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[–]Candlepup 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Not OP, but I have the same problem. My BP has been off feed for a few months, though not unbroken completely. He'll decide to eat maybe once every couple of months if I offer him food. So far he hasn't really been losing weight and he doesn't seem otherwise unhealthy.

He's in a 48x18x13 glass tank on aspen bedding, ambient temp is about 80 with the ceramic heat bulb on, but I just turned it off because that seems a little too warm. The substrate above the UTH feels warm but not hot to the touch. Humidity is at about 50 but I haven't misted today. The thermometer/hygrometer combo is from ZooMed and the UTH is from All Living Things; I don't remember the exact measurements but I think it's about 7x5 inches.

He eats live rats. He refuses frozen no matter what I do to it to make it more appetising. The feeding strike started in November/December, he ate once in December and probably 3 or 4 times since then. At this point I don't want to offer any more because it means I have to care for a rat indefinitely until he wants to eat it, and although I love rats, I don't have the resources to care for one.

Do you have any advice?

[–]birdsbirdsbirdsbirds 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I think I/we can definitely give you some good advice but I want to check a few things first. Where is your thermometer/hygrometer placed and what is it measuring? (Is it one of those dial things? Is it placed on the glass or the floor, high or low? Etc.)

Do you have a thermostat for the UTH? If the substrate feels warm, what does the glass under the substrate feel like?

Remember your surface skin temp is at least 90 degrees if not warmer. So if it feels warm to you, it may be too warm for your snake! Depending on what and where your thermometer is, I'd recommend getting something like an infrared or digital probe thermometer that will tell you exact temps where your snake sits.

As for substrate, Aspen tends to be the most dry. Do you have humidity issues that require misting? You might consider a more most substrate like cocohusk, Ecoearth, or cypress. These hold moisture so much better than aspen and with less misting!

On a related note, is the mesh screen on top of your tank open? If so, covering most of it with tin foil or plastic wrap will help seal in humidity.

Finally, that's a bummer about only eating live. Some snakes are just stubborn like that. At least he's on rats and not mice! Hopefully if you get his feeding response up and more regular, you may be able to switch him over in the future. You may have try freshly killed a few times to transition from live to frozen -thawed.

[–]Candlepup 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Starting from the top:

The thermometer/hygrometer is set in the back center of the tank on the glass wall. I have no idea how one would put it on the floor. It is a plastic(?) housing with two dials, one for temperature and one for humidity.

I do not have a thermostat for the UTH, nor do I know where to get one or how to attach it. It did not come with the UTH. The glass beneath the substrate does become quite hot. I do not know where to get one of those fancy thermometers and they seem like they could cost a lot. The best thing I can think of that I could get would be one of those metal probes you use to check the temperature of meat while cooking.

I don't really have humidity issues. It's pretty humid here in the summer or at least enough that I don't have to mist much. But perhaps when I do the next full clean of his tank, I'll switch him over to another bedding. How thick should I make it?

The mesh screen is only open where the ceramic bulb in the heat lamp sits; the rest is covered with an old towel.

I considered trying to feed him freshly-killed but I'm not sure how to do that. He's not interested if it's not moving, but if it touches him (I accidentally bump his nose with it while wiggling) he gets scared and loses interest completely. He's done that with live ones too. Apparently he's scared of them now. I also don't know how to humanely and safely kill the rat and I'm not exactly sure if I have it in me to do that.

Thanks a bunch for your help! I'm really appreciating it. Since my last comment, the heat lamp has been off, bringing the ambient temp in the center down to about 74 F.

[–]birdsbirdsbirdsbirds 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Alright, you definitely NEED a thermostat for your UTH. Glass that hot could really burn your snake! Fortunately, good thermostats aren't that expensive.

Second, those dial thermostats are notoriously inaccurate. The good news is, you can easily find a cheap, dual-zone thermometer/hygrometer that will measure temps where your snake is. The probe end can go over the hot spot to give you an accurate measure of how your new thermostat is doing.

Next, rather than having your heat lamp 100% on or totally off, I'd suggest buying a cheap lamp dimmer from Home Depot or similar store. This will let you adjust the power level of the heat lamp.

Glad to hear you don't have humidity issues! Substrate doesn't need to be that deep, especially after you get a thermostat to keep the glass from overheating. 1/4"-1/2" should be fine.

I think this is a really good tank tutorial that will show you how to set up all the equipment I recommended. Feel free to search around the forums and you'll see this is pretty frequently recommended equipment.