Thermostat probe placement in my tank?

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Originally Posted by CakeLike

Anyhow I'll be making a vet visit sometime soon to be absolutely sure there is nothing wrong even if it's unnessesary.

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:evileye: With that I am done wasting my time and effort on this.

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Originally Posted by CakeLike

Yes he is a baby still. But that's why he can squish his nose into the gap and I am compelled to stop it but a snake doesn't listen when I scold him obviously like my cats do ��.
He also stops moving suddenly while actively exploring. Then he sits completely still for a few seconds and quickly moves again.
Like his mind was beamed into another dimension for a while.
Since snakes are not the most emotional and or social creatures we assume them to be driven by instict and primal needs mostly. So the assumption a snake would act a certain predisposed way is natural I believe. You wouldn't expect them to have mood swings and personality changes as much as say a dog.
Anyhow I'll be making a vet visit sometime soon to be absolutely sure there is nothing wrong even if it's unnessesary.

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A vet visit for what exactly?


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Originally Posted by CakeLike

Yes he is a baby still. But that's why he can squish his nose into the gap and I am compelled to stop it but a snake doesn't listen when I scold him obviously like my cats do ��.
He also stops moving suddenly while actively exploring. Then he sits completely still for a few seconds and quickly moves again.
Like his mind was beamed into another dimension for a while.
Since snakes are not the most emotional and or social creatures we assume them to be driven by instict and primal needs mostly. So the assumption a snake would act a certain predisposed way is natural I believe. You wouldn't expect them to have mood swings and personality changes as much as say a dog.
Anyhow I'll be making a vet visit sometime soon to be absolutely sure there is nothing wrong even if it's unnessesary.

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There shouldn't BE any "gaps" -at least none that are big enough for him to get much of his nose into. And you're right, "scolding" doesn't work on deaf pets. :rolleyes:

Snakes that are observed by potential predators (YOU) may stop moving, in hopes their natural camouflage keeps them safe from harm. Not an issue, & he's not brain-beamed elsewhere.

Snakes have more personality than you or many others might assume. They're not robots, nor are they as dumb as some like to claim- if they were, mine wouldn't remember me & remain tame without constant reinforcement, & yet, somehow they do. While they may not have "moods" & "emotions" the way WE experience them, they're still not robots.

Vet visit for no real purpose is LIKELY to make his stress WORSE, while not actually helping anything. Don't say you weren't told. But I'm sure a vet will cheerfully accept your money to look at him. It's not about a vet visit being unnecessary, it's about that visit making his issues (stress) worse, while also potentially exposing him to new pathogens (germs) while in the office. Ever notice that the best place for a human to catch the current flu virus is in the doctor's waiting room during flu season? Just saying. ;)

We’re all at different places in our journeys. I’m just hanging out with some popcorn enjoying the show. 😎

Best wishes with your BP.

I fed my ETB a small rat last night. I got home from work a bit ago and she's perched in the hunting position.

The Col Boa has not moved. Still laying in the middle of the cage completely exposed in the open.

The Bloods are mostly out of their hides stretched out.

I don't have the experince with reptiles to know if it's alright or not. And you can only make guesses since I cannot describe, nor show you the things I mean directly.
I also wanted to test a stool sample long ago and check for potential of respitory infection since some on this forum have also noted the possibility of signs of RI when I mentioned that he opens his mouth a couple of times a day, when he's not feeding also.
And that I can also not diagnose by myself.

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Originally Posted by CakeLike

I don't have the experince with reptiles to know if it's alright or not. And you can only make guesses since I cannot describe, nor show you the things I mean directly.
I also wanted to test a stool sample long ago and check for potential of respitory infection since some on this forum have also noted the possibility of signs of RI when I mentioned that he opens his mouth a couple of times a day, when he's not feeding also.
And that I can also not diagnose by myself.

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If he had an RI you would know by now, opening his mouth frequently is a sign of an RI but if there are no other symptoms then he doesn’t have an RI. If you don’t see any mucus coming from his mouth, mucus on the cage walls, labored breathing, or wheezing then he doesn’t have one. Like Boger said, don’t say nobody told you. As KMG said I’m also done wasting my time and effort on this. You say you don’t have experience with reptiles yet many people on here who do have experience have told you multiple times yet you still don’t listen. I hope your Ball Python lives a happy healthy life


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Originally Posted by Snow Balls

If he had an RI you would know by now, opening his mouth frequently is a sign of an RI but if there are no other symptoms then he doesn’t have an RI. If you don’t see any mucus coming from his mouth, mucus on the cage walls, labored breathing, or wheezing then he doesn’t have one. Like Boger said, don’t say nobody told you. As KMG said I’m also done wasting my time and effort on this. You say you don’t have experience with reptiles yet many people on here who do have experience have told you multiple times yet you still don’t listen. I hope your Ball Python lives a happy healthy life


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Ok, I'll say something else.

The above was said well but I wanted to add a snake with RI will NOT eat. If the snake had RI it would be to the point now that it would be obvious. Even to those of us on the other side of your screen.

That poor snake is going to go through a bunch of unnecessary stuff just to make you feel better. It's unfortunate and could actually create an issue with the animal. I can only imagine how you will act then.

Trust the snake and TRUST YOURSELF. Trust you are giving the snake what it needs and let it be. Don't try to figure a snake out and compare them to others. Each can be very different from the next.

You don't trust the snake. You don't trust yourself. You don't trust us. Will you even trust the vet?

Stop being a helicopter parent. Let the kid play.

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Originally Posted by CakeLike

Anyhow I'll be making a vet visit sometime soon to be absolutely sure there is nothing wrong even if it's unnessesary.

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Take him to the vet if you want some peace of mind, but like many others I'm done trying to reassure you if you're not willing to listen. My opinion is that your cup is too full. You've done a ton of research and filled your head with whatever BP information you can find, but when people who have real experience tell you to relax you essentially tell us we're wrong. This is no different than googling your own symptoms and then telling your doctor that they're wrong about your diagnosis.

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Originally Posted by CakeLike

I also wanted to test a stool sample long ago and check for potential of respitory infection since some on this forum have also noted the possibility of signs of RI when I mentioned that he opens his mouth a couple of times a day, when he's not feeding also.

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I've commented on this RI and "yawning" situation on your other posts. You're misunderstanding what people are telling you. No one is suggesting your snake has an RI but you, people have just told you that yes, frequently opening their mouth is a symptom, but with no other symptoms you shouldn't worry, and your response to that has been to continue suggesting that your snake has an RI. I have no idea what else to tell you here.

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Originally Posted by KMG

You don't trust the snake. You don't trust yourself. You don't trust us. Will you even trust the vet?

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I couldn't of said this better

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Originally Posted by CakeLike

I have studied about ball python keeping for over a year before getting him and now I am experiencing polar opposites of what I have learned about ball pythons and seen about them from other keepers I followed.

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Lastly, and I know these quotes are out of order but again I want you to understand why some of us are probably to you, coming off as a little rude. I'm super happy that you did a years’ worth of research before bringing a snake home. You did what many new keepers don't do, and that's why a lot of them end up on forums like this looking for help with issues that are common so believe me when I say, great job doing everything you can to learn about your animal before getting the animal.

Going back to my googling your symptoms comment. If you take your snake to the vet and they tell you the same things that we’ve told you, are you then going to tell them that you’ve done all this research so they must be wrong because they’re not fitting what you think you know? I don’t mean to sound abrasive, but I can tell you that I’ve kept reptiles for 10 years now, and there’s been plenty of things that I thought I knew. I’ve been fortunate enough to have the wealth of knowledge that are the users on this forum to correct me when I was off base, and to educate me when I needed it.

Anyway, take our advice, don’t take it, it’s up to you. Just trust that we have your snake's well being in the front of our minds when we're giving you that advice.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say that Ball Pythons aren't known for inconsistency.

It sounds like you've perhaps been given a lot of at least questionable and sometimes just plain bad info about the nature of Ball Pythons. I want to emphasize that this is NO judgment on you - I see this stuff all over the internet and on Youtube, and you certainly can't be faulted if your main sources of information weren't great. It's a judgment on the abysmal level of understanding out there about the cognitive capacity and behavioral range of all snakes. Because they are such a popular pet, Ball Pythons seem to bear the brunt of this lack of understanding.

Snakes in general are not just primitive, instinct-driven tubes with a limited behavioral repertoire. They are cognitively quite complex, intelligent, naturally curious, and very responsive to various types of training and structured behavioral activities.

Every individual snake is different, but Ball Pythons in general are on the shy end of the behavioral spectrum, and if you want to see what a BP can really be like, you need to work with them in a way that accommodates their characteristics - just as you'd work different ways with a dog or horse or turtle. They tend to be shy, so developing a trusting relationship with them can take time. They are largely crepuscular or nocturnal. They are not 'pet rocks'. BP are wrongly stereotyped as 'pet rocks' because they're often kept in minimalistic environments, with limited opportunities to explore and to develop (as demonstrated in research) the resilience, increased interest in exploration, and improved problem-solving abilities of snakes kept in more environmentally complex environments.

So if it's OK, I'll just highlight a couple of the bits of misinformation you've been given: "BPs are chill". Partly true, but often completely misunderstood. Like almost ANY snake, BP are chill once they are habituated to you. But first, BP are SHY. Their normal response to fear is to ball up, freeze, hide, or flee. This rather passive behavior makes a lot of keepers think their new snake is "chill" when it's really just demonstrating fear. Being 'skittish and jumpy' is a normal fear-based response that indicates your snake needs an opportunity to become habituated to you and to feel safe with you.

"BPs don't eat well and skip many meals". That's true of any snake in less than ideal husbandry conditions. In many ADULT snakes there may be spans of time determined by season or breeding state that include meal refusal. But in general, a baby/juvenile BP - and most adult BP - will only refuse meals if something is off about their husbandry. So that isn't a characteristic of the snake. It's an issue with the keeper.

You mention him suddenly sitting still in the midst of actively exploring, and gazing off into space. This is normal. All snakes do this. They will freeze up for a time without moving while assessing what's going on around them.

You've had your little snake for six weeks. That's nothing in Ball Python time, and every "quirky trait" you've mentioned sounds completely normal to me. So now is your chance to let go of some of the incorrect stereotypes you initially learned, and to take the opportunity to find out what these lovely snakes are really like. It sounds like he needs a chance to habituate to you. Once he stops being jumpy and skittish around you, it seems like he may be a curious and active little guy who would respond well to exploration and enrichment opportunities outside of his enclosure. But first he needs to feel safe and to learn that he can trust you.