Help if you can

[Striker1220]

Yeah...My red tail all day will not leave his half log hide, I dropped the temp a bit to see if it was too hot for him (Normally I have it 86-87 during the day, now im keeping it 84 ish) And when I take the log off him to try to pick him up he's curling even more into a ball. Last night for about 30 minutes, he grinded his nose on the tank and the wood, and also heavily soaked, so im guessing hes gonna shed soon? Hes really not showing many signs though, eye's arent really cloudy. Hes going to eat friday so will see how this goes. I dont wanna force him out of his hide if hes in shed mode, but also I dont want him getting used to not being handled.

[icicle]

how old is he?

[majkill]

It could be hes out of the blue and about to shed, they usually clear up for a couple of days before they shed. Also a few days of not being handled wont do any harm he wont get used to it or anything.

[mpgt]

IF you think he's stressed, you're better off not handling him for now. My snakes often go for long periods without being held, and it has never caused a problem. I think they go through phases of wanting to hide a lot.

[Striker1220]

Hes 9 months now, I got him about 6-7 days ago, about 21 inches, I been seen him at the pet place for the past 2 weeks before I bought him and no blue stage there either. The fact that he's soaking so much I think maybe he's pre-guessing his shed cycle lol. Imma go trade my 150 black light for a 125 because at night it stays around 80-82, I rather 76-79.

[spike06]

black lights are bad..they hurt reptiles eyes. get a red bulb. shes still fairly new, so its normal for her to be hiding for a week.

[icicle]

Originally Posted by spike06

black lights are bad..they hurt reptiles eyes. get a red bulb. shes still fairly new, so its normal for her to be hiding for a week.

I learned something new today, I never knew blacklite was a bad thing.

[LukaTisus]

Snakes spending a majority of time in their hides is a normal thing as one shouldn't expect them to frolic around their enclosures all day. It's when they're cruising around excessively that something's usually up. Let her get adjusted first, frequent handling could do more harm than good. I handle my 6 year old BCI maybe once every other week or so to do cage cleanings unless I can get away with cleaning up a mess while he's on the other side of the enclosure. He's perfectly docile and still doesn't mind being handled despite the infrequency of it, so don't worry too much about whether you handle her very often or not, she should be fine.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[sesshomaru 15405]

ahhhhh everyones so nice on this site. i love it here. but yea just let him chill for a few days, its all good.