Dunking?

So I got my new male lesser today. I made sure his terrarium was set up properly and put him in it after a small power struggle (he only wanted to cling to me) once he was in it he only moved around on top of the furnishings in the tank instead of directly on the substrate, which is coconut/aspen mixed.

My question is, once he got to the water bowl he drank some then dunked his head completely underwater twice in a row.He became quite irritated when aspen stuck to his face and proceeded to rub it off on the edge of the water bowl. He also yawned several times. I haven't read any threads like this, anyone heard of it?

Soaking can mean two things either he's too hot or he may have a mite problem. As a new addition I'd be very careful, quarantine him properly and make sure to inspect his body for any mites especially near his face. From what I've heard that's where they usually travel to near the eyes..if you do find any mites I would order prevent a mite (aka pam) as soon as possible and start the treatment

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Originally Posted by BumbleB

Soaking can mean two things either he's too hot or he may have a mite problem. As a new addition I'd be very careful, quarantine him properly and make sure to inspect his body for any mites especially near his face. From what I've heard that's where they usually travel to near the eyes..if you do find any mites I would order prevent a mite (aka pam) as soon as possible and start the treatment

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Thanks for reading. To clarify he's not soaking, he just dunked his head underwater really quickly and then did it again immediately after drinking. I checked him out very thoroughly before purchase (I had 3 other bps I was considering) and I didn't see anything suspicious. He is going into shed though so I don't know if that makes a difference?

Oh husbandry info duh. Hotspot at 90, cool side at 81 70% humidity (for his shed) He's in a glass terrarium with a flexwatt UTH controlled by a hydrofarm and a night bulb 100 watt lamp. The rest of the top is covered in aluminium foil.

You said in your other post that your snake is getting ready to shed. It is possible that he is yawning and dunking his head to loosen the skin on his head is preparation for the shed. I would recommend keeping the humidity up and leaving him alone until he sheds. As far as the staying on top of the furnishings go, if the person that you got him from kept him on a different substrate, then possibly he was unsure of the smell and texture of your coco/aspen mix. Just give him time to adjust and settle in.

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

You said in your other post that your snake is getting ready to shed. It is possible that he is yawning and dunking his head to loosen the skin on his head is preparation for the shed. I would recommend keeping the humidity up and leaving him alone until he sheds. As far as the staying on top of the furnishings go, if the person that you got him from kept him on a different substrate, then possibly he was unsure of the smell and texture of your coco/aspen mix. Just give him time to adjust and settle in.

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Thanks for the info! I'm not as new at this as I seem lol just super excited and rather curious since I never saw anyone, not even someone new to snakes, post anything like that. He's definitely on chill mode for the next few days until he sheds and settles in enough to eat. I probably won't even attempt to handle him until next weekend. [emoji56]

My snake does this on occasion too. She definitely doesn't have mites as she's albino and they're easier to see on an albino (she's also been treated for mites fairly recently). Ball pythons are weird. My snake will dunk her head on occasion, slither through the water but not soak herself. I just think when she's not trying to drink, she just doesn't pay attention to the water bowl.

Back to mites; you can tell if your snake has mites by a dark buildup around the corners of their mouth. It looks like when a little kid eats an Oreo and has the chocolate stuck in the corner of their mouth. You can wipe this away, but you'll need to treat your snake for mites afterwards.


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Originally Posted by Reed12321

My snake does this on occasion too. She definitely doesn't have mites as she's albino and they're easier to see on an albino (she's also been treated for mites fairly recently). Ball pythons are weird. My snake will dunk her head on occasion, slither through the water but not soak herself. I just think when she's not trying to drink, she just doesn't pay attention to the water bowl.

Back to mites; you can tell if your snake has mites by a dark buildup around the corners of their mouth. It looks like when a little kid eats an Oreo and has the chocolate stuck in the corner of their mouth. You can wipe this away, but you'll need to treat your snake for mites afterwards.


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Of course it's a relief to hear he's not 100% weird but no I definitely checked for mites, and listened to his breathing before I bought him. His eyes are clear, besides slight clouding, skin is firm and no missing scales. He's responsive and curious.

It probably doesn't mean anything, he's in a new environment and it'll take a while until he feels comfortable. He probably won't be exhibiting 'normal' behavior until he's settled it. Who knows what goes through the mind of a snake? My advice is to just leave him alone for a couple of weeks to allow him to get used to his new home.

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

You said in your other post that your snake is getting ready to shed. It is possible that he is yawning and dunking his head to loosen the skin on his head is preparation for the shed. I would recommend keeping the humidity up and leaving him alone until he sheds. As far as the staying on top of the furnishings go, if the person that you got him from kept him on a different substrate, then possibly he was unsure of the smell and texture of your coco/aspen mix. Just give him time to adjust and settle in.

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yep i second this. because they shed by breaking the skin of there head first. though mites are still a probability, just dont get worked up yet. ;)