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New snake owner, need assistance!

I bought one of those thermometers that was pictured above, the plastic-looking probe. His favorite hiding spot read 85 degrees on a the dot. Is this too hot for him?

Is his favorite hiding spot right over the heat mat?the most important question with the heat mat is: what is the temperature ON the glass UNDER the aspen in the CENTER of the UTH? This is the potential harmful spot the employee who warned you off a uth to begin with was talking about. With a dimmer and properly monitored, UTH is the best source of heat for your snake. Just have to get it set up properly...and once you've got the first one, the rest are easy! lol

So, in short. Clear away aspen above the uth, roughly in the middle. On this space of clear glass, affix the thermometer probe to the glass above the UTH. Thats the spot you want to keep control of.
 
Is his favorite hiding spot right over the heat mat?the most important question with the heat mat is: what is the temperature ON the glass UNDER the aspen in the CENTER of the UTH? This is the potential harmful spot the employee who warned you off a uth to begin with was talking about. With a dimmer and properly monitored, UTH is the best source of heat for your snake. Just have to get it set up properly...and once you've got the first one, the rest are easy! lol

So, in short. Clear away aspen above the uth, roughly in the middle. On this space of clear glass, affix the thermometer probe to the glass above the UTH. Thats the spot you want to keep control of.

I have not been able to purchase a UTH yet, the nearest pet store is an hour from me and I'm not sure the next time I will make the trip over there. I will probably get one sometime next week.
 
Leaving Axel overnight in the mini-tank next to a room temperature pinkie, going to find out of he eats it.
 
Too small unless it is a pip, a corn that has just hatched. A 20 gallon long tank will last him his whole life. I would recommend buying one and moving him into it.

Re: 5.5 gal tank. It's perfectly fine for now. Looking at the pic of him, he is only barely longer than the short side of the tank, so the tank is fine. It's true that a 20 long will last him his life, but since he's currently a non-feeder, I wouldn't stress him by a) moving him & b) putting him in a large tank.

Regarding the non-feeding, it might be wise to check the return policy and strongly consider returning him if you can't get him to eat within the period of the policy. Does his feeding record say he has ever eaten?
 
Re: 5.5 gal tank. It's perfectly fine for now. Looking at the pic of him, he is only barely longer than the short side of the tank, so the tank is fine. It's true that a 20 long will last him his life, but since he's currently a non-feeder, I wouldn't stress him by a) moving him & b) putting him in a large tank.

Regarding the non-feeding, it might be wise to check the return policy and strongly consider returning him if you can't get him to eat within the period of the policy. Does his feeding record say he has ever eaten?

Well that's what I'm unsure about, they said he has eaten before. But the legend on the feeding chart says he hasn't, unless it was a type on their end. He didn't eat after putting him alone with a pinkie all night. The return policy is one week, and I believe I've had him longer than that.
 
Ok, well, then let's work with what we have!

So as far as you can figure, the pet store had him a month and you've had him a little over a week and he has not eaten at all in that whole time period (although the employee said he had eaten). Maybe you could phone the store to try and confirm one way or the other, but it doesn't matter too much unless you want to try pursuing the fact that you were verbally given incorrect information and maybe get a refund on that basis. It's possible he didn't eat there because of stress (incorrect temps, perhaps cohabbing, lots of people around, etc.).

We've established that a UTH would be best, but for now you've got the heat light. As long as you've taken the temp right where the snake would be, 85 is perfect, so that part is good. Make sure he has a place to hide in a cool area too (can be any small box or container, just big enough for him to fit; they like tight spaces).

Don't offer food more often than once every 3-5 days. As mentioned, try making the pinkie very warm and poking a hole in its head. You could try the paper bag trick, where you place snake and pinkie in a paper bag, staple it shut and place the bag in the cage (so that if he escapes the bag, it's all good!). If he hasn't eaten by the time you go to the pet store next week, you could try a live pinkie. There are other tricks (some have been mentioned, but lets start with the simple ones and then see if we need to go to more elaborate lengths.

Oh, and also don't handle him and try to keep disturbances to a minimum around the cage until he starts eating.
 
Axel has been acting unusual lately. For starters he very cold to the touch, I don't know if this is normal for cold-blooded animals or not, but I don't seem to recall him being cold. He's also not active at night anymore like he was when I first received him, he just sits in his hiding spot all day and night. I checked to see if he was about to shed, but it doesn't seem like that. Any suggestions?
 
Axel has been acting unusual lately. For starters he very cold to the touch, I don't know if this is normal for cold-blooded animals or not, but I don't seem to recall him being cold. He's also not active at night anymore like he was when I first received him, he just sits in his hiding spot all day and night. I checked to see if he was about to shed, but it doesn't seem like that. Any suggestions?


Well they are cold blooded, so they will feel cool to the touch. Has he shed before in your care? Usually mine go into hiding a few days before they actually go blue (skin goes opaque, eyes cloud over). They're in blue usually for about a week, then they clear up for a few days, then they actually shed. So there are points during this that they may not appear to be in the shedding process, but they are. I'd bet that he's getting ready to shed.
 
Axel has been acting unusual lately. For starters he very cold to the touch, I don't know if this is normal for cold-blooded animals or not, but I don't seem to recall him being cold. He's also not active at night anymore like he was when I first received him, he just sits in his hiding spot all day and night. I checked to see if he was about to shed, but it doesn't seem like that. Any suggestions?

My Charles is almost always cold to the touch when I get him (especially when he's hiding under the water bowl). The only time Axel shouldn't be cold is when has recently been under your heat lamp for digestion purposes, which is where we're trying to get him now....
 
Well that would explain why he's not eating. I will give him a few days alone and see what happens. Thanks!
 
I'm a bit worried about Axel, he has not been active for a week and when I looked at him last-which was hard since he hasn't come out of his hiding place since I posted last-he didn't seem like he was shedding, his eyes were of a normal hue and his skin looked dandy. Anybody have an idea why he would want to be so isolated all of a sudden? I stayed up one night until 4 AM to see if he would come out, but nothing.
 
With the colour of corn you have, it can be hard to tell when they are going to shed sometimes (their eyes go white instead of blue and the skin I don't know how to describe, but it definitely looks different on the red areas, but your snake has a lot of white), but keep in mind that they go into blue, then they clear up and look completely normal, then they shed.

When is he due to try to eat next? He might not be shedding; he may just want to chill for a bit. You can try bringing him out to eat if it's time for that and take that opportunity to check him out. Just keep it to a minimum. Or if you think he's stressed and don't want to disturb him, you could try feeding him in his viv by placing the pinkie on a little plate so the shavings don't stick to it.
 
Well Axel finally shed last week, so I decided to try and feed him yesterday. He still didn't eat, he still is only interested in escaping his surroundings... I don't know what to do. Suggestions?
 
Have you had a chance to get the undertank heater yet? Getting the temps right will help. When you offered food, how did you offer it?
 
No I have not had the time nor money to invest in it, although the digital thermometer I obtained for him reads a constant 83-85 degrees. I put Axel in a separate tank, covered the tank with a black cloth, and placed the pinkie in there with him. He seemed to be slightly interested at first, but then just ignored it and tried to escape. I left him overnight with it, but to no avail.
 
I think you should try with a smaller feeding container- like the size of a margerine cup. You can punch a couple holes in the lid with a paper punch. The pink needs to be HOT, not room temp. Think 102F. You're running out of time to get this guy eating, though, and if he doesn't take a FT pink very soon, I think you should try live.
 
I agree with Nanci. Try a very small feeding container that he just fits in with a very hot mouse. And then try live.
 
Alright, I went and bought a UTH pad today. I'm going to go out and get a small gladware container and punch holes in it. Thanks for the help!
 
I left him overnight with the UTH and a small container, it seems like half of the pinkie was gone. I'm hoping he ate it, although I'm unsure. He doesn't have any lumps in him, can you tell any other way?
 
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