Re: Smaller water dish? He doesn't care..
We dont have any petco's near me, but others prolly appreciate the heads up though. :D
Re: Smaller water dish? He doesn't care..
The whole point of my original suggestion was to test whether he was trying to HIDE in the water dish, or if he was soaking for some other reason. So providing a new dish that is much smaller, but still something he can easily fit into...sort of negated the whole test. He's still trying to hide in his water dish...which looks a lot more comfy than that the first one as far as size goes.
Try providing a proper hide on each side of the enclosure and see if he doesn't eventually choose them over the water dish. (It can sometimes take them a few days to find their new "caves" and decide they are safe to use, so you'd have to be patient to see if it made a difference.)
And by "proper hide" I mean something really small and snug and closed in on all sides. They LOVE to feel squished into their hides. Check out this little illustration of just how small and tight they like 'em....my BP likes to use her water dish as a hide, too...but not the way you might think:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=35212
Re: Smaller water dish? He doesn't care..
there is no possible way he feels the water dish is a better hide then his actual hides, the water dish is completely open with no privacy at all, the hides are closed in on all sides but one:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7.../000_00171.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...e/maxhides.jpg
#1 is hide on warm side, #2 is hide on cool side. Water dish isnt anywhere close to being a better hide.
plus, if that was the case, he would sit there all day, not just during the night, right?
Re: Smaller water dish? He doesn't care..
All I'm saying is that it is a possibility you have not yet ruled out.
"When you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Sherlock Holmes :P
If I had a BP that soaked constantly without any discernable reason that I could "fix"...I would change the bowl to something that she absolutely could not soak in. But that's just me.
Re: Smaller water dish? He doesn't care..
Quote:
Originally Posted by sw204me
there is no possible way he feels the water dish is a better hide then his actual hides, the water dish is completely open with no privacy at all, the hides are closed in on all sides but one:
This isn't totally true. Ball like to feel the hide touching them all over. If your hides are to big and open then yea he would feel much more secure underwater, cause in his mind his whole body is covered and you can't see him. Try some lower tighter hides and see how that works.
Also be on the mite patrol if its not his hides then its something, hes soaking to releave pressure due to a big meal, he getting to hot, fixing to shed, impacted. so there are loads of other reasons the most common is the hide thing, mites, and the food or temp thing.
hope this helps.
Re: Smaller water dish? He doesn't care..
Log hides are not the best hides, they do not provide enough security, I would recommend to switch to something more like this http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p.../CUBBYHOLE.jpg
You can also make hides out of plastic bowls that you can purchase at Walmart.
Re: Smaller water dish? He doesn't care..
Quote:
Originally Posted by GA_Ball_Pythons
Yes I use the crap out of those. you can also use the clay disk used to set pots in. Just break a hole in the side so they can go in and out.
Re: Smaller water dish? He doesn't care..
ill swing by wal-mart and grab some smaller plastic bowls and see if that changes anything. Im also gonna put water in both the bowls and see if he prefers the smaller one that hes smooshed in or if he goes for the bigger one that gives him more room....this trial and error on this tank is killing my wallet lol. Thanks again for all the advice.
Re: Smaller water dish? He doesn't care..
Quote:
Originally Posted by sw204me
this trial and error on this tank is killing my wallet lol. Thanks again for all the advice.
well each one is different so you'll have to try different things with each one. Good luck, keep us posted
Re: Smaller water dish? He doesn't care..
you suggest when I put the new hides in I leave the water dish in there like it is? JLC post doesnt make me too confortable about leaving the water dish in there...