Anti-social, burying himself, and hissing...

[CarrieAnnx3]

Zagavor is a younger BP, I don't know how old he is because he's a rescue that I bought from a pet shop for being very neglected. He has since gained weight and has been doing well and functioning happily, if not being a bit skittish sometimes.

I found him buried under his substrate, half underneath of his water dish. When I went to pick him up, he hissed at me...

This is very odd behavior for him... Is he okay? Or is he just in a mood today?

It worries me that he's underneath of his water bowl too. Should I move it and let him relax for a while? or leave it on top of him?

My husbandry is on point. Humidity anywhere between 50% and 60%, cool side temp is 80-81, depending on the ambient temp in the room. Warm side is 89-90.
Right now he is using a heat lamp until my husband comes home from Army training to finish setting up the shelving unit that I am using as a rack. He has two identical hides on either side of his enclosure, half logs that are cut at an angle, so only one side is open. He constantly uses both of his hides, depending on what side he feels like being on and they are definitely not too large because there is barely any space left when he is curled up in them.

I'm just not sure if this is odd behavior or if I'm just worrying too much because he is the youngest out of my snakes.

:/.

[Archimedes]

How long has it been since he shed?

[KMG]

Snakes in general are not social. Balls especially like to stay hidden. It sounds to me that your snake is trying to hide to feel secure, which is normal. The angled logs are not very good hides. Any hide that you can easily see into is usually not a good hide for a snake. A good hide is enclosed with only one small door. These are cheap, easy to clean, and offering a secure feeling to your snake.

http://www.reptilebasics.com/hide-boxes

[CarrieAnnx3]

His last shed was about three weeks ago, give or take two days.

I know his hides aren't ideal, but they're not super easy to see into. They're cut at an angle on both sides, but one side sits higher so he can squeeze under it. The only reason I know that there isn't much room when he's in them is because I took him out one day and put him in it upside down. xD.

[Archimedes]

yeah, I mean he could probably go for new hides either way. No matter how they're cut, half log hides are not too secure for a BP. I've had pretty good luck with chipping the rim of a terra cotta planter, filing it down to eliminate sharp edges, and placing it in as a nice dark secure hide. (I then discovered I needed to block the holes in the top so my little one wouldnt get stuck in it...) keeps it nice and dark and actually works quite well as a humid hide with a little damp paper towel inside.

Possibly the reason he is in a bad mood is a forthcoming shed? Snakes can of course be moody whenever they please, but they are typically more moody around the time of a shed. either way, just dont bug him for a day or two. he'll come around.

Sent from my warm hide using Tapatalk

[Archimedes]

Also, late joke. Reading the title sounds like a thread about a problem teenager on a parenting forum. :p

Sent from my warm hide using Tapatalk

[CryHavoc17]

Sounds like he found a nice spot undrr his water bowl to cram himself into and was mad at you for messing with him. Pretty standard BP behavior

Sent from my SM-G730V using Tapatalk 2

[leylaraks]

My Persephone used to hide under her water dish in her old tank at times. It was for usually one of two reasons: 1) she was too warm or 2) she had retained eye caps from her last shed (so the burrowing made her feel more secure).

All I know is it was annoying lol! As she is NOT a petite snake and it knocked water everywhere!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk