Cage Pushing

Recently my BP has been trying to escape a lot and its got me worried. She has been doing some hardcore tub-top pushing and if it wasn't for the velcro on the lid I'm sure she would have gotten out by now.

Tub specs...

32quart sterilite tub housing a little over a year old unsexed BP
Hot side: 93F
Cool Side: 82F
Hotside UTH is on a light dimmer, cool side is on a tstat. Temps are monitored by a digi thermometer and a temp gun.
Humidity: 60%ish.

I've labeled her a "she" although she's actually unsexed. Could it be that she's actually a male and is restless due to wanting a mate? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Dennis

those temps sound a bit hot, maybe try lowering them and see if "she" calms down?

I've been through this. How old is your BP? Mine was too young to even be thinking of breeding season. Still don't know what triggered mine off, but filling the bottom of the tank with crumpled up balls of newspaper, plus covering the entire tank with a towel for a couple of days, stopped that incessant trying to escape and got him back to eating steadily again.

What kind of hides do you have?

How often and of what size are the prey items are you feeding?

"She" is a year and a couple months old.

I have 2 hides which are small kitty litter things.

She eats a small rat every 5 days, sometimes 7. I definitely notice that she calms down a bit after feeding.

Does anyone else think that an 82F cool side is too warm?

Thanks,
Dennis

I know that 82 and 92 seems to be gospel among most but I tend to keep my temps a few degrees cooler than many. I spend a lot of time just watching my snakes and base my temps on their thermoregulation activity rather than just going by the numbers.

Even a really small kitty litter pan would be too big I would say. The snake should fit very snugly inside the hides. Mine don't even fit in their hides, they just kind of wear them as a hat. Unless your snake is like 900g I would go with something a bit smaller.

I think your temps are just fine. the target area is 80-85 cool and 90-95 hot. So you are right in the middle, that is fine. I don't think the temps are the issue here.


You could try feeding her a little more.

Is the tub standalone or in a rack?

Its a stand alone tub. I'll try covering it the next time she's pushing to see what that accomplishes.

I've been experimenting a bit with hides and so far these seem to be her favorite. But I have read a million times over that BPs like snug hides, so I'll look into getting smaller ones. Any suggestions on where I can find appropriately sized ones?

And I'm not sure if I want to put her on a 4 day feeding schedule. She is already plump and healthy as is.

If all else fails I'll try lowering the temps by a few degrees to see if that changes anything.

Dennis

I feel my girl, who is a year and 3 months old, a small rat every 7 days. Shes a chubs ^-^

As far as hides, I got a tupperware container from wal-mart (it was defected) and cut out a hole and gave that to her. I spray painted it black and she enjoys it. You could also order from Reptile Basics, they have some nice ones. Some people spend the extra money and get them from pet stores where they have ones that look like rocks.