New Ball Always Hiding??

Balthazar was shipped to me on last Wednesday, arrived last Thursday, and it seems like since then he has been hiding in his little cave. He was only handled on the first day (because he looked miserable and I wanted to warm him up, but after he became active he was put into the tank, and he explored for a little while). Temperatures are 92 on warm side, 82 on cold side, humidity 50%. He has two hides and a waterbowl, which is refilled every day. (Setup can be found here: http://baltha-zar.blogspot.com)

I'm pretty much always monitoring him throughout the day, and I don't think he ever comes out of the cave. On the VERY first day he didn't discover his cave so he slept on top of it, but after that he has been huddled up in there the whole time. At times, he would stick his little head out to watch me (I guess?). For the first two days, he would retreat when I get closer to him... but now he no longer does that.

He pooped on the first day (last Thursday), and he last shed October 26th. He was last a rat pinky fed November 8th. He is about a foot and a half long, about 150 grams, hatched August 30th 2006.

I realize that this is his acclimation week, but is it normal for him not to do any exploring? He explored and tried to get out of his tank for maybe an hour or two the first day, but that's it. Whats the behavior of a normal BP during the course of a day? Could it be that it's because he's about to shed? His belly looked a bit pink on the first day, but I have no idea how it normally looks =\

Any thoughts/ideas would be greatly appreciated.

No worries - just let him continue to acclimate - make sure if you use glass all the sides aren't wide open and leaving him feeling overly exposed (cover 2 or 3 sides).

Also as they are nocturnal don't look for the bulk of activity to happen in the day hours.


(EDIT - I checked your link - very nice lookin' snake you got there! - great narrative!)

Thanks, Smulkin! :)

I've stayed up quite late for the past few days, but havn't witnessed any activity from Balthazar... =|

Do BPs normally explore at night? Or do some just enjoy sleeping all day?

if your temps are fine, i wouldnt worry much about it

i have 2 snakes that wander around at night, more often when they're hungry, and one just stays in her hide all day and night (occasianally peeping her head out) and only comes out to eat

He could be hiding more because he's going into shed- the timing is right. His belly will have a pink tint that becomes quite obvious after a few days. His skin will look a bit duller and his eyes will start to cloud up a grey-blue colour for a few days. He might look a bit like Storm from the X-Men movies. Once his eyes clear, his skin will start to look brighter again, and you can expect a shed within the next couple days. This is when the higher humidity is most important. Good luck! Love the blog.