Normal behavior...? Help please

[alyssa_lennon]

Hi guys! I am needing some of the great advice and comfort I’ve been finding here over the last months. I’ve had my male bp for a month now, he’s almost 3 months old. He eats perfectly and has an amazing feeding response. I fed him a small adult mouse 2 days ago. 26 hours after feeding, I decided to change the water and the paper towels on his enclosure. I know they are not supposed to be bothered at least 48 hours after feeding, but I am a bit of a cleaning freak.

He had pushed his hide aside and was burrowing under the paper towels. When I tried to pick him up, he struck at me with his mouth closed… as if warning me that he was not in a good mood. I put on a pair of gloves, gently stroke him and picked him up. After changing the paper towels, arranging his hides and changing the water (took less than 2 mins), I put him back in his enclosure, he did not strike at me again, but I could tell her was a bit nervous. This happened yesterday at night, I got up today at 8 to go to work and went to see him… only to find that he had pushed his hide aside again (actually, it was lying upside down in the middle of his tub), and that he was burrowing under the paper towels on the hot side. He has never done this before… is this normal behavior? Could he be cold? I know ambient temps drop a little at night, and it is winter here. But he’s never done this in the 4 weeks I’ve had him. I have not been handling him too much, I took him out two times last week, 15 minutes at a time.

Thank you for your help guys, and sorry for the book!!

[dsirkle]

With only 4 weeks he hasn't even really had time to settle in to his new home entirely. How are you establishing what the temperature is? Are you perhaps without thermometers and are unsure what the temperature actually is? You need to know this info.

[alyssa_lennon]

Of course I measure his temps, with a digital thermometer/hygrometer with a probe. 92/93 F hot side, 80/78 F cold side. I have a UTH controled by a tstat. I have done months of research before bringing a ball python, I did not jump into it. That is why I am concerned, because in spite of knowing what of expect in terms of behavior, I don't know whether ball pythons normally do this or not. I mean, I know they can have bad days and that they are not cuddly animals...

[alyssa_lennon]

I forgot to add, he's only active at night, I don't even see him during the day... should I put in the enclosure some loosely crumpled paper towels? The mouth closed striking does not bother me, but the tossing aside the hide and burrowing bothers me... thanks for any input guys

[JLC]

It sounds all completely normal to me. It's likely that he just "discovered" that he could get underneath the paper towels, and it seems that he simply prefers that to the hide he has. So long as you're certain the floor of the tub isn't getting too hot, it won't hurt him to do that.

What kind of hide does he have? They have a high preference for really snug caves that "hug" them on all sides. If the hide is bigger than he is, he may like being underneath the paper because he can feel it all around him. So maybe trying some different sorts of hides....something that looks almost too small for him to fit into would be ideal. Put one on the warm side and one on the cool side so he can choose whichever temp he prefers without having to sacrifice security. (You may already be doing that....but I don't know, so I thought I'd mention it.)

As for the striking....again, perfectly normal. He's still just a little baby, and is the natural prey of just about every meat-eating critter out there...so even if he's used to you, it's very easy to startle them and cause a defensive strike because at that age, they're pretty much always on the defensive.

Crumpled paper towels in the enclosure certainly can't hurt, but may not be necessary.

[TheHabit]

Balls are nocturnal, so its not surprising that you dont see him during the day. You could throw in some crumpled paper to make him/her feel more at ease, it couldnt hurt.

[alyssa_lennon]

Thanks guys for your quick answers... I tend to go all panicky, thinking I am doing things the wrong way... his hides seem to be quite small, around 4,7 inches, but they don't "hug" him completely... perhaps the hides he has now could work in a few months from now. Again, thank you for everything. JLC your answer was very thorough and it put me at ease.

P.S: Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes, English is not my first language.

[JLC]

Glad I could help!! And no worries on the English....you write it infinitely better than I could write in any other language! Much respect for those fluent in multiple languages!!

[alyssa_lennon]

Well, I tried putting some loosely crumpled paper towels after rearranging his hides... I left him alone for a few hours and when I returned... he has tosed his hide aside again and he was hiding under the paper towels again... ¬¬ LOL now I definately think that his hides need to be downsized

[JLC]

Well, I tried putting some loosely crumpled paper towels after rearranging his hides... I left him alone for a few hours and when I returned... he has tosed his hide aside again and he was hiding under the paper towels again... ¬¬ LOL now I definately think that his hides need to be downsized

Worth a try!