# New 2 year old male royal python



## DanMusselwhite (Aug 15, 2013)

I've just taken on a 2 year old male royal, he's in his original setup ( 3ft viv 2 hides, hot end and cool end) was on a heat mat but ambient temps seemed low so fitted a AHS heater now temps are 30 at the warm end and 26 cool end. previous owners had been feeding him once a month on a weener rat and from what ive read you shouldnt see a pronounced backbone but i can definitely see a ridge down his back. i let him settle in his new surroundings for a few days then left a rat in his viv over night (defrost not live) as they said that was how they had been feeding him, but it was still there in the morning. any advise on best feeding methods would be welcome. do i need to let him settle for longer? should a 2yr old be feeding once every 10 - 14 days?


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## Herpster (Oct 24, 2006)

Yes leave him alone for longer, up to two weeks and don't handle him yet, make sure he has water and remove any presents he leaves you. 
Now 1 weener a month is no where near enough. A 2 year old should be eating a medium rat every couple off weeks. However in your instance you should feed him a rat that is slightly larger than the size of the snakes thickest part of his body. So in two weeks time feed the appropriate size rat and try again 2 weeks later. 


Some pics of the snake and his set up would help a lot.


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## DanMusselwhite (Aug 15, 2013)

Thanks for the quick response.
here are some pics
sorry viv pic is upside down!

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## Herpster (Oct 24, 2006)

Doesn't look too bad actually, I would say in no immediate danger. It may be a good idea to weigh him, snakes can go off food for many reasons some of them are nothing to worry about such as around breeding time and when they go into shed. Generally snakes that are off food only become a real concern when they are loosing weight, so see if you can weigh him so you can keep track of that. Then try him on a medium rat in a couple of weeks. Viv looks good, lots of hiding places for him. You might want to get a bigger water bowl as they sometimes like a nice soak  And remember no touchy for a couple of weeks also!


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## DanMusselwhite (Aug 15, 2013)




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## seager (Jul 5, 2013)

Next time you try feeding, make sure you warm the rat. I did the same as you with my royal a few weeks ago when I got her, and she ignored the rat. I warmed it up and wiggled it a bit and she struck straight away :2thumb:


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## DanMusselwhite (Aug 15, 2013)

Thanks for the advise will give it a go, when i do start to handle him should it be everyday or less frequent?


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## Herpster (Oct 24, 2006)

As long as you leave 3 days after every feed then you can handle him when you want really, he will soon let you know if he doesn't want to come out and play. Also if they are coming into shed then they can get grumpy due to fluid building up behind the eye cap and a reduction in sight.

p.s pretty little thing, I have a soft spot for Royals


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## DanMusselwhite (Aug 15, 2013)

Thanks Herpster you've been very helpful!


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## Herpster (Oct 24, 2006)

seager said:


> Next time you try feeding, make sure you warm the rat. I did the same as you with my royal a few weeks ago when I got her, and she ignored the rat. I warmed it up and wiggled it a bit and she struck straight away :2thumb:


this is a good tip, you can use a hair dryer and warming up the head more than the body can also trigger a response.


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## Herpster (Oct 24, 2006)

DanMusselwhite said:


> Thanks Herpster you've been very helpful!



No worries mate!

Always happy to help someone that obviously cares about their beasties and is prepared to take the advice given


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## DanMusselwhite (Aug 15, 2013)

one more question.... when feeding do you remove the hide and dangle the rat in front of snake or does this stress the snake by ripping his cover away? am i better off just leaving it in front of the hide?


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## Herpster (Oct 24, 2006)

If he smells the food and want's it he will soon come out of the hide. Moving stuff around by hand when there is the smell of food around is a good way to get your first bite


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## exotic candy (Jun 20, 2012)

Herpster has given you pretty much all you need, Im just here to troll and say hes doing a great job lol!! spot on info :2thumb:


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## tigger79 (Aug 22, 2006)

just one suggestion, fit in a shelf directly above the AHS, if the snake sits on it directly it can cause burns, adding a shelf will give additional space for it to sit on and protect the snake, also make sure its low enough so snake cant wedge under it.

if you look on left hand side of this pic, you can see the shelf i put in to protect the snake, unfortunately u cant see the AHS and cant find old pics of it.


this an older pic of same viv (before i learnt bout the heat),youcan see AHS on left hand side.


Alternatively you can mount it on the roof of the viv, like so (ambient temps can still be maintained and safer for snake and they cant cling to it.


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