I bought a 2 foot black throat a few weeks ago. He sempt very active up until about a week ago. Now he is in his hide box almost all day. He usualy comes out once or twice to bask. He also isnt eating as good as he was. I dont theink its my temps because the basking temp is between 120 and 130 degrees. I am thinking he could be stressed out but i dont see why he would be.
He also hisses and whips every time i pick him up. I held him alot at the pet store where i got him from and he was never like that.
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BT is acting weird please help
flpsk8119
Dec 25, 2003 01:47 PM
Replies (3)
crocdoc2
Dec 25, 2003 05:08 PM
the best thing you could do at the moment is to not pick up your blackthroat of a while. Chances are that it was terrified in the petstore, which is why it seemed so 'tame'. Once put in a new enclosure at your home, it would have spent some time exploring (which is why it seemed so active), but now that it is settling in it has become defensive when you pick it up. If you are pulling it out of its hide spot to pick it up, even worse, as it knows it has no safe place to hide. That may be why its appetite is suppressed.
Double check your husbandry by searching this forum and reading information on websites about care. Make sure it has plenty of hide spots, not just one, and that you do not pick it up when it is in one of those hide spots. Don't pick it up at all for a few weeks, until it is feeding well and settled in, preferably not until it starts approaching you (put your hand in and see if it comes up to it and crawls on).
flpsk8119
Dec 25, 2003 05:25 PM
He seems to be eating better again and is coming out a little more. would it be ok to pick him up as long as he isnt hiding. or would that just make the situation worse.
crocdoc2
Dec 25, 2003 06:09 PM
everyone has their own handling techniques, but I prefer to let my monitors become tame on their own terms. This means letting them crawl onto my hand when they are ready. Other people believe in handling their monitors every day, regardless. I think the outcome depends on the individual monitor. Some react badly to constant unsolicited handling and become more nervous, but some will never approach your hand. You have to keep an eye on your monitor and play it by ear.
