Strange Behavior

[Vypyrz]

About 6 weeks ago I bought an adult Tiger Ball from a Reptile Expo. He is 4 and 1/2 years old, 54", and 2150g. I have him in a 36 X 18 X 18 tank. The temps are good, humidity is good, 2 identical snug hides etc... I took him to the vet about 3 days after I got him for a check-up, no problems. I feed him 1 med f/t rat every 2 weeks. He poops and had a 1 piece shed. So far everything sounds normal. Here is the 2 things I find strange and can't figure out. One morning last week I checked on them as usual. This particular one is laying curled up in the middle of the tank upside down. My first thought was that he died. I went and got a plastic bag and when I reached in and grabbed him, apparently he was only sleeping. He freaked out. His head went one way, his tail went the other and I almost crapped my pants. During this commotion I knocked his hide over and saw the shed. I am assuming he was airing out or whatever you call it after a shed. My other BP who is smaller hangs out on his climbing vine after a shed. So that is the first thing. The second thing is I have noticed that after he eats he starts laying in the water bowl. At first I thought he had mites. I have checked and re-checked. and it seems that after a few days he will stop but I am concerned that if he keeps doing it he may get scale rot. The only thing I can think of is to get a really small water bowl. He doesn't really fit in the one he has now but he will get his head and about 6-7 inches in the bowl then just coil up on top of himself. I am at a loss as to why he may do this other than maybe with the full stomach his hides aren't comfortable and that is why he does it and after he digests he goes back to the hides. I would appreciate any suggestions or opinions...


Rob

[dr del]

Hi,

Have you had him sexed? There are other more fun reasons for a ball python of that size to lie inverted but they rely on it being female.

Also they can sometimes use soaking or lying in strange positions to help relieve pressure from a large meal.

You could try feeding him a small F/T rat every seven days instead - the amount of food would be similar but he would never have as "Full" a feeling so may not soak.

Just a couple of ideas.


dr del

[Vypyrz]

Hi,

Have you had him sexed? There are other more fun reasons for a ball python of that size to lie inverted but they rely on it being female.

Also they can sometimes use soaking or lying in strange positions to help relieve pressure from a large meal.

You could try feeding him a small F/T rat every seven days instead - the amount of food would be similar but he would never have as "Full" a feeling so may not soak.

Just a couple of ideas.


dr del

I was just reading something similar in another thread. I was kind of thinking along the lines that maybe his hides weren't comfortable for him to get in after a meal and getting in the water bowl was his version of laying in the recliner with his gut hanging out...LOL
Anyway he went back in his hide. I put a smaller water bowl in with water and a large one without water. At least in the morning I'll be able to get an idea of if it's the water he's after or comfort...
The guy I got him from was a breeder and the story I got was the family that had it first bought it as a baby female and was raising it to breed. After a couple of years of unsuccessful pairings with males, the family assumed she was infertile and was part of a trade they made with this breeder for another female. Out of curiosity, the breeder sexed it and found out she was a he, which explained why he never got pregnant... 3 weeks later I got him...
Thanks for the suggestion on feeding smaller rats weekly. I'll give that a shot when his feed day comes up next and try it for a few weeks and see what happens...

[Aes_Sidhe]

I don't wanna make a hopes but even professional make a mistakes
With sexing Is looks like you possible have gravid tiger female !!!
Sheding after ovulation soaking .....
I'm not an expert but from what I read its looks like....
I don't remember exactly how long female can hold live sperm I her body but is a while
Do you notice any changes with shape that can suggest that "she" is gravid ?

[JeffJ]

i got a question, what kind of breeder raises a "female" snake for breeding but waits years and after lots of frustration decides to have it sex't them selves?

i tent to sway towards a gravid female here, and the breeder made a bad mistake lol.

[Royalherper]

i got a question, what kind of breeder raises a "female" snake for breeding but waits years and after lots of frustration decides to have it sex't them selves?

a less than bright one would be my guess.

[Fearless]

Would disagree with anyones hopes of her being gravid just due to the fact she ate a big meal, as not impossible, highly unlikely.

[Vypyrz]

The guy I bought it from was the one who sexed it as a male. The original owners were the one who thought it was female. I've never seen a gravid female in person or BP eggs as I have no intention of entering the breeding game which is why I bought males as pets, but I have seen pics of other peoples gravid females and mine doesn't have that swollen buldge that would lead me to believe I have accidentally aquired a gravid female. The girth seems all uniform. I'm not saying it's not impossible, I just hope not.
The one thing I wanted to add about the soaking is it seems just mainly he does about the first 3-4 inches of his neck. Last night I put a smaller water bowl in his tank and also a larger, empty bowl to see if maybe he was just trying to be comfortable outside his hides, and it's the same thing, head and neck in the water. He doesn't keep dip different parts. I'm just wondering if it may be possible that it's kind of soothing after stretching the skin during feeding. As I said earlier. My temps and humidity are good. His hides are ok. He is eating, pooping and shedding. I take a tape measure and my scale to the pet store to ensure I am getting an appropriate size and weight F/T. I don't see any mites. Last month his vet and fecal were good. I don't see any type of irritation around his neck area, and he only seems to do it for a few days after his feedings. My biggest concern is that he might develope scale rot. I'm not really sure how long it can take for that to develope and it doesn't look like he tries to soak all day because currently he is still half in his hide. I guess I'm just a little perplexed at this because I have been scrolling through threads on this and other forums looking to see if anyone has any ideas or of there are any threads where people have addressed this before. Maybe I just haven't come across them yet. Anyway thanks for the ideas and suggestions and if anyone comes across anything or comes up with any ideas please lt me know...


Rob