Hiding Under Substrate after Handling?

Hi, everyone.

I have a ball python that was originally my brother's. I'd say he is probably about 3 years old now (I have no record of when he was born and I've never asked for it from my brother). My brother relocated back to England last year and I kept the snake.

I've not really handled him before because I was scared he might bite, despite having grown up with snakes most of my life. I know my brother also didn't handle him much when he had him - he did when he first got him, but I suppose the "novelty" wore off for him...

I've slowly been introducing us to each other and we're getting more comfortable around one and other. I have his viv on my desk, from which I work, so I open his viv and he'll happily come out, wrap around my arm or go into my T-shirt (I assume for warmth), or he'll just slither around my desk a bit.

My concern is that recently, after putting him back in his viv, he has been hiding under his substrate. He moved his hides out of the way and goes under the substrate. My dad (who has more experience with snakes than I do) has said he doesn't look like he's about to shed, though the top of his head is looking a little duller these last few days.

Is this anything I should be concerned about? Could it be stress from being handled more lately? To be honest, I'm no expert and don't know much, I have a lot to learn. Maybe this is only that I've noticed it recently because his viv has been moved onto my desk, but I've never noticed him doing this before. It appears to be since he is being handled more.

Any help of advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance, and happy new year!

i used to have carpet under my substrate in my viv, and my Yellow suddenly started burrowing underneath it (the first time i thought he had escaped as i couldn't find him; i was terrified!) after some monitoring i realized he might be too small for his hides and doesn't feel secure in them anymore. maybe it's a security issue? that's my anecdote with something similar to what you're going through; i hope it helped in some way! :D

Can you provide info on your setup (type of enclosure, temps on hot/cold side, humidity, type of substrate, number of hides, etc). Has he eaten for you?

I also find that a rarely-handled BP coming out to you as more odd than it burrowing under substrate.


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I would say it sounds like a snake being a snake. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tttaylorrr

i used to have carpet under my substrate in my viv, and my Yellow suddenly started burrowing underneath it (the first time i thought he had escaped as i couldn't find him; i was terrified!) after some monitoring i realized he might be too small for his hides and doesn't feel secure in them anymore. maybe it's a security issue? that's my anecdote with something similar to what you're going through; i hope it helped in some way! :D

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Thank you, it's really appreciated! I completely forgot that I have a heater under my desk that basically takes up the whole length of his viv - yesterday I just put my hand on the glass at the bottom of his viv and it's warmer, I suspect heat is coming up from it and he might be on the glass for the extra warmth. I'm also wondering if he's now a little big for his hides. I'm going shopping next week as I want to find him a bigger viv and get him some cooler stuff. ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BPGator

Can you provide info on your setup (type of enclosure, temps on hot/cold side, humidity, type of substrate, number of hides, etc). Has he eaten for you?

I also find that a rarely-handled BP coming out to you as more odd than it burrowing under substrate.


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Hi, thanks for your reply!


Ernie is in a glass viv, he has two hides (one on hot side, one on cold), some branches that he likes climbing up, and he's currently 25º on the cold side and 32º (Celsius) on the hot. His substrate is made of little wooden chips (I don't know what to call them?). He's been with me at least six months and I've had absolutely no issues with him feeding so far.


I found it quite odd that he seems comfortable coming out the way he has considering he's not been handled. I honestly expected him to be quite fearful around people, all things considered.


I also did mention to tttaylorrr above that I realised yesterday my heater under my desk is directly below his viv, and after touching the glass I felt it's quite warm. Perhaps he likes the extra heat?

Appropriately sized hides is a good idea. As for the desk heater, general rule is if it feels warm and toasty to you, it's too hot for your snake. Where are your temperature readings being taken - on the substrate or underneath the substrate? What are his heat sources? You want to know the hottest temperature your snake can feel. If he's burrowing under against the glass, you want to be sure that glass temp does not exceed 90-92F.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by BPGator

Can you provide info on your setup (type of enclosure, temps on hot/cold side, humidity, type of substrate, number of hides, etc). Has he eaten for you?

I also find that a rarely-handled BP coming out to you as more odd than it burrowing under substrate.


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A picture would do wonders.