Reptile & Amphibian Forums

so im approaching the 2 week mark since i got my baby blood.
he still hasn't come out of his hide even once, much less take a meal. i've offered him both frozen and live, but he won't take either. i know that it takes a while for them to start feeding and become active, and im trying to be very patient, but i worry about the little guy. i still have my temps and humidity levels very accurate, and now have him in a small tub as opposed to the glass tank i had him in at first. i've been told that they normally soak pretty regularly, but i have yet to see this either. i don't mean to sound like a complete novice, but i guess i kinda am. but i've done TONS of research and have ball pythons that are doing very well. hope you dont take my concern the wrong way. any advice would be appreciated! thanks : )

Does he still look healthy otherwise? My first blood HATED water, I would put him in a tub to soak when he was in shed in the winter (when the humidity is about 0 here in PA) and he would literally jump out...He is now 4yrs old and I've never seen him soak on is own, so don't let that worry you too much. Also, I had a difficult time getting him to eat, it took me about 3 weeks to get him to take food..and it was a very tiny black hopper (he would not eat anything white until he was about a year-year and a half old, although I think this is a very atypical problem)and I don't even think he let the mouse hit the floor of the tank. What have you tried feeding him? how did you do it? etc.
This is only my personal experience but if he still looks healthy I wouldn't worry about it.

yes, he looks very healthy.
at first, i offered him a small frozen adult mose (about 19g) and he seemed uninterested. that mose was white by the way.
then, i got two live small adult mice (about 3in long) one dark grey and the other was a tan color, and he snapped at them in defense, but had no intention of killing and eating them.
i tried holding them in front of him with my hemoststs, releasing them into his tub in front of his cave, and i've placed him into a seperate cage. i even tried feeding him in the dark, but still he wouldnt strike.

Try a f/t of fresh killed rat pup and leave it with him in his hide overnight. If he still doesn't eat wait 4 or 5 days and try again.
Try not to worry, it sounds like he is ok.
Kim

I was advised to wait about 5-7 days between feedings when I had the same worry. You may be stressing him, like they told me, just back off. With my 2nd baby I waited until he was prowling for food before even trying.

Matthew

I hope he is OK, but remember my first active Blood was actually ill. He died the day after I tried to feed.
My new baby hid 3-4 days, but eats like a pig. He also soaked 36 hours this week, I was starting to worry. But I understand they do take a few weeks to settle in. I belive Chris over at ProExotics said it takes 5-6 weeks for a baby Blood to truly acclimate. Just try & be patient..

Matthew

I wouldnt worry too much... mine took two months to eat when i got him and its a very rare occasion when he comes all the way out of his hide. He likes to crawl out just enough to get a drink without coming all they way out.

Ok Im blonde, so please help.

Can you go over your husbandry again for us?

What type of cage?

Temps

Humidity

Size of cage

Size of snake
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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

hahaha

32qt tub

blood is about 17-18"

temps are 88 in the basking spot, 82 cool side, hot side lowered to around 82 at night

humidity stays around about 80% at all times

>>hahaha
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>>32qt tub
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>>blood is about 17-18"
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>>temps are 88 in the basking spot, 82 cool side, hot side lowered to around 82 at night
>>
>>humidity stays around about 80% at all times

Temps are good. I would say to lower humidity, that is a little high. I think 50-60% is what is recommended, but I could be a little off. Mine rarely come out of their hides or paper. All three of my smaller ones. They will soak occasionally (especially when the water is fresh) but beyond that they spend time burrowed in their paper with their face sticking out.

Are you offering feed at night?

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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

yeah, i think im going to switch out the eco earth that im using now for maybe either newspaper, or cypress mulch to help regulate the humidity more.

and yes, i've tryed feeding at in both the day and at night with no luck.

As far as feeding at night, this might sound silly but I have found it works awesome with stuborn feeders. Turn the room lights out and use a red light to see what you are doing. then try offering the prey item on hemostats. In my experience this has been the trick. many thanks

Ian
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Buckeyebloods.com

Gee, I think I got an abnormal baby! The last mose lasted 2.1 seconds. I hadn't even finished closing the cage!
Though except for long soaks, he spends time in his cave with just the head looking out..

Matthew

I have two bloods...Both of mine are completely different in personality and feeding habits...

My male is very aggressive and he is a beast and strikes as soon as the rat hits the ground. I feed him in a separate box every time.

My female, is very shy and docile...She will not eat unless she is in her enclosure and I usually have to leave the rat in with her for quite some time. Sometimes up to 3 hours...She seems to like ambushing the rats, she will hide in her hide box until the rat comes in or she will hide on either side and wait until the rat walks in front of her.

Neither of my bloods have ever soaked in their water bowl, that could be because I keep my enclosure cooler than most. They spend 99% of their time hiding in their box or under their newspaper.

I have heard that some bloods will only take rats, so mice might not work. I would get the smallest "small" rat from your local pet shop of wherever you go...Bloods can eat pretty large prey...So you can usually feed rats to very young bloods.