Hatchling, 7/11/13 new owner etc, when will it eat?

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ellab1ack

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Ok, yes I'm a newbie and I have read the books but need a bit of reassurance. Brought this spotted python and picked it up yesterday, bit of a drive home and put the click clack straight into the housing without any handling, only disturbance was putting water bowl in. I have monitored the temp probe all night, like a new born, and despite the thermostat being on 32 the temp probe registered 27.6 all night, has now gone up to 31.2. ( if I drop the thermostat by 1 it drops the temp probe back to 27! Ah hh)
Anyway, that will just be tweaking. My big concern is that it was due a feed yesterday, was ready to arch when I arrived to pick up, I am aware that it might take a bit of time but how long till I start to panic? I have warmed the pinky in the sun, squeezed it a bit to encourage smell and covered the outside tank over to keep free of disturbance.


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If you only picked it up yesterday I would wait a week before trying to feed it. It will still be getting used to its new environment, biting is their main defence against predators so if they don't feel safe they won't feed as this stops them from biting any potential threat.
 
Yeah I wondered if that would be right. I got it in the click clack it was raised in and kept the seat heater on the hour long drive home to keep it as warm as possible, I think the temp problem might be its biggest adjustment at present. I think its managed to stabilise at 30.2. Do you think it dropping a bit at night is ok? Would happen like that in the wild wouldn't it.


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As long as about 1/3 of the click clack floor is 33 and the rest is mid to low 20's then it will be fine.. U don't want same temp all over the tub

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Yeah I wondered if that would be right. I got it in the click clack it was raised in and kept the seat heater on the hour long drive home to keep it as warm as possible, I think the temp problem might be its biggest adjustment at present. I think its managed to stabilise at 30.2. Do you think it dropping a bit at night is ok? Would happen like that in the wild wouldn't it.


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if ya got a pic of setup then people can correct u or give advice on the tweaking ;)
 
As above leave for about a week, but I personally would defrost by leaving the food in the sun. Either in the fridge for the day then into a cup of tap hot water to bring the temp up or straight into the hot water
 
I feed mine within the first few days of receiving them. If they haven't eaten for a while and the temps are good in the tank they should eat? If they don't eat first time give it a week before trying again.

I leave them at least a week and after they have had their first feed to even think about handling.

For a hatchling depending on how they keep their condition, 4-6months without eating before you should be at full panic stations. So don't worry about it. They are designed to go long periods without food.

Got any pics of your set up? We should be able to give you some advice on temps if you post up some pics. Ideally your hot spot should be a bit warmer than 30 degrees.
 
the temperature on your hot spot should sit at around 32-33 the warmer temps will encourage a strong feeding response, if the hatchie has a good history of feeding then you should not panic, it will resume feeding once it has settled in. the best advice i ever received as a novice keeper was not to handle or disturb the snake for two weeks except for water changes, until the snake feels safe in it's new home.
 
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Ok, so I have the babe in the click clak and half over the head cord. I've shown you the heat cord next o the thermostat cord underneath the clck lack. It is all inside what in the future will be the main home. I have 2 temp probes, one the hide/ warm end, one the water bowl / cooler end. They vary about 2 deg.



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I love heat cords this is a fairly easy fix.

To get the temp up you will need to zig zag the heat cord a bit tighter. I've found around 2-2.5 cm between each zig zag works very well. Only put the cord under 1/3 of the click clack to get a good gradient.

Judging by the look of the thermostat cord it is one of those cheap ones off ebay. As they are an on/off switching thermo the temp will vary a little as it switches on and off.

The temp reading on those isn't all that accurate so go by the thermometer reading not the thermostat reading and adjust the thermostat accordingly.

I would have the thermostat probe in the middle of one of the zig zags rather than touching the actual cord otherwise the thermostat could be turning the cord off before the hot spot inside the click clack gets to the desired temp.

Hot spot in the click clack should be at 33ish.

Out of curiosity have you tried offering food yet?
 
Thank you. Poor little thing, I got the cord etc off the breeder so I couldn't set it up earlier to get it right, hence I have had to disturb it a bit trying to get the temp right with moving the click clak around.
Ok, I think I will get more aluminium tape tomorrow and redo the cord closer, put the thermostat probe in the middle. I am only going off the double probe readings though,the thermo is saying 33 but its not obviously. It gets stable in the day around 29.8 but night it's not doing it, struggling to keep it at 27-28. I want the warm end around 30 don't I? Once it gets more active I will offer food again. I have offered 3 times, Sunday night, Monday morning,Monday night. Not at all today, Tuesday.


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Yeah stop offering food. Like I said I offer food with in 24hrs of getting it and if the food item is refused offer again I'm a week.

See how you go with the heat cord set up a bit better. It will need higher temps to want to eat. I have one of those cheap thermostats. I currently have it set at 37 to get a basking spot of 33-34.

Once temps are right, leave it for a week, offer food and if it takes the food a few days later you can start handling. If it doesn't leave for another week, offer food, etc.
 
thanks for posting this thread, i will be consulting the advice given when i pick up my new hatchie in a few weeks :D i imagine i will have similar problems!
 
Give it a 2 or 3 feeds before handling, one feed isn't proof that its gonna feed well on its own IMO.
 
Just on your heat cord set up how long is the actual heat cord as it looks way too long for a click clack. Ideally what u should have is a heat mat that will comfortably cover 1/3 the size of the click clack.

Most heat mat manufacturers make about 4 different sized mats. I'm thinking the smallest or next largest would suffice.

My concern is in one of those pics the heat cord looks bunched up and "can't breathe". I was always under the impression that heat cords need a little spacing between each twist and turn.
 
Good point reptallica. I forgot to mention with the excess heat cord just let it hang loose don't coil it up. And make sure to create a zig zag with the cord not a spiral so excess heat can escape.

I've used heat cords on all my click ckacks with out a problem.


Give it a 2 or 3 feeds before handling, one feed isn't proof that its gonna feed well on its own IMO.

This is good advice for someone with their first python.
 
Awesome help everyone. I brought more tape, reset the cord to be 2.5 in a zig zag style . The thermostat was only on 33 so I turned it upto 37. It still didn't raise much so I just plugged the cable direct and got the temp up, once it rose in the basking end to 35 I rep lugged the thermo, seems that the thermostat isn't good. It drops it down to 29.5 every time it does the cut out and must forget to cut in again. I'll go get another thermostat today, in the mean time I think I've got a timer floating around here somewhere.
It's much more active warm, looking for a way out constantly, that's correct? I want a warmer,active little one?

The breeder said in a few weeks if it still is not eating they will come down. The hatchling mate who was picked up same day ,a more snappy choppy, ate the same day, must just have a more ' sensitive' soul! We sort of smiled for the cameras today and weren't hiding out so much now it's warmer.


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The heat cord looks much better. Sounds like you have a faulty thermostat as I have had no problems with my cheapo one.
 
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