Any Tips?

[the enigma]

i got a blood python today! =)


Any tips/experiences are welcome!

(I hope angelrose reads this)

I haven't had the best luck with snakes (as some of you may know), but I'm not giving up. I've never kept bloods before.

[venom34]

I've owned bloods before and you need to maintain a constant level of moderate to high humidity because they are prone to respiratory infection. Mine would stay under its hide most of the time and even burrow. Once in awhile it would come out at night and that's how I knew it was hungry. Mine both enjoyed soaking and would rest while submerged. Also don't worry if your snake doesn't deficate after every meal. Mine would go for month without taking a crap but would eat two large rats every week. Of course when he did go, it was huge. Hope this was helpful.

[the enigma]

Yes it was. thanks. One thing that the seller stressed was the need for high humidity. I'm using exoterra forest floor bedding, which is like sphagnum moss.

[Angelrose]

HI! the enigma, Many Congrats to you !!!!!!! Sooooo happy to hear you are not giving up.

Yes, they sure do love high humidity and your no stranger to that. Mist at least twice a day. So much so, that I refer to my blood as my little fishy ...:p

Very good bedding you got there for sure and on top of that I would even add a bunch of sphagnum Moss all over the tank front beginning to end, from side to side. They like to move through it/hide in it. They even like to soak in their water bowl. All you see sometimes is their head coming up especially when food is in the air. Be careful not to over feed them because they don't move around a lot at all and since they are short bodied, they can definitely get to plump. They are thick bodied snakes, in general tho'.

When I first got mine, he would not eat when I offered the rat in the usual manner. I actually had to leave the rat (F/T) in his house and walk away. I even placed a small hide on the one end where I left the rat. Ten minutes later when I came back, the rat was gone. Quite different from my others ...LOl. His own good personality for sure!

As said above, some can be sensitive to respiratory infections; careful there. I place a towel on half of his house. As for going to the bathroom, you'll be surprised at how long they don't go. They hold onto to every bit of their food. When they do, it's very black and huggggggge ...Lol

I'll try and find pics of my set up if you like but you get the idea, I'm sure .... Did you get the Blood or STP ?

[Angelrose]

Okay, this is a bad pic of his house back when he was a worm and definitely in shed:


Just to give you a rough idea

[the enigma]

i got the blood. I like your setup and the snake is beautiful. The lady i bought him from said he's feeding on live now but she suggested that he could easily be converted to F/T. Some people say that bloods are "nasty" but i didn't listen to that....because the same people told me Tegus were mean! He has been very sweet so far.

[Angelrose]

Thank you! You got it! We/they all have our own personalities. Just make sure you handle him a couple times a week. They like to slither under your arm or in your shirt and they will just lay there. Adorable! Switching him to F/T should not be a problem at all. The sooner the better as you already know.

Here he is cleaned up as a baby ..lol.

As they grow, with each shed, their color will come alive.


Look forward to seeing yours ....

[the enigma]

I'd like to look forward to showing mine....but.... i dont know how to post pics on this site =( I was getting close to puttin pics on here but something went wrong with my photobucket account.

I offered him F/T tonite but he showed no interest. I know he is used to live but I figured it was worth a shot. The lady said wait a week to ten days before I feed him....idk if I want to do that tho.

[nordica]

Well, I'm no owner of blood pythons, but we've got two ball pythons. We feed them every week, but if for whatever reason they don't eat what we give them, then we wait another week to ten days before we offer them anything again. They've got a veeerrrrrryyyyyy sslllloooooowwwwww metabolism, so don't worry about them not eating for a couple of weeks.

[Angelrose]

No need to worry. Snakes can go a long time without food.
He's probably adjusting to his new home. I know it took mine a while to eat like 2 - 3 weeks. Someone suggested to leave the rat (f/t of course) in his house over night and sure enough it was gone in the morning. They are kind of like a Burm and will nose all around their food, inspect it before eating ....most times. Now, that he's older and well adjusted he takes the rat as soon as I offer.

You can tell when your Blood is hungry, it is the only time they will basically move all around looking.