He's here!!!

[TheSuppishOne]

Meet Flint.

http://i50.tinypic.com/sv19q8.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/34o8um9.jpg

I think he's absolutely gorgeous. Can't get any better pictures right now since I'm told he needs to be left alone for a few days....it's so painful, lol.

But anyway, that's him. Thank you for all your guidance thus far and as I continue in the joys of snake ownership! =]

[ReptiWoman]

So handsome! Its the hardest thing ever waiting that first week or so to touch them!

[Mark Taylor]

Hi Flint you look nice.

[Hurrok]

Very nice Dumeril! Love the pattern on these guys, and how intense they look. Congrats on the pick-up :)

[Lankyrob]

I dont generally go for boas, but if i ever get one it will be a Dum Dum, their patterning is awesome

[Terranaut]

Very nice. Welcome to the herp world!!

[Snakesitter]

Congrats! He looks great!

And you're dong the right thing by letting him settle in first.

[Rogue628]

OMG! He's so TINY! :D

Congrats on your new friend! He's a great lookin' animal :)

[Julius2314]

Congrats :) I love that pattern and color he has.

[Trent]

Congrats!!!!

[NCHornet]

Sweet boy it sure is foggy in that enclosure, lol!!! Welcome Flint!!!

[TheSuppishOne]

It's not fog, haha, it's just "clear" plastic. It's not plexi, so it's not 100% transparent.

[TheSuppishOne]

Alright, so I received little Flint on Tuesday morning. It's now Friday. I'm worried about him, though. He hasn't pooped or peed, I haven't seen him drink, and has, for the most part, stayed in one of his hides all day and night. He was in the warm spot hide for the first two days, now he's been in the cool spot hide for yesterday and today.

I'm feeding him later tonight, so hopefully I'll see something happen, but is this kind of behavior otherwise normal?

[Terranaut]

All normal for both his type and new home.
If he doesn't take the food or strikes at it defensively just take it away and wait another week. He'll be fine. He also most likely is drinking but being stealth about it.

[Rogue628]

^^^^ What Terranaut said. I rarely see any of my animals drink at all, with the exception of my burms. Anytime I give those girls fresh water and let them see it, they'll usually drink, but that's about the only time I ever see any of mine drinking.

As far as pooping, Some go a bit more frequently than others. For example, I can almost guarantee after my king eats, I'll find poop in her tub within the next 3-5 days. My balls go about once every couple of weeks. My BCI RTB will go about once a month, sometimes longer. My carpet, burms, and dumerils (my dumerils are adults so their poop schedule may differ from a baby) go right after they shed. My baby borneo just went for the first time and I've had her 5 weeks. But bloods can hold poop for months.

I don't know if anyone has suggested it to you, but until you learn your guys routine (and maybe even after), it's a good idea to keep a record of every feed attempt (whether they eat or refuse), each shed, and each time they poop. This will help you identify what's regular for your animal.

Let us know if he eats for you! And if you have any more questions or concerns, feel free to voice them!

[TheSuppishOne]

Well, I thawed, dipped the heads in hot water, and dangled, but no dice. So now the mice are just sitting in his enclosure and I'll see what happens in the morning. On a side note, I noticed that his eyes are kinda blue. That means he's about to shed, right? I bumped the humidity to around 60 now, so we'll see how that goes.

I'm kinda angry that he didn't eat, lol. I know I shouldn't be, but come on! A new pet and you don't get to experience the rewards until weeks or months have passed... It's torture!

[Rogue628]

Many snakes will not eat while in the shedding process. If his eyes are looking a bit blue, then he's more than likely going through shed. With him being in new surroundings, combined with shedding, he may or may not eat.

He may also be a shy eater as well. Or there may have been too much movement going on outside his enclosure for him to feel safe enough to eat. Combine that with shedding and there's another very good reason he didn't immediately take what you offered.

Most times my dumerils will eat regardless if they're in shed or not. One of mine will not immediately eat her food, but if I leave it in there and just let her be, she will eat.

Don't be discouraged. There could be several perfectly valid reasons as to why he didn't take the offering immediately. Just have a little patience and he'll come around.

Even with having as many animals as I have, I always want to begin holding and working with a new animal and it's hard for me to leave it alone for the first week or so even though I have many others I can work with. I've had some that immediately acclimated, ate every feeding within the first few weeks and even took to handling well. I have a couple of others that took some time. Right now I have one I'm just chomping at the bit to work (it's been a sort of dream animal to work with) with but because this particular species is known to demand time to acclimate as well as time build trust and getting it familiar with handling, I am forced to go slow. It's the borneo I mentioned earlier. She ate the first feeding, refused the second, and has eaten every week so far. I've had her for almost 6 weeks now (Sunday will make it 6 weeks) and I've only handled her twice in the last week for about 5 minutes each time. It about KILLS me to move so slow with her progression but I know in the end it will pay off.

Yours will come around. Dumerils are pretty much bullet proof. Just give him some time. :)

[TheSuppishOne]

If he hasn't eaten the mice by tomorrow morning, what is the procedure? Can I refreeze them? Or do I just throw them away?

[Lankyrob]

If he hasn't eaten the mice by tomorrow morning, what is the procedure? Can I refreeze them? Or do I just throw them away?

Personally i throw them once left overnight

[NCHornet]

If the mouse has been sitting in 85 to 92 degree heat for the past 12 hours I would not even think about feeding them to my snake. Yes, eyes turning blue are signs of shed. Make sure humidity is right and they have something to rub up against to help the shed remove. Many snakes will not eat during shed, mine don't seem to mind. But I normally wait until it is over. The eyes will clear up and then 3 to 4 days later they will shed. If it doesn't come off in one piece, or if shed is stuck on the snake let us know. Pay special attention to the eye caps and make sure they shed off. I keep my humidity at a constant 70% and they always shed in one piece with zero issues.

[KORBIN5895]

If he hasn't eaten the mice by tomorrow morning, what is the procedure? Can I refreeze them? Or do I just throw them away?

I refreeze once. Nothing is going to happen that will harm your snake if you refreeze your rodent.

[Terranaut]

I refreeze once. Nothing is going to happen that will harm your snake if you refreeze your rodent.

Yup one refreeze is fine. If they refuse it again, toss it.

[TheSuppishOne]

Well, I already tossed these ones, but for future reference, okay. I'll only refreeze once. =]

[Snakesitter]

I tend to error on the side of tossing uneaten food as well. While you'll *probably* be OK, a $3 rat is cheap compared to a $100 vet bill.

[Rogue628]

For me, it really depends on how long the food has been thawed. I rarely leave food in their tubs for longer than an hour. If mine won't take their food within that time frame, it's of my opinion they're not going to eat. Plus it has time to cool down to where they may not have a heat signature.

I have refrozen a few feeders, but 9 times out of 10 if I can't feed it off to another animal, I toss it.

[Snakesitter]

Respectfully, I'd also be wary of refeeding. All it takes is for a disease to sneak into a collection (which can happen even if you're careful), and then re-feeds become a major source of spread.

Admittedly, I'm on the cautious extreme, and this is less of a concern for closed collections whose owners never visit shows or stores.

[TheSuppishOne]

Yeah, I threw them away. =]

HOWEVER!!! I WOULD LIKE TO ANNOUNCE THAT HE ATE TODAY!!! *Fireworks* =D

It's been a week since I tried to feed him last. I was going to feed him on Wednesday, but I figured that since I saw his eyes turn blue I would just wait until he shed. Well, come today he STILL hasn't shed, so I was like, alright, this is ridiculous, let's get it going. Took out two small rat pups (yes, he switched to rats NO PROBLEM), and warmed them up, took them in the hemostat, and one - BOOM - hit it like a pro. Right on the face, coiled into a perfect little ball, and started chomping. Second one wasn't as vigorous, but a solid hit again, and a nice even swallow.

As a side note, I'm hoping that the nourishment helps speed the shed along. I imagine it would.

I'M SO PROUD OF MY LITTLE GUY!!!

http://i45.tinypic.com/20aaf.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/hu4r45.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/1htv8.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/28gs11c.jpg

The plastic tupperware is filled with lightly dampened paper towels. I was trying so hard to help with shedding...

[Snakesitter]

Congrats on the successful feed! I'm sure he'll shed for you soon enough.

[Mark Taylor]

Food size I would say that's a little small I would up a size next time.

[TheSuppishOne]

I used the smallest ones I had because he didn't eat last time. But that's also why I gave him two of them. =]