Odd ball python behavior

So the warmest part of his tank is underneath his hide. I have the thermostat on that side set at 95 but the glass reads 91/92. I have most of the moss and eco earth underneath the hide thinned and pushed to the sides of his hide so that he has more warmth. The cool side of his tank is set at 80 (have two heat mats because the cold side was only 74/54 before.

So on the warm side is his plastic plastic box which is his humid hide with a big fake plant covering it, then the giant water bowl in the middle, then a tree branch and another fake plant on the cool side. He spends the majority of his time on his tree branch now. His first few days were spend mostly in the hide. My thought to this is I have carboard and tinfoil covering the screen top so it makes it dark right up on the part of the tree branch he lays. I'll see him in all sorts of positions on the tree branch from coiled neatly on the nubs to stretched down with is tale on the branch and his head on the floor. Otherwise I'll see him laying between the wall and the waterbowl or on top of the hide (which is under a heat bulb). He really only uses his hide now for when he is digesting.

Should I be concerned? I also have 75% of the tank covered with black construction paper to make it feel more secure and private for him.

Your ball python is seeking security. Because the hot side is a little too warm (maybe bump it down to 90 on the warm side) for him to be all the time, he's traveling to the cool side. Most ball pythons prefer the cool side unless they are digesting. You need to add another hide (preferably identical to the hot hide) on the cold side so your ball python can still sit on the cold side and yet still feel secure. As a note: you only need a humid hide when they are in shed.

Here's my advice to you to help your BP be as happy as a clam:

1. get rid of the humid hide - he only needs it in shed and sitting on wet moss all the time can give him scale rot if you aren't careful
2. get an identicle hide on the cold side of the tank - he needs to be able to thermoregulate and yet feed his need for security.
3. try to bump the warm side down maybe a degree. Some don't like it too warm. I usually keep my hot spot around 90-91.
4. You really don't need a heat mat on the cold side. What you need to do is heat the AMBIENT temperature over 75. You can do that by adding a heat lamp or a CHE on a dimmer. This will lower your humidity, so be watchful of that. This will help give an even gradient. Your heat mat only heats the surface of your substrate. So really, you're snake is going from a 91 hotspot to about 75 in the middle then about 80 on end. Your ambient temperature is still 75 because the heat mat is not heating the air.

I hope hope that made a little bit of sense.

My lil dude (Hannibal the Cannibal) does the same thing. Well he does spend a lot of time in his hide but when he comes out he lays in/on/behind his water dish and the glass. Im in the process of making him a log cabin hide for the cool side lol the water bowl will fit in it.

My ambient temp is around 75 due to the heat lamp and the second heat pad. Before the second heat pad it was 72/73. I checked with the temp gun and there is a steady range of going down in temp from hot side to cold side. No dip in the middle (I have the cold side heat pad closer to the center to prevent this). And ok tomorrow I'll go pick up another one of the pastic tubs and cut a hole in it for a cold side hide. I'm thinking I'm also going to have to swap out the big water bowl I have since I'm running out of room to put things. When he's done digesting I'll mix the moss I have in there with the eco earth and only do it during shedding. Thank you for the info! :) This is so confusing because I keep reading different things and having to change/add/subtract.

Humidity hovers around 40. When I spray it bumps up to 45/50%. I did notice a huge zap of humidity when I had to add the heat lamp. I do have a vaporizer that should arrive tomorrow. It's an 8 hour one so I'll run it an night and that should (hopefully) help keep the humidity up. I also have a small space heater to bring the room temp up when it gets low. My parents keep the house set around 66 but I keep my door shut to keep as much heat in as I can.

So I got him the same pastic bin, cut the hole and sanded it down, then I put him underneath it to show him it was there. He was in there for maybe five minutes then went back to the tree branch and has been on it since. Only time he goes in his hide is for a day and a half to digest. So I guess he just likes it there? He doesn't seem stressed to me, especially since he's eating without any issues. I'm new to ball pythons or reptiles of any sort so I don't know for sure.

I don't think there is any odd behavior there. I'm sure you already know that ball pythons regulate their body temperature using the environment around them. They also do have their own personal favorite chill spots. Your snake will hang out wherever he prefers. As long as the temperature gradient is around 80 on the cool side and 90 on the warm side he will be fine. I personally wouldn't worry too much. :)

Okiedoke. Thank you! Configuring the tank is hard. the two hides take up space, then the water, bowl then the branch is odd shaped so I have to work around that.