Reptile & Amphibian Forums

this snake is a beautiful little girl but she is a pain in the butt unlike the male this snake does not want to eat so im not too happy with her growth rate but she is the most docile blood python i have ever worked with you cant make this snake bite you just need to work on her appetite a little more find something she will accept on a regular basis see if we cant get her that big girth bloods are known for

Cute little snake - can't wait to see more pics.

Also, how do you have her set up? Maybe there's something in her environment that is causing her to be a picky feeder...

Just know that there are many people on this forum who are more than happy to lend you advice so that you can have as much fun with your bloods as we have with ours!!!

K
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"Remember the days of the old schoolyard?" - Cat Stevens

her setup is pretty simple large water bowl to help with humidity and a hide box thats all she has as far as cage furniture plus i mist the cage daily ive left f/t rodents just outside the entrance to her hidebox with no luck ive tried live mice my other blood python i got started using gerbils but ive tried gerbils with her as well figure ill try rat pups next would offer her day old chicks but she is too small for that yet

How big is the cage & what are the basking & ambient temps?

K
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"Remember the days of the old schoolyard?" - Cat Stevens

i keep both of my bloods in seperate 30 gallon tanks for right now since they arent adults yet although i am going to have to move the male soon he has about outgrown his tank warm side of cage is 90 cool side is normally between 78-80 degrees humidity is always at between 80-90% have never had a problem with respiratory infection with either of these two the male i have had no problems with at all he eats fine sheds in one peice and defecates normally the female has only shed 1 time since i have had her and to get her to eat on her own i opened her mouth and she bit down on the mouse and swallowed it on her own once it was in her mouth she did this about 3 times for me with no trouble so no forcefeeding was involved but recently she just spits them out when i try

Baby blood & 30 gallon tank = recipe for unhappy snake. Baby bloods are extremely shy and putting them in a giant enclosure is often the cause of going off feed. She wants to be in a tight little cage where she can feel secure. Since she's in a clear, big, spacious cage with an "open top (which is what the screen top on a 30gal equates to) she basically feels open to attack from all angles from a "predator" of any sort. Remember that young snakes pretty much operate under the mindset that anything bigger is a threat.

Time to make some modifications, which fortunately is easy to do. Get a rubbermaid shoebox w/lid, a smaller version (like the 4636 model) if she's a small baby, or a bigger box (i.e. 2220/3 gallon size) if your snake is bigger. Put 10-15 holes on each "short side" of the box for ventilation, using a soldering iron ($20 @ Radio Shack & a no-brainer to operate) to melt the holes. Keep the setup with in the shoebox VERY simple - just substrate & small water bowl. Try to make sure the water bowl isn't something she can easily flip - those small, heavier ceramic crocks often sold in pet stores work GREAT. Your substrate should be something simple, too - i.e. paper towels or newspaper. Boxes this size are too small to use mulch in since it jacks up the humidity too much, and excessive humidity is a bad thing. Humidity isn't the main thing you need to be worrying about right now. Crumple up a little extra paper for her to hide under, or give her a small hide box at one end of the shoebox. I find that those little opaque plastic plant saucers that you can get at Home Depot make great hides for baby bloods. Get one 4" in diameter & cut a little hole in one side.

Get a little digital indoor/outdoor thermometer from Walmart...I picked up a great one the other day for $10, so they're not expensive. Put the temperature probe inside the shoebox so you can keep an eye on the temps. You do not need to give the animal a basking spot right now - there's cause #2 for baby bloods going off feed - get them too hot & they don't want to eat. But it IS important to keep an eye on temperatures. You want her entire enclosure to run around 82 degrees or so...but don't get too much higher than that!

Set your snake up like this and leave her alone - let her settle in for a good week - 10 days. Give her time to get comfy in her new home & get hungry. At that point offer her a pre-killed mouse, or if you need to leave something in overnight with her, get a crawler rat - the size where the rat's eyes are just open, but it's big enough for the snake to notice and also tend to move and crawl around alot, which will also help attract the snake's attention. If you can't find the right size rat, I don't really recommend leaving a live prey item overnight with your snake, since older rodents have a bigger tendency to start chewing on snakes, or even attack them outright.

Hope this helps!!

K
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"Remember the days of the old schoolyard?" - Cat Stevens