Question for those that have used red bulbs

Hello guys,
My female in quarantine seems to be doing fine, but I've noticed that she has been coming out less at night since I added a red bulb over her tub to raise her ambient temps. Her temps seem good (91 warm, 81 cool, ~77-79 ambient, humidity 60%) and she ate fine last Tuesday and just had a bowel movement that I cleaned up this morning, but I'm wondering if I should be seeing more activity and /or if the red bulb is disturbing her. Since I put the red bulb in (the day after she ate) I haven't seen her move outside of her hide at night at all. Because this is my first BP, I am not sure if that is normal behavior for them or if it is a change due to the light fixture.

Have nay of you that have used a red bulb for heat, noticed a change in the snake's behavior? I am wondering if she can, in fact, see the red light and is interpreting it as daylight.

If needed, I can switch out to a CHE. I went with the red bulb because this is a temporary quarantine setup and I didn't want to shell out the extra cash for a CHE if the cheaper red bulb would do. If you think her behavior is normal, then I will leave things as they are for now.

Thank you for your time and help!

Sounds like comletely normal behavior to me. After mine eat I don't see them for a couple of days.

In regards to the red light, BPs can't see the color red so you're in the clear there. Here's a study about what spectrum of light BPs can "see": http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=208992

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I've not found IR bulbs change my snakes behaviour.
I am not happy with the lifespan of most IR bulbs though and have switched heat to CHE's and heat tape but may get some RHP's.
If I find suitable visible (to humans) IR LED's I may start using those for night time observation.

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I've not found IR bulbs change my snakes behaviour.
I am not happy with the lifespan of most IR bulbs though and have switched heat to CHE's and heat tape but may get some RHP's.
If I find suitable visible (to humans) IR LED's I may start using those for night time observation.

well, they cannot properly see red light with their eyes, but they can detect infrared / thermal radiation with their heat pits and can pinpoint its source and can feel the warmth.

i dont think they notice cold red LED light. but when the bulb also delivers heat, a BP will be 100% aware of it, especially if it puts out enough thermal radiation to raise the ambient temperatures. but they still see that its dark, and in nature a rock that has been baking in the sun all day may stay hot for hours into the night. maybe the BP can still see something, if its too bright or if there is an orange/yellow component to it. a red monochromatic LED will turn basically invisible when viewed through a blue or green filter, it will be hard to tell if its switched on or off. that may not be the case with the bulb you are using.

its hard to tell if its affecting the BPs behavior, i cannot make up my mind, i would keep watching it for a few more days, maybe the snake is just having a few lazy digestion days, maybe the bulb takes some getting used to.

Thanks for the input guys!
Considering that I just found waste today, maybe she'll be more active tonight. I don't have the bulb turned up very high at all (it's on a dimmer and I adjust based on the temp of the room), so hopefully that is not why she's staying hidden.

Raven01- I usually use CHEs as well on my permanant setups. I only went with the infrared bulb because it was $10 cheaper and I only needed it to work for ~3 months while she's in quarantine. I may end up buying a CHE if I need to use the quarantine setup more often, but hopefully the bulb will hold out for a couple more months until she's ready to move into her permanent enclosure.

I will keep an eye on her the next few days and if she still stays hidden, I'll order a CHE and see if it makes a difference. Her feeding day is on Tuesday, so I should start to see a hungry cruising snake. :)

Yes, snakes may not be Einstein's of the animal kingdom but, they do seem to pick up on scheduled feeding days pretty quickly. Enough so, that I am much more careful around my BCL approaching feeding day.

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Yes, snakes may not be Einstein's of the animal kingdom but, they do seem to pick up on scheduled feeding days pretty quickly. Enough so, that I am much more careful around my BCL approaching feeding day.

I did see her out last night... At least until she saw me, then she fled into her hide. Maybe it was digesting that kept her hidden and not the soft red glow.

Thanks everyone for your help!