Question about BPs and hides.

[gen]

So I started off with one hide on the hot side of my tank, and then I added a second one a couple of weeks ago on the cool side. Well since then, I NEVER see Monty out of his new hide. I know they mostly only come out at night when you're asleep, but even when I've been up late into the wee hours of the morning I still haven't seen him budge from there. Anyway, at first I thought it was great because he really liked the new hide I got him, but now I'm wondering if this is normal. So is this normal?

[EyeLashViper]

Oh yes...the thing that Ball Pythons do best is hide and sleep....they are very retiring sort of snakes and like to chill out and stay out of sight most of the time.My BPs usually spend the whole day in their hides and later on in the evening they come out and prowl around - so it is perfectly normal for your snake to spend 90% of the time in its hides...whenever I want to play with my snakes I just rub them gently in their hide to let them know it is me and I gently remove them and have a handling session....so don't worry your snake is fine !!!!!!!

EyeLashViper

[gen]

Thanks.

[JLC]

My snake isn't a bp...but he does the same thing. We NEVER see him out of his hide unless we take him out...but every now and then I'll see evidence that he's moved around...like tracks in the substrate or the thermometer knocked over.

[jotay]

ELV
You gently rub them while in there hides??? You stick your hand in there hides when there in there sleeping or chillin??? And they dont or have never stike at you doing this? and then you remove them? do you lift the hide up to do this?
I was just wondering cuz my bp is a sweetie but I know him well enough if I just stuck my hand in his hide he would strike at it as a defense.

[gen]

Wow, I came home from my boyfriend's house tonight around 12:45, and Monty was out of his hide! As I said before, I haven't seen him do this since I got him that hide, so this was a real treat! I haven't been taking him out to handle him yet, so I was really excited to at least get to watch him move around the tank for a while. Yay!

[Aaron]

jotay: no, they're really chill about it. Mine just balls up a bit and tries to hide. ELV is just making some familier noise so they know it's them and not something to strike at

[Hoomi]

When I first got Magellan, he spent so much time in his hide that I was periodically taking a peek inside to make sure he was OK. I think part of it was just the "insecurity" of settling into a new home. He's since become much less shy, but that first month or so was starting to get me worried.

Phil and Magellan both will tend to spend a lot more time inside their hides right after a good feeding. With a full gut that needs time to digest, and no pressing hunger pangs, they're content to simply rest and let the digestive tract do its job. When they start prowling about their enclosures a lot, I know they're looking for food and it's time to feed them.

[bigslimrich]

All I had was a warm side hide at first, and about 2 weeks later i made another hide for the cool side, and like your bp Samson stays in his cool side an awful lot. He goes in his warm hide sometimes when he needs some heat, like after i handle him for a while, but he likes the cool hide the best. I guess it is warm enough for him.