Question about my snakes behaviour

[razeunit]

Hi guys and gals,

First post but have been reading on these forums for a little while . I purchased a baby (5mnth old) jungle snake about 2 weeks ago and have been handling her everynight for around 15 minutes except on feeding nights. When I am finished handling her I put my hand down around the entrance to her hide and she cruises in and curls up. Last night she was griping my thumb tight enough it was making it tingle a little from lack of blood flow and was chilling out with her head across my hand. After 5 minutes or so of that I put her head down towards the entrance to her cave and she seemed reluctant to go in, finally she started to move in but she wouldnt let go of my thumb. Instead of just letting go and curling in she went in did a loop and popped her head back out of her hide just as I free'd my thumb. Any ideas on why she did that?

regards,
Matt

 

[Contagion]

Hunting. She was hungry.
You should wait 48 hours after feeding before handling to allow for digestion.
What size mouse or rat are you feeding? Maybe it's time to step it up?
Pics??

 

[razeunit]

I am feeding fuzzy mice to her now which leaves a small lump in her body and is close to the thickest part of her body. I fed her on Thursday and this happened Friday night. She wouldn't still be hungry would she? Also on the how long to leave them after eating, as long as they don't regurgitate does it really matter? I dont have any pics atm sorry. Thanks for the response

 

[J-A-X]

sounds more like she was hanging on so she didn't fall, hanging on so tight that you lose circulation is normal too....
their food should leave a noticeable bump, not just a bulge,
general rule of thumb is to not handle for 48hours after feeding, gives them chance to feel more comfortable.... you try eating a weeks worth of food in one sitting and see how much you feel like doing anything for a day or two....

 

[razeunit]

Lol well put jaxrtfm. Ok well whatever she was up too im feeling like I need to up the size of her meals. I have just brought another 4 fuzzy mice that are in the freezer so can I feed them to her every 4th day (or suggestion) instead of 7 days seeing they sound like they are a little too small. Or should I cut my losses and hit the pet shop up for some bigger mice?

Also interested in hearing peoples opinion on all the products available from the pet shops like the sprays for helping them shed and the mite sprays and i think some vitamin supplements as well. Does anyone here use any of these products or recommend any as a must for anyone who cares about there snake? My gut feeling was for the most part it was just a rip off but im not very experienced and only have 1 close friend with a python but I want to do the right thing by my snake.

 

[angelrose]

if i had too small a meal for my snake i would just give her 2 in a row... she didn't mind... just a thought

 

[shellfisch]

Also interested in hearing peoples opinion on all the products available from the pet shops like the sprays for helping them shed and the mite sprays and i think some vitamin supplements as well. Does anyone here use any of these products or recommend any as a must for anyone who cares about there snake? My gut feeling was for the most part it was just a rip off but im not very experienced and only have 1 close friend with a python but I want to do the right thing by my snake.

For what it is worth, my son has six snakes, and 2 Smooth Knob Tail geckos, and has never used any of those products.
All his animals are very healthy, with no problems, and he started keeping two and a half years ago when he was 11.

 

[J-A-X]

dont waste the mice you have, let her have one, give her half an hour the feed the other one, in that half hour you should keep the 2nd warm, she'll still be in 'food mode' and shouldn't hesitate, If you are worried that upsizing, buy one 'size uped' and feed that before your last 2 fuzzies, if its too big, she won't eat it, and you will have the fuzzies to fall back on. the easiest way to figure out how big to feed them is to buy prey that is as thick as the thickest part of the snake, or a little thicker,

most 'reptile' products are a waste of money, when you can see she has started the shedding cycle (going dull, cloudy eyes etc), up the size of the water bowl, let it soak, once shed, put there normal bowl back in, you don't want permanent high humidity, unless you know she has mites you don't need mite spray, and if she is clean now, then there is no reason she should get them unless you feed wild caught mice or purchase another snake that is mite infested....
you shouldn't need vitamin supplements if you are giving feed from a reputable source, they feed their mice and rats with supplements, 'Gutloading'
disinfectant for cleaning?, a lot of people use F10, i use a splash of bleach in a bucket, and rinse well.

 

[Fantazmic]

Hi ya

Glad to hear you are enjoying your Jungle. Dont worry about the behaviour they can be moody little things sometimes. You will know if she seems hungry she will start hunting and she will react to anything that moves. Something they do like is a perch or dowel so if you can set up one of those for her to sit on in her enclosure/click clack she will love it. Two things my breeder told me. Try to feed once a week...If you think she is hungry inbetween you need to up the food size. Also when you think she is coming into shed just give her a little squirt with clean water from a water sprayer that sprays a fine mist of water. I did this twice a day morning and night...just a tiny mist and we had a perfect shed. It peeled off in one lovely length it was just wonderful.

if in doubt make sure you use the policy food in food out. So if you feed her wait till she has pooed before offering food again.

Also...record everything....you will get a feel then for what she does and know what to expect

Regards

Elizabeth

 

[razeunit]

Ok thank you very much guys. Really appreciate you taking the time to respond. I was using another Australian snake forum but it wasn't very active so this place is great. Thanks again.

 

[razeunit]

Ok well my baby girl has just gone to the toilet and done her no 2. Fed Thursday night so is this the food I fed on Thursday? How long should it be taking her roughly to digest her food?

 

[Elapidae1]

I am feeding fuzzy mice to her now which leaves a small lump in her body and is close to the thickest part of her body. I fed her on Thursday and this happened Friday night. She wouldn't still be hungry would she? Also on the how long to leave them after eating, as long as they don't regurgitate does it really matter? I dont have any pics atm sorry. Thanks for the response

The 48 hours is to eliminate the chance of regurge as this can harm your snake

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Yep - a regurge can be a damaging event, so no handling until the bump disappears. It usually takes 2-3 weeks for food pass through the digestive tract. If a snake defecates within a couple of days of feeding, it's food from a previous meal that you'll be getting back.

 

[razeunit]

Ok thanks guys, really appreciate that. I wont be handling within a 48hour period of feeding. Also her feces was quite hard and was stuck to the side of her water bowl. Took a good scrub to remove it. Is this all normal for a healthy snake?

Thanks again guys!

 

[AM Pythons]

u should look at trying rats, at 5 months old i have them on rats of the right size, you will want to change to rats at some stage the sooner the better..

 

[Serpentess]

I'd like to back up tatt2tony's statement. Rats have more nutrition...

So, if she's on fuzzy/weaner mice - velvet/fuzzy rats should be what you're after.
The size seems to vary a bit with these though, so just have a look at them before you buy.

A good way to tell if she's ready to go to the next size is to time how long it takes for her to feed. If it takes less than 5 minutes for her to down a mouse then she is well over due for the next size. 10-20 minutes is a comfortable amount of time. Anything up to about 40 minutes is ok. Over that and I think you're pushing it a little.

Also about her being reluctant to go in her hide... If she was very active while handling she might just be hungry. How many mice did you feed her? If you only fed her one mouse she was probably still hungry.

When my spotted was growing up on pinkie mice, fuzzy mice, weaner mice and fuzzy rats she would always hang out/hunt until she had her two (sometimes three when close to an upgrade). She's currently on one large weaner rat a week for the cooler months though. She seems happy with that.

Also I hear that jungles like to hang out, so maybe a fixed perch for her to hang out on would be a nice idea for her tank.

I am no jungle expert but I own a happy, healthy snake.