Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone, just go my first gtp at the north berks reptile show

hes a nice red beauty...i just put him in a new enclosure, and i am ordering one of those acrylic ones tommorrow with a heat panel for this little guy

the guy at the show said he was feeding every wednesday
but i tried yesterday and tonight and have had no such luck

tried thawed under scorching hot water, and under a lamp for a couple minutes, and a live pinky as well

he doesnt even seem INTERESTED in the food, like doesnt even flicker his tongue, is he just not hungry? adjusting to his new tank? or not happy with the conditions? its around 85 hot side, 78 cool side, and approx 75% humidity right now, i thought that was pretty perfect

should i just leave him alone and not even pick him up at all, wait another week or so and try again? or should i be concerned

my carpet ate EVERYHING i put in his face from day one, and this one is really picky, thanks for any feedback!!!

MOst people give their new chondros (or most snakes for that matter)at least a few days to get acclimated to their new home. What size enclosure do you have this baby in right now? If it's really large, it may feel pretty intimidated. Is this an import or a captive born and bred animal from a breeder? There's lots of factors, but I'd wait at least 3 days before pestering the little guy. It's been thru a lot. Sitting at a show with 3 million people staring at it, and then the drive to your house and a new enclosure etc.

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1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.4~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin,Minuet
1.0~Zigzag Bubblegum~Bazooka Joe
0.1~Neon het motley~Lumiere
1.0~Lav het motley/hypo~Storm
1.1~Green tree python~Whisper, Tempest
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
0.1~Old black Lab~ Callie (RIP)
2.0~fat cats~Topper, Briscoe
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....
www.franclycac.com

You stated: "should i just leave him alone and not even pick him up at all"

If this is a baby, it should not be handled at all due to their fragile spines at that age. You definitely do not want to handle it or add any undue stress to the animal until it gets comfortable with its surroundings and is eating regularly.

As Meg said, let it adjust for a few days and try again. It is not uncommon for an animal to not eat for days and even weeks after being placed in a new surrounding.

Post a pic of the animal and its enclosure when you get the chance.

Bart

Missed that Bart. Thanks for pointing that out.

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1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.4~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin,Minuet
1.0~Zigzag Bubblegum~Bazooka Joe
0.1~Neon het motley~Lumiere
1.0~Lav het motley/hypo~Storm
1.1~Green tree python~Whisper, Tempest
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
0.1~Old black Lab~ Callie (RIP)
2.0~fat cats~Topper, Briscoe
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....
www.franclycac.com

i will post pics of the snake and the tank when i get back from work...

right now, the water bowl is on the OTHER side, under the light to get more humidity and the wood is different, there is a piece going prettymuch perfectly horizontally across the cage so there is a gradiant, not just a bsaking spot on one side and not the other, top is NOT screened like it may look, i cut a piece of wood prettymuch perfect to the top that sits there, the only hole is for the lamp, which there is also a circle cut out for almost exactly to its diameter....

overall the snake is VERY active at night after 12...guess i will just wait a week or so before i bother em with food again

That's a fairly large tank for a small neonate and it's pretty wide open too. The little guy (or gal) may feel a little intimidated. You'll have to see how it goes in another few days. If it doesn't take food in that time, you might consider moving it to a smaller rubbermaid enclosure to help it feel more secure. You also might have trouble keeping up the temps in there during the cooler months as glass has really bad insulating properties. I even have trouble with temps in my arboreal cages in the winter when the house gets down in the low 60's inside.

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1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.4~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin,Minuet
1.0~Zigzag Bubblegum~Bazooka Joe
0.1~Neon het motley~Lumiere
1.0~Lav het motley/hypo~Storm
1.1~Green tree python~Whisper, Tempest
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
0.1~Old black Lab~ Callie (RIP)
2.0~fat cats~Topper, Briscoe
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....
www.franclycac.com

Following up on what Meg said...

I personally would swap to a tub now... The little guy is probably going to stress with such a wide open cage and the fact that he can see the entire room makes the cage seem that much bigger to him...

You said you were ordering him a new cage... Thats good... Aquariums are an acceptable temporary cage, but in reality they are designed for fish...
Aquariums are ok, if you can meet all the requirements and meeting all the requirements is more difficult in an aquarium... I know Brandon has used then in the past and maybe still does...

good luck
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Shiloh Hawkesworth
kansas
(Midwest Serpents)

Congrats on your new critter...

Chondro's can be very hard to figure out sometimes, alot of it is trial and error until you find out what your snake likes...

I personally have feed all but one Chondro I have ever received within a minute of putting it in a new enclosure... I do the same when I switch cages... The snake is usually kind of pissed when you take it out of the bag or switch cages, so I have found it easy enough to just offer a meal and they settle right in… I have had great success with this…

But sense you are past that conjunction it's time for plan B...

First, what kind of enclosure is it in at the moment??? And how soon will your new one get there???

Second, Why would you offer a snake a scorching hot meal??? I don’t like to eat scorching hot food, and I don’t think my snakes do either…
I have a few males that will not eat unless the meal is the same temp as a live mouse. This was a bit challenging at first. I had to figure out the temp of a live meal and then take a F/T meal and match the temps… The easy solution was a temp gun and hot water… I heated up the meal and then dried it off and waited till the temps were good and had wonderful results… Although I don’t think that is going to be a problem for you… Either way you need to make sure the animal is only a little warm…

Third, if he is not flicking his tongue it is because the meal is too hot or your presentation needs some work… It is my experience that the only time a snake won’t flick it’s tongue is if it’s sick or really pissed… In both cases the snake usually won’t eat… So my next question is how are you offering the meal???

Fourth, As far as handling goes it is a normal rule of thumb to not handle a critter that is under 12 months… How old is yours? How many grams?
I would also strongly recommend you don’t do any kind of handling until the critter has had at least 2 meals, and of course not on a full stomach… Regurgitation is not real common in GTP’s but it can happen…

I wish you the best of luck… These things can be very fun and also a headach… If you have any questions just ask the forum and 9 times out of 10 you will get a real nice answer…

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Shiloh Hawkesworth
kansas
(Midwest Serpents)

Shi, Your chondro is telling me to take him home....you can see it in his eyes...
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1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.4~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin,Minuet
1.0~Zigzag Bubblegum~Bazooka Joe
0.1~Neon het motley~Lumiere
1.0~Lav het motley/hypo~Storm
1.1~Green tree python~Whisper, Tempest
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
0.1~Old black Lab~ Callie (RIP)
2.0~fat cats~Topper, Briscoe
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....
www.franclycac.com

Where?????? I don't see it... Oh wait it says, "if you send me to her I will bite your hand all the way to the box"...

Well, I guess I'll have to keep him...
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Shiloh Hawkesworth
kansas
(Midwest Serpents)

well thanks for the replies everyone

i ordered a 14 inch acrylic cube with a 35watt heat panel and thermostat for the little guy, i was told that is prettymuch as good as it gets for chondros

i will try to find a small tub to throw him in for the time being and hopefully will be a little better due to a more comfortable enclosed environment, but im still not sure thats it...either way i hope to find out shortly

as for the glass enclosure my temps are fine, thats something i am not concerned about, it was the humidity, and its holding that pretty decent as well, not as well as i would like it too, but good for the next couple days until the new enclosure gets here....and as far as stressed, im not really sure bc at night he explores the whole tank and slithers around not really caring about how much room there is, almost like he wants more!

doesnt seem like hes scared, just maybe not hungry or something i dunno, ill test out a couple things, maybe even just give it antoher week so i KNOW as a fact he HAS to be hungry and offer food once more

either way, i will get this settled soon, i love this snake prob more then my jungle, and want to make sure hes happy

thanks again everyone for the comments, i will definately keep this thread updated if/when he takes a meal

ok....i am a little concerned

i dont know if anyone has seen this behavior, or if its common with these type of python

but trying to feed him, i pester him like you guys say, and even very very very lightly tap him with the food

when i do that he like almost hisses, but its not a hiss, its like a "tch" sound and kinda like twitches a little... wtf is that? ive never seen this on a snake before and ive owned, and own plenty is this NORMAL, or should i have him checked out, ima call the breeder i bought it from and see whats going on too... i hope i dont have like a "defective" snake im actually getting kinda sad here!!!

Sounds like normal defensive behavior to me. They will hiss when pissed I thought you were going to give the little thing a few days before trying to feed. You don't want to offer the food too often or you're going to start a trend of refusal. Just wait 4 or 5 days and then try again. Leave the guy alone and let him get settled in.
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1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.4~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin,Minuet
1.0~Zigzag Bubblegum~Bazooka Joe
0.1~Neon het motley~Lumiere
1.0~Lav het motley/hypo~Storm
1.1~Green tree python~Whisper, Tempest
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
0.1~Old black Lab~ Callie (RIP)
2.0~fat cats~Topper, Briscoe
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....
www.franclycac.com

I agree... I think at this point he is stressed...

If it were me........ I would suggest you leave him alone for about 2 days and then drop in a live pink without disturbing him and let him do his thing... It might be easier for him and you... No offence, but your presentation probably needs some work... Chondro's are not your average snake and some can be a royal pain in the rear...
If you are interested, call me today and I'll talk you few a few feeding techniques... I will be at work tonight until 7pm...
The number is 620-364-8831 ext 8320... Sometimes the automated extension takes a while to kick on because it’s a new system and the bugs aren’t all worked out...

Good luck
Shiloh
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Shiloh Hawkesworth
kansas
(Midwest Serpents)

yea im going to leave him be for like a week

i put a towel around the front and sides of the cage, so it cant even see out of it anymore to the huge room thats around it

hope that might settle him down a little, not to mention make it a little bit hotter, bc the glass wont be giving off as much heat anymore now thats its insulated, the hot side is going to be more 90-92 instead of 85ish now... so that might be a little helpful

either way im going to let the tank sit, and only touch it when i mist in the morning and at night other than that i will let it be as much as possible, just check up to see that hes still ok

Don't get the temps up too high. 85 is plenty. Just make sure your humidity stays aroun 80% or so and that he's getting water in him.

-----
1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.4~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin,Minuet
1.0~Zigzag Bubblegum~Bazooka Joe
0.1~Neon het motley~Lumiere
1.0~Lav het motley/hypo~Storm
1.1~Green tree python~Whisper, Tempest
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
0.1~Old black Lab~ Callie (RIP)
2.0~fat cats~Topper, Briscoe
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....
www.franclycac.com

when i mist....i can directly mist ON the snake, so it gets water to drink on its coils right...??

Absolutely. My Sorong drinks right off herself.

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1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.4~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin,Minuet
1.0~Zigzag Bubblegum~Bazooka Joe
0.1~Neon het motley~Lumiere
1.0~Lav het motley/hypo~Storm
1.1~Green tree python~Whisper, Tempest
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
0.1~Old black Lab~ Callie (RIP)
2.0~fat cats~Topper, Briscoe
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....
www.franclycac.com