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Normal Behavior?

Wylie
02-12-2008, 06:19 PM
So here's me, being my usual worry wart self, but I can't help but worry when I've already lost one snake...

Anyway, since I fed Flash two 1 day old pinkies on Friday, he has been in the eyeglass hide ever since (today is day 4 after feeding). I have not seen him come out of there AT ALL, not even when I've come out overnight to put wood in our wood stove. Thankfully I know he is still alive because I shine a flashlight in there every so often and I can see that he has changed position. So tell me, is this NORMAL??

Previously I had been feeding him just ONE 1 day old pinkies, for 3 feedings since I got him, each time 24 hours later you couldn't even tell he had eaten and he was active in his viv by day 3. Don said he was feeding him 3 day old pinkies and he told me to go up to double pinkies since I only have a supply of one day old pinkies right now. But yeah, the fact that he hasn't come out of his hide (that I know of) since I fed him has me worried/concerned. :uhoh:

Rich in KY
02-12-2008, 06:22 PM
This is normal.

But I always recommend checking the temps to make sure they are in the acceptable range.

As long as he is eating and looks healthy, I wouldn't worry about his inactivity.

Nanci
02-12-2008, 06:26 PM
He might coincidentally have gone blue, too. That's how I notice- I suddenly realize a snake that I see all the time hasn't been out for a couple days. If you can't stand it, you could just peek in on him tonight or tomorrow night.

Wylie
02-12-2008, 06:43 PM
I have been peeking in on him and I see that he changes positions, but that's all I can tell. I am planning on getting him out tonight to handle him, as my routine is to feed him every 5 days and to handle him on the 4th and 5th (before feeding) days. So I guess if he happens to have gone blue then I'll find out tonight. If not, I guess I just have to try not to worry then. I got worried because this past feeding was the first one with me in which he had TWO pinkies so I was nervous and paranoid to begin with then the fact that he hasn't come out of that hide for 4 days now... yeah, I'm a worry wart.

Thanks Rich & Nanci. :) I'm just a very nervous new snake owner. :o

Wylie
02-12-2008, 06:47 PM
Oh, and temps are great, have been. I've got a thermostat and a thermometer probe on the warm side inside the warm hide which stays 80-85 and the cool side is anywhere from 68 - 79 (depending on whether we are running our wood stove or using oil heat). He has actually been in the eyeglasses case though which sits right on the corner of the UTH, whereas the warm log hide that I have the temp probes in is right over dead center of the UTH.

Nanci
02-12-2008, 06:59 PM
Well, if he is blue, just put him back. I just did the same thing tonight- fed Saturday, hadn't seen Jasper since then, he'd been upgraded in meal size and he had regurged once six feedings ago so I am super-paranoid and had been compulsively, obsessively sniffing his viv all the time too. He's fine. But I had to know.

Wylie
02-12-2008, 07:34 PM
Okie dokie. Thanks for the advice!

Wylie
02-13-2008, 12:26 AM
Good call Nanci! I had just gotten finished on the computer and I stood up and looked into Flash's home and just happened to catch him with his head up out of the cave hide and sure enough, his eyes are blue!

K, so of course now my next worry is that it may not be humid enough for him to have a good shed. We've got a teapot we keep on top of our wood stove with water in it to help put some humidity back into the air but I don't know if it will be enough. I definitely have my doubts cause my nose always bleeds in the winters when I blow it. I guess now would be a good time to put in a moist hide. Now I just have to find something to make a moist hide out of.

And of course no feeding him then til after he sheds right? I would imagine he'd be too skittish right now with his blue eyes hence not being able to see very well.

tstephe3
02-13-2008, 11:12 PM
i usually take a spray bottle and spray down the cage.. that rises the humidity. ive been trying to spray every 3 or 4 days to keep the humidity up since its winter. blain one of my new guys shed yesterday.. it was his first shed since ive had him and it wasnt to horrible.. 2 big pieces and a tail piece. rurik.. my other new guy has been blue for awhile now.. hoping to see that skin in the morning. crush, the oldest ive sprayed for awhile now.. usually when i can see he is in blue and he has shed perfect every time.

Wylie
02-14-2008, 01:08 AM
Well, I really don't want to do any misting/spraying because I use paper towels as substrate. I don't think having the whole bottom of Flash's tank damp or wet would be good. But then again, I am new at this. :shrugs:

Lokheed
02-18-2008, 03:11 AM
As Nanci had said, totally normal. When is a snake is full, it will hide and digest. This is a heavy-duty thermal event. Some snakes can raise their body temps by as much as 13 degrees during digestion... So if they have a big meal, it may take a little longer.

Moulting also takes its toll. Basically the same digestive enzymes that the stomach uses to break down the prey will be released between the new "skin" and the old. This is what releases the moult. This process takes a toll. So basically you have your little guy working overtime ;)

I wouldn't worry too much about humidity. My snakes get perfect sheds with around 40... so as long as you got it above that, you are good to go. If anything remains, get the area wet and it should peel right off as they slide against something. You don't need to put them in a rainforest ;) As long as they are healthy, the enzymes will do their work to release the old skin :)

tradernick
02-18-2008, 10:15 AM
If it weren't for feedings and occasional handling, I'd never see my corn at all. Mouser is a great eater, but disappears for days afterwards. He used to come out at dusk and roam around the viv but not so much right now. His activity (or lack thereof) seems to come in cycles. I take him out and handle him whenever I feel like it...every 2 or 3 days or sometimes just a few minutes before feeding. When he's in blue he hides even more than normal...and of course I don't handle him during that time, and typically I leave him alone for a couple of days after feedings, too.
I did read somewhere that after they're a year old they can often become more active, so I'm not worried. I just keep the pinkies coming :)
Nick

Wylie
02-18-2008, 01:28 PM
I'm getting impatient now cause as of Friday I discovered he went clear so now I'm just waiting for him to finally shed! Seems like forever since I got to handle him or feed him!

Good news though, last night he finally went into the moist hide I put in there for him, yay! So perhaps he was just waiting til he was ready to actually start shedding? Either that or he just finally decided to go check out the new hide, I don't know.