general behavior questions

[fishmommy]

Just wondering if some of you experienced folks can shed some light on what my new BP might be thinking

Brought him home Wed afternoon and in the tub he went. He explored every surface for about 20 minutes then curled up in the larger of the two hides.
He appeared happy and stayed there for at least 24 hours.
I shined a flashlight on him for about a second to check on him during that time. Ok, maybe I did it twice

This morning he had moved to behind the hide squished into a corner of the tub. Out of flashlight range and I can probably assume he did that because of the flashlight but I dunno.

I then propped the tub open a bit to remove the water dish for cleaning and fresh water. In the 5 minutes it was propped open he made a break for it! I cam back to find him halfway out of the tub (which is inside a larger Boaphile enclosure) checking things out. I coaxed him back into the tub and closed it up, and he went back to the opposite end in the corner where he was this morning and curled back up.

Temps are 80 in the tub and humidity is 70% the tub is on the cool side of the large enclosure.

Anyway, just wondering if his curiosity about what is outside the tub is normal? When he's in the tub he isn't rubbing or looking for a way out - I think he just reacted to the taste of new air?
No more flashlight for sure

I have not tried to feed him yet - assuming it's too soon still.

[JLC]

This is entirely my own fantasy about what goes on in a snake's "mind"....certainly not scientific by any stretch of the word, but it makes sense to me...


When a snake (BP's in particular) finds itself in a new enclosure, it must re-establish its ownership of its own territory. Including those perfect little caves located in just the right spots. How does it know there's not some other creature that has already claimed the caves? So it explores and watches and waits...until its certain that no other creatures are going to try to use those sweet little caves. This can take anywhere from a few hours to several days...depending on the snake and the setup.

Perhaps the flashlight startled him into thinking the cave was not as safe as he first supposed. I'm sure after a day or two of peace and quiet, he'll forget all about the light and re-establish his ownership of his home.

[fishmommy]

so adorable!

[frankykeno]

First lesson learned...never leave the tub open and walk away...they will all make a break for it LOL (and if they don't they will the next time or the time after that when you've thought they never will).

[fishmommy]

luckily in this case the tub was inside a larger locked enclosure

but yeah, he reacted much quicker than I would have ever guessed