Always acting hungry?

[mtag]

My ball python is always acting hungry. Whenever I open the cage he scents the air a ton and goes into the "give me food!" position. Even when I am not opening the tub if he sees movement he peeps out of the tub with the same look.

He isn't aggressive and has never struck at me, he just seems to be a giant pig.

I have been feeding him about once every 7 or so days, but have heard varying things. Some people have said to feed once every 5 days to once every 10 days. He is growing at a steady pace and is healthy. The prey items are the right size for him. Is there a reason for this besides his apparent want to be a fattie?

[Albert Clark]

Is this a hatchling, juvenile, young adult or adult bp? Remember the younger a bp is the more it may feel threatened. They are preyed upon by a lot of animals in the wild. Probably just instinctual and reflexive to be a little defensive until he or she settles in and is more trusting. Having more frequent meals might be a good start. Stay in peace and not pieces. A.C. Good luck.

[Reinz]

Most animals are just naturally curious. Mine does the same thing when I'm either in the cage or just in the room. And she's been fasting for four months now.


Another example, when I used to hunt crows in a past life; all camo'd up, hiding, using game callers, not an animal in sight. As soon as we would turn on the game caller of say, "fighting crows, or hurt rabbit ", every critter in the woods from within a half mile would show up just out of curiosity,to see what was happening.(Some out of predatation) Birds, squirrels, bobcat, pigs, deer, coons, etc. And crows!

[aLittleLessButter]

I have a 300g half a year old girl that is a pig. At all times she is in her hide with her nose sticking out waiting for prey. If I open her tub for anything she immediately comes out in "feed me" mode. I feed 1 appropriate sized rat pup/sm weanling every 7 days. I've tried feeding her every 5 days but she just got fat and still acted hungry. I'd say it's perfectly normal. Ball pythons are opportunistic hunters so just feed them appropriately to keep them at a healthy weight

[mtag]

He is 6 months old, I don't know what category he falls into. He isn't defensive or scared acting, when I open the cage he is more than happy to come out, he isn't hiding from me. He just goes into that position until he realizes I have nothing for him.