New baby

[aquamentus_11]

I've included a few pictures of my set-up for my new female, Syrinx (named after a nymph, she has her own song by Debussy; it's on Wikipedia if you want to hear it).

http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac328/AQUAMENTUS11/IMG01107-20120129-1355.jpg

shot from the front. temps hang around 73-80F during the day with a basking spot up high at about 85 or so. at night, the timer shuts off the UVB bulb and things cool down to about 68-73F. humidity ranges from 46-70%, but she has a large water bowl and a humid hide that she loves.


http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac328/AQUAMENTUS11/IMG01109-20120129-1356.jpg

here's the warm side. those rocks are very stable, so no worries about them falling on her. you can see my temp probe on top; I had designed this spot with the hope of her basking on the rocks, but that has yet to happen. she likes to sleep back behind there: I set up a little nest with sphagnum moss and thinner substrate that she buries herself in at night. I have a little heat pad underneath that spot, but I rarely turn it on. up above this, are some fake vines and real branches where she actually does bask when I'm not in the room.


http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac328/AQUAMENTUS11/IMG01110-20120129-1357.jpg

hiding from me in her bed(we just had a 5min bonding sesh and I think she needed to collect her thoughts)


http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac328/AQUAMENTUS11/IMG01111-20120129-1402.jpg

here's the cool side. that's her humid hide with the ficus on top (again, very stable) and her face sticking out. she likes to keep an eye on me while I study. up above this is a thick cluster of fake vines and the ficus itself. she loves climbing and that's the only place she's ever eaten for me. she ate a worm straight from my hemostats on the first try, but won't touch anything I've set out in her dish since...

i have a very large, glass water bowl for her. it had small aquarium rocks in it to create a slope for her. she used the rocks as another hide, but that was a no-no on my part so i took them out.

sorry for the lack of actual pics of her, but like i said, we had just had a handling session and she seemed to need a break. anyone know how long it usually takes them to start eating after they first arrive?

[guidofatherof5]

Could be immediate or it could take some time for her to settle in. Each snake is different.
Just a suggestion, cut off those sharp ends on that stick. Your snake could get injured if it bolts around the enclosure.

[aquamentus_11]

ok, good idea.

[katach]

Nice set up.

[aquamentus_11]

thanks. i think i'm changing her name to Nix.

[guidofatherof5]

We have a forum member named Nix;)

[mikem]

nice set up you have there!

[aquamentus_11]

We have a forum member named Nix;)

haha how flattered they're going to be

thanks, mike

[EasternGirl]

Very nice set-up! Can take a little while for them to eat...she just needs time to get adjusted to her new surroundings. It took my newest snake a couple of weeks before he would eat after I got him. Is the real wood that you are using in the tank from outside?

[aquamentus_11]

yes, but it got baked on 350 for 45min then frozen again before I used it. if there's something still alive in it, then I'm afraid for myself too. joking aside, that's the proper treatment method, right?

[guidofatherof5]

350° is plenty.

[aquamentus_11]

I switched over to a CHE and she seems to be much happier. I also had some cork board pieces that I had planned to use for something else, but stuck them on the outside of 2 of the sides of her tank instead. I think it makes her feel a bit more secure to have a few sides covered. I also bought some fresh rainbow trout filets and sliced a few thin pieces off the belly for her. How could she resist? She did resist though. Highly frustrating. I also tried dropping a worm into some shallow water. She seemed interested in its thrashing, but didn't care to check it out. I know it's only been 2 weeks, but that's too @#*$ long in my book. I ended up putting 2 of the trout slices under her hobbit-hole hide (that's really what it looks like) while she was in there. We'll see if that works. Doubtful.

[EasternGirl]

Just make sure that you have a paper towel down or something so that she doesn't drag the fish into the substrate while she is in her hide. It always works for Hermes. I put a paper towel down on his substrate...then put a little plastic lid down, put his food on it, put his hide over it...and stick him in there. He usually eats when I do that. He wouldn't eat for two weeks when I got him until I did that. What about chopping up the worms? Have you tried that? Remind me again...where did you get her and do you know what she was eating before you got her?

[aquamentus_11]

i got her from garterchick 2 weeks ago. she was eating pinky pieces and worms just fine for her, but i'm apparently doing something wrong. i did try the worm slurry for a few days like you suggested, but she doesn't want it. i put paper towel under there as per your instruction. it's weird, she turns her head away whenever i present food like she can't stand the sight of it. i don't chase her with it and present it at least 3cm from her nose. she has no problem basking right out in the open in front of me and i can reach in and remove her water without her running away, so i don't think she needs to settle in anymore. maybe the cool temps while she was being shipped made her go into winter mode? i also tend to keep things cooler in there during the night and run the heat lamp roughly in line with the current sunrise/sunset times. maybe i should switch to summer hours? i'm just impatient and don't like not having control of the situation. in the end, it's up to her to eat, but i want to make sure that i give her every opportunity to thrive.

[guidofatherof5]

2 weeks isn't a long time for her to be off food. Sometimes these adjustment periods can be longer.
Keep offering the food like you've been doing and be patient.
As long as she has access to water she should be OK for now.

[EasternGirl]

Night temps shouldn't have anything to do with it as long as you aren't going down below the 60's. I wouldn't think that the shipping time would influence her that much either..but I don't know for sure. Maybe a PM to garterchick to ask her exactly how she fed her might be an idea...maybe it's how you are going about doing it that she is not used to. But like Steve said...I wouldn't worry too much yet...I know that's easier said than done. I worry too when my snakes aren't eating...and I totally hear you about liking to be in control of the situation ;). Hang in there...we'll figure it out.

[aquamentus_11]

Yeah, I tried a day or 2 after she arrived just to get prepared, but that was via e-mail. I should PM.

[EasternGirl]

No response? If you are giving her the food she is used to eating...she must not be hungry enough yet. I think if she gets hungry enough, she will eat. You could try the deli cup trick. Get a plastic deli cup and poke some holes in the lid for air. Then put Ivy in the cup with some food. Then put her back in her enclosure. Try putting her in the cool side and cover that side with a towel...or you can leave her out of the enclosure and just put her (in the cup) somewhere dark and quiet. Leave her in there for about a half an hour to an hour. The breeder I got Hermes from used this trick with his babies.

[aquamentus_11]

Well, no response to the e-mail, but that's no biggie. I just shot her a pm. I'll try the cup again; didn't do it for very long last time. I assume she'll eat when she gets hungry enough, I just want to get her beefy and mighty (I love that the females get so much larger).

Ivy is tentative btw. I am still considering names. The forerunners are: Sorsha (like the red-haired babe from Willow), Hydra and Marceline.

[EasternGirl]

It's tough leaving them in the cup. I couldn't do it with Hermes. Yeah...Cee Cee is my big, fat girl. It's really funny when Seely tries to mate with her because he is so little compared to her. He rides around the tank on top of her back...it's very cute. I like Hydra. Try doing a google search for water goddesses and nymphs...there are a whole bunch of names.

[EasternGirl]

Oh speaking of water names...Marnie means "of the sea". I have always had a weird attraction to water and I'm a water sign...interestingly enough.

[tress29]

I'll try the cup again; didn't do it for very long last time.
That's what I do for my hoggie. Mouse and snake into the deli cup, snap the lid on, put into his tub near his heat pad. I go away and leave him for at least an hour. I know he's warm and secure. The rest is up to him! Since I switched to this method, he hasn't refused to eat. He definitely doesn't like an audience!

[aquamentus_11]

I did the same with some rainbow trout and nightcrawlers today. Tried for an hour then had to go. I left her in there for another 3h (with airholes) and she still didn't eat. All the food was pushed over to one side and she was on the other. I keep telling her that she's not fat, but I think she may have an eating disorder. It's on her at this point.

[GarterGuy17]

Well I might just be lucky but I feel jade is comfortable with me she eats anywhere , she hasn't taken any food from my fingers but I can hold her and lead her head towards the food and I hold her while she eats and swallows all her food. I feel As if its just a level of how comfortable your snake is around people.

[EasternGirl]

It may be. I don't know...My snakes are all pretty skiddish. I guess Cee Cee is the most comfortable around me and trusting of me...and she is a downright pig...so, she will take food from me. Like I have said before, I have to go through quite the ritual to get Hermes and Seeley to eat...although, Seeley has gotten much more comfortable around me in the past month and he recently took food from hemostats. But understand, aquamentus, that I have had Seeley for over a year now. I have had Cee Cee for 10 months. It took quite a while for me to get to where I am with them. It may just take time with Hydra. I have had Hermes now for 3 months and he still hides from me all the time and will not eat unless I put it under his hide and stick him in there with the food. At least Hydra doesn't hide from you...that is a very good sign.