new girl not staying in hide box on warm spot

Just give her a week or so to settle in. My new male spider has been doing the same thing since i got him. At first he hid in his hide then the past couple of days he has just been exploring his home and now sitting in his water bowl lol. Its nothing to worry about if the temps are right and everything else is correct.

My snake prefers the cold side. It is quite weird actually....

ok its 4:30am and i'm awake cuz the space heater i set up is trying to kill me lol. Nyx is now curled up inside the hide box on the cool side but that is the side that the space heater is on so...
i just realized too, forewarning, things come to me slowly sometimes so bear with me, lol...
it IS winter and ambient temps are understandably low this time of year but with the space heater going it kinda feels like summer lol. does the room really NEED to feel like summer? i mean we try to keep the house around 74 (thats as warm as i can handle right now) and with that the house is not cold unless the ceiling fans are on creating a breeze.
i guess the question i'm getting at is this...
will the snake be ok with the house being at 74 or do i really need to run the space heater in the room with her?

My house is kept at 74 degrees year round. Your snake/snakes are perfectly fine without a space heater. These original ball python care sheets saying balls need to be kept 85-90 degrees and can't go below 80 degrees are ancient. Balls are fine in sub 80 degree temperature. As a matter of fact, they enjoy and thrive in it. If the ball python has gradient temps it will monitor his/her temps accordingly with a heat spot being available. Obviously if they are kept at low temps permanently, they would develop problems with their digestion and immune system. Pythons are not retarded, and people's obsession with temps on this forum is sort of nuts. People need to go to Ghana, average year round temps are 75-82 degrees. If your house is 74, your snake would be fine for the night even without a heat source to put this in perspective. In 20 years I've never even seen a respiratory infection in any of my snakes.

i just worry is all. she's new and i'm just fussin' over her a little. i really am glad to see her inside a hide box lol.

Yeah I need to be more understanding. Your caring and dedication speaks for itself. I remember when I was a little kid and I got my first GTP like the size of a pencil. I swear I didn't get sleep for a month worrying about the perfect temps. After housing snakes for so long, I've learned to relax with the temps, especially with central heat/ac. Currently it is basically Summertime in central-west africa and temps are 75 at night and 90 is the high. Even then 90 degree highs, you'll find ball pythons in shade hides at a comfortable 84-85 degrees. Then the nighttime drops in summertime of 80-75 degrees, ball pythons will become most active. Then in July/August you'll see nighttime temps drop below 70 in Africa. Doesn't mean they will be ok permanently chilled. In your situation you have nothing to worry about with temps if they have a heating spot available.

majorleaguereptiles i think you just made my day.. i was gonna ask the same questions but you just answered them for me perfectly.. The whole temps cant drop below 80 seemed alittle weird to me and im glad i found your post.. Thanks!

My baby albino ball hangs out on the cool side most of the time too. Its about 75/77 there and about 91 on the warm side. But he really never goes over there that I see. Eating fine.

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Mine also seems to prefer her cool side (although this is the side with the log on it). She has a hide on the hot side but only seems to go over there after being fed.

i was thinkin' last night...what about when i finally feed her next week? if she stays on the cool side how will she be able to digest properly? i mean i know snakes know when they need to thermoregulate but i've heard that they will sacrifice heat for security...i'm worried that she may think she's found the securest spot in the cage but...i dunno.
am i overthinking this situation? i tend to do that sometimes...:oops: