsome , but like i said i think he is small for being a dec 2011 CBB.

is he some kind of morph? he looks 10x better than the day i got him home thats for sure.

[Rainbowsrus]

He looks like a normal higher colored baby to me. Looks healthy and well proportioned. Just feed like normal for his size and he should be just fine.

[Strutter769]

Congratulations on the rescue. He's got great color!

[Snakesitter]

Tekpc, I agree, you saved this little guy from almost certain death. Looking at your pictures, he seems fine -- good color, good weight/muscle tone, looks attentive and curious. Even if he's "underweight" for his age, these other factors are far more important. As Dave said, forget any notion of playing "catch-up." Just let him grow at his own pace with solid care, and he will eventually catch up on his own terms as he reaches adult size. I think lowering the warm side a few degrees, in addition to providing more hide options, was a good move. Looking forward to more picts as his story develops!

[Tekpc007]

Well just an update , he is doing good and about to shed . Has been eating twice now , and does not mind being handled at all . I tried to feed him today though and he wouldn't take it in his viv so i had him out for a quick check and noticed the eyes blueing so put him back and will try again after he sheds . He does hang out on the warm side after eating more often now . Doesn't look as thin and pathetic as he did when i got him home 10 days ago

[Snakesitter]

Congrats -- great news! Please keep us posted!

[MrBD1980]

As above, congrats!

Looks heathly and nice....man I love BRB's!'

Ps. You can never post too many pics!!! <wink:wink>

Brian