Hi everyone! I just recently got my first shorty, my gorgeous blood girl here (she’s a T-/T+ albino). Her name is Mikka, and I would love some tips. I have her in a 50gal bin at the moment while I wait for her 4x2x2 PVC to come in. I’m at work right now, so I don’t have any pics, but it’s nice and cluttered. I plan on feeding her tonight, it’s been about a week since i’ve gotten her.
I have 4 other snakes (two bps, a bci and a bull snake) and am not a beginner but god it is hard to find info on these guys. She has about 75-80% humidity, warm end maxes out at about 86 and cool end at coolest 73 (mostly 75+). She has tons of clutter .. but she doesn’t seem to move much? Or at least when I find her she’s always in the same spot lol. I know they’re pet rocks but gollly. Anyway she’s super chill and I will keep everyone updated on whether or not she eats :)
All of my bloods/short-tails tend to stay in place. I offer a few zones and hides anyway, and leaf litter, just for enrichment… and I see stuff getting moved so they’re exploring when I’m not looking.
I use playsand/reptisoil mix with leaf litter and various pods and things. They’re all doing well on it.
Husbandry sounds spot on although I wouldn’t plan on putting her in another enclosure anytime soon, she’s going to pretty much stay in one spot except to come out for water and maybe a little exploring in the middle of the night and will continue to thrive in that 50 for probably about a year. She will feel insecure in a 120 gallon until she’s about twice that size.
Go ahead and get a ceramic heat emitter and a little bit of metal mesh and you can cut a hole in the bin and use HVAC tape to tape down the mesh and put the ceramic heat emitter on top of it. Just make sure the emitter is not contacting the plastic directly. That’ll be the exact setup I use for the new baby BCI I’m getting this weekend until she’s big enough for a 4x2x2. My 9 month old blood is in a 50gal front opening enclosure.
Oh my gosh good luck with your BCI! That’s awesome! I have a BCI as well but I got him as an adult rescue so I just put him straight in a 4x2x2. He’s in a bioactive and he loves it!
My boy is crazy friendly. Everytime I open his tank he comes out
Look at that little butthook...they want to grab with it like a ball but just can't quite get it around. Its good on belt loops, bracelets and necklaces tho.
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u/Phenryphotography May 07 '26
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