Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello guys , as some of you may know, I purchased an albino nelson in july from Bob Applegate. He's my first snake, so I have to go by what others say is right and what is wrong. So i have a couple of new questions, if any one would be so kind as to answer them.
For one, i had been feeding him f/t pinkies every 4 days or so, and he's gotten bigger, so I thought i'd move on to f/t fuzzies, he ate the first one no problem, but now when i try to feed him- he doesn't go any where near it. And that brings up another question, that i keep gettin different opinions on, do nelsoni hibernate? and if so, would that be why he wasn't eating? i haven't changed the temperature gradient in his cage its mid 80s on the warm side, and just the temperature of my room so like 65-70 on the cool side, and he seems to be staying on the cool side more. And one last question, how big should i expect him to be when he's full length? (I keep getting different opinions on that one too.) ..so if anyone who has nelsoni, and would like to help me out. i'd appreciate it. any information. Thanks ahead of time
-Alex

Are you trying to keep the same feeding regimen with the fuzzies as you were with the pinkies? In other words, did you feed him a fuzzy and now you are trying to feed him 4 days later? If so, he may just be full, and simply may not be hungry, so I would suggest just waiting a few more days. If that works, then maybe feed him one fuzzy once a week and see how that works.

Nelsoni do hibernate, but since he is a baby, I doubt it may be that. BUT..at the same time, I could be wrong. Is it getting colder where you are at and harder to maintain the temps in the 80s? As far as temps, how high are your temps in the 80s? Since he is in the cooler area more, it is possible he may feel too hot. I keep mine at 82 at the most.

Adults can be appr. 3 feet or so.
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Genesis 1:1

I tried feeding him 10 days afterward (that seems like a long time, but i wanted to make sure he was hungry again before i tried again) -and he's over a year old- when do they start hibernating? The warm side is low 80's, i live in ohio so it is getting cold out. should i turn his warm side down? or is he okay just stayin on the cool side? I think maybe, he's not ready for f/t fuzzies. Its just the pinkies never seem to leave a bulge, and he digested them really fast. i dont know, i'm new at this. lol
thanks - Alex.

Your nelsoni could very well be trying to brumate.Just because its hot spot may be in the low 80s it doesn't meen that the ambiant temp is in the 80s.
Snakes also have a built in clock and they can tell when its getting cold out even if they are in a artificial setting.
It will be difficult to keep the snake up probably and have it thrive.I learned a long long time ago to just hibernate everything.You think if you keep small snakes up that they will grow more over the three to four months but it doesn't matter.I have done many many tests and the snakes that brumate just catch right up and actually do better.You don't have to strugle in trying to get them to feed and if the room is cold but you have the heat tape cranked its like a rain forest in there cage.

Shannon

heyy thanks a lot - but what should i do if my snake is brumating?

Well,I would let him/her just brumate.Just make sure it hasn't eatin anything in about two weeks so it can clear its gut.
Then I don't know if you have a snake room or just have it in a room with some heat/light etc....
I recomend placing it in a quit dark place that is in the 50s or low 60s and just leave it alone for a couple months.I would just check once a week or so and make sure it has water.
You should be good to go and it will know when its time to warm up.You will notice it cruising its enclosure allot.

Shannon

okay thank you so much for the help i'll use your advice & that's a greatt looking snake, my camera is in the process of gettin fixed right now, but when it does- i'll put pictures of him upp.
-Alex