GTP: Help

[chondro_lover]

Hey guys, new member and first time poster so go easy..

ive got a gtp and she is about 11 months old n0w, she has started going through her colour change, and weighs around 31 grams.(not sure what a average gtp around this age is)

The problem.i have with her is she wont eat. The only way I been successful before is to tease her a little with her striking and wrapping it. But now she seams like she is not interested at all in the food. Sometimes she will wrap it then just cruise away dropping the mouse on the floor.

She (not sure if she is a she or not lol) lives im a congo setup tank, with a 100w red heat bulb, and 2 uv2 bulbs. She normally has a temp around 28-29°c in the hot spot and about 24-25°c in the cool side. She get misted daily.

She is still a active snake and I spot her cruising around all the time. And I know she drinks because ive watched her quite a few times.

I hope im not doing anything wrong. Can you guys help me with getting her to eat because im starting to worry about the little girl.

Thanks in advanced

 

[Pythoninfinite]

When do you try and feed it? Many GTPs will only feed at night. How big is the tank - it may be too large for an 11 month old GTP? 100W + two other bulbs must also be producing a lot of heat as well - I'd get rid of the UV bulbs (totally unnecessary) and replace the other light with a non light-emitting heat source - GTPs are fairly secretive forest dwellers, and it may be that the exposure is making the snake insecure.

My bet would be that your enclosure is too big for a 30gm snake.

Jamie

 

[andynic07]

Hey guys, new member and first time poster so go easy..

ive got a gtp and she is about 11 months old n0w, she has started going through her colour change, and weighs around 31 grams.(not sure what a average gtp around this age is)

The problem.i have with her is she wont eat. The only way I been successful before is to tease her a little with her striking and wrapping it. But now she seams like she is not interested at all in the food. Sometimes she will wrap it then just cruise away dropping the mouse on the floor.

She (not sure if she is a she or not lol) lives im a congo setup tank, with a 100w red heat bulb, and 2 uv2 bulbs. She normally has a temp around 28-29°c in the hot spot and about 24-25°c in the cool side. She get misted daily.

She is still a active snake and I spot her cruising around all the time. And I know she drinks because ive watched her quite a few times.

I hope im not doing anything wrong. Can you guys help me with getting her to eat because im starting to worry about the little girl.

Thanks in advanced

I have only just bought a GTP yesterday so I can not speak with any actual experience but all my research has the hot end up around 23 but your cool end sounds right, just out of interest where did you get your hotspot figure from?

 

[Pythoninfinite]

23???

J

 

[caliherp]

I agree with Jamie. The enclosure is probably to large. I keep my neonates in shoebox size tubs till they reach a year or so old. Make sure at least three sides of the enclosure are covered to make the snake feel more safe. I'd also make sure there is plenty of greenery in its enclosure witch also will make he snake feel more comfortable.

Regards, Patrick

23???

J

I'm brain dead from a long week at work but isn't that 74 degrees F? If that's the case it needs to go up another 23 degrees or so.

 

[dickyknee]

I have only just bought a GTP yesterday so I can not speak with any actual experience but all my research has the hot end up around 23 but your cool end sounds right, just out of interest where did you get your hotspot figure from?

You may need to do a little more research.

 

[andynic07]

23???

J

Yeah 32 I meant.

You may need to do a little more research.

You didn't really think that I meant for the hot end to be cooler than the cool end did you? A little bit of dyslexia this morning.

 

[chondro_lover]

Thanks for all your replys guys.

I thought that might of been the case with the cage being to big. There id lots of foliage and greenary in there for her to hide.

and I dont run the uv all the time because she likes it better abit darker.

She has never really been a good eater even when in a little tub. Do you guys got any tricks to make them smell like she wants to eat

 

[Trimeresurus]

Is it in a glass tank?

How big is the tank?

One or both of these may be your problem.

 

[Waterrat]

If she strikes and wraps, there is probably nothing wrong with her cage size. Bump up the temp to 31 and see how she goes. Also, what sort and size food are offering her?

 

[Bushman]

The trouble with using overly large enclosures for juvenile snakes is that it's harder to control the snakes body temperature. Even if there's plenty of foliage and hides, which helps them feel more secure, there's also plenty of places where it will have a suboptimal body temperature, which affects its feeding response.
I suggest that you check your snakes actual body temperature using an infra-red thermometer.

 

[GreatSnakes]

Without knowing anything else about your set up, your cage is too cold. You need to aim for a 30/31 hot end to a 28 cool end. Once it is eating properly you can give it a night time drop by around 2 degrees at both ends.

 

[chondro_lover]

She is only trying to eat fuzzy/pinky mice. I might try get a larger heat sorce for her. She is in a glass exo terra. This its a 45x45x60. Im going to set up a little tub for her again. Hopefully I can get her to feed.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Rather than pumping in even more heat (potentially very dangerous) I'd dump the Exo Terra, put it back into a hatchy tub, and find something with better heat-holding capabilities. All glass in cooler climates is just too damned hard.

Jamie

 

[chondro_lover]

Ive taken all the advice on board. She is in a little enclosure now around about 20 cm cube. Ive bumped heat up to around 30. But the hard thing is with the tiny enclosure its had to get a cool spot for her. Should I be worried about getting her a cool spot?

 

[chondro_lover]

I was also going to put some pics up but I cant upload photos off my mobile.

 

[Bushman]

Ive taken all the advice on board. She is in a little enclosure now around about 20 cm cube. Ive bumped heat up to around 30. But the hard thing is with the tiny enclosure its had to get a cool spot for her. Should I be worried about getting her a cool spot?

Cubes are problematic for the reason you've identified. i.e it's very difficult to get a good temperature gradient. Rectangular tubs are what is needed. In the meantime, do your best by only having heat on one side and the perch at a right angle to it.
What is your heat source?
Have you got an infra-red thermometer?

 

[zulu]

Heres a pic of one here in its tub, about 24 cm high,heated from below and above ,keeps up the humdity and inside another enclosure, temp is 29c.

 

[andynic07]

This is my set up I have just put my new 8 month old GTP in. It is 350mm long , 250mm x 250mm on the end and has heat cord and tiles under 1/3 of the floor and the end panel with 1/3 of the sides covered with ply and styrofoam to insulate and the whole top with ply and styrofoam. It is all run off habistat dimming thermostat and is monitored with a digital min/max internal/external thermometer.

 

[Bushman]

That's not a bad set-up AndyNic and would provide a better temperature gradient than a cube.