Help!! - i've inherited snakes

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eonnemisis

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To start of with its safe to say -im the noobies noob that ever did noob

the story so far - 2 weeks ago i inherited 5 x 8 month old Coastal X diamonds from my uncle
(mum was a diamond - dad was a coastal) my uncle mated them and the babies hatched around 14 feb 2008

my uncle had a stroke and became unable to care for his aniamls, his son has taken the parents and was basically ignoring/neglecting the babies - so i confiscated them as left in his care he would have let them die. (may even consider confiscating parents as well)
and yes i have a valid licence - (i have blue lip tree frogs)

so my dilema - up untill 2 weeks ago i had never considered having a snake let alone actually holding a snake. - it took me 4 day to work up the courage to pick one up.
(getting better at it day by day)
i have sold 2 snakes off to people my uncle had lined up. (1 of which is to be bicked up next week)

so i have 2 babies left that i have decided to keep, but dont really know if what i'm doing is right. (i've been doing a lot of reading on this site)

i have built them a house 100cm wide, 55 deep 45cm high
IMG_2841.JPG
UVA/B flluro for daylight
a 100w red repitle globe for heat
left end of house is at about 28 deg
middle about 25 and right end about 22 (the thermostate sits in the middle and is set to 25)
i have set a timer to operate for 12 hours 7am till 7pm with a thermostae on the heat globe to moderate, at night i let it turn off and cool naturally (house is central headed and never drops bellow 17 deg)
the babies have been seperated into sepeate containers with a hide (toilet roll) a water container and is lined with paper - i have them roughly in the middle of the house and rotate their positions)
does my setup look ok - and should i be letting them out of their tubs to have a wander in the big cage and if so for how long before putting back to bed.

next - coz they are diamond coastal cross, should i care for them as a diamond or a coastal or split the difference
i'm not really sure what side they take after - so heres a picture of neville
IMG_2831.JPG

2 of the smakes are feeding well and are on the fuzzie mice (freshly defrosted)
but poor little neville aparently has never fed at all - he is 8 months old and has apparently shed once - should i be REALLY worried about him, i tried to feed him a pinky again today, he runs away from it, not even a stike, i tried braining the pinky and dipping it in chicken stock and nothing, (i;ve left it in overnite to see if he will take it) is there anything i can do, i'm afraid he is going to die.

so if anyone can give me some pointers on if im doing it right or point me in the right direction that would be fantastic, its been 2 weeks with these guys and im already hooked, i just want to make sure i'm going to take the best possible care of them.
 
Sounds like your doin pretty well so far, well done...:D

Are Nevilles temps what you have read they should be?

Does he have hides in his enclosure? He may be stressed??

I`m pretty sure they can be force fed as a last resort...

Someone with experience with problem feeders will know more..
 
if worst comes to worst try him on a live mouse if you really need to. make sure you stun it first tho. and only a little one. after that when he is in the mood try a really little defrosted one. be careful with live tho. make sure it is really well stuned.
 
setups good try rubbing the pinkie on a live rodent have you tried live pinky? If that fails take it to the vet or it will die soon good luck
 
If that snake hasn't eaten for 8 months it will be quite emaciated, you will easily be able to see its spine, particularly nearer to the tail. If that's the case, it needs urgent assistance from an experienced herper, or a knowledgable herp vet or it will likely perish fairly soon.

The other snakes should have access to 30 degree temps 24 hours a day, no night time drop. A gradient of 26-32 degrees is desirable, but a constant 30 degrees thoughout the tub/enclosure will suffice.

Search this site for info regrading click clack type setups for hatchies, this is how they're best housed and the non-feeder in particular should definitely be housed in a click clack by itself.
 
i don't know anything about diamonds but 8 months is a long time to go without having any food at all. i would try and find someone who could assist feed him if you have tried different ways to get him to feed.
 
does anyone know if their is a good herp vet in the north of melb - epping area specifically
 
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There is a list of vets I think it's in wikki on this site..How do you stun the mice?
 
does anyone know if their is a good herp vet in the north of melb - epping are specifically

there is peter cameron in altona, brenden carmel in warrenwood, jim greenwood in camberwell? if you go to the wiki section of this site there is a list of vets that cater for reptiles with the phone numbers.
 
try it on a small fuzzy, carpets like to feel the fur. It may just work.
 
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ok so i've turned their temp up so their getting about 30 deg, and i've taken the thermostat off the timer so they'll a constant temp all day & night, i'm going to build them some click clacks tomorrow, and i've located a herp vet about 1/2 hour away from me, so if neville doesent feed in 1 week i'll be taking him over.
Thanks for the advice.
 
also - in the pic above - what type of snake does he look like, coz i got no clue. A diamond or a Coastal.
and coz he is a hybrid - should i be taking care of him any specific way .
 
also - in the pic above - what type of snake does he look like, coz i got no clue. A diamond or a Coastal.
and coz he is a hybrid - should i be taking care of him any specific way .

looks coastal to me.

Not really any specifics for the breed but definately focus on correct enclosure set up and temps with hides and a water bowl. Get him eating would be a must too The vet will help you there...good luck with them...;)
 
Well it sounds as your doing pretty well atm,make sure the temperatures are around 32-34c,theres no special needs 4 those snakes,as for the non feeder,i would seek vet assistance,ive got a little coastal that wont strike,but will eat,best of luck...
 
success! - i've had the little non feeder in a seperate tank for the last week with a constant temp of about 30c
and he was still not feeding, we was looking so skinny and bony i though i would lose him. i tried all suggestions except one. LIVE FOOD
The petshop today had live live pinkies , so i grabbed one.
Neville was unsure of the moving pink blob and watched it for over an hour before finaly acting and devouring.
Hopefully now he has fed once it will be all smooth sailing.
i'm so relieved - thnaks for all the help guys
 
congrats, if you can get hold of a fuzzy mouse(live) next time he'll probably grab it quicker, they do like the fuzz. its amazing the size of the food that they can devour,
 
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