suddenly, always trying to get out

OKAY, so no he's sitting in his water bowl, another thing he's never done before.

The water bowl is too small for him to fit his entire body in but he's draped himself across it. The humidity was at 45% - 50% He's going to shed soon. Maybe he's itchy? He doesn't feel dry. At least he's still now!

has the environment around the cage changed at all?

what about these cooler temps? Its the room cooler? How much cooler?

I guess he is still growing? How do you feed him and how much?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tracy0416

OKAY, so no he's sitting in his water bowl, another thing he's never done before.

The water bowl is too small for him to fit his entire body in but he's draped himself across it. The humidity was at 45% - 50% He's going to shed soon. Maybe he's itchy? He doesn't feel dry. At least he's still now!

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can you post a picture of your tank? Personally I'm getting the idea that Ben isn't happy about something. I'm sure we can figure it out but sometimes these things can be very subtle.

I moved a few things around, covered the top with a towel and he's been asleep for 6 hours now. Finally!

Don't have my digital camera to take pics of the tank as I lent it to a friend.

I feed him in another tub, once a week, rat the same or slightly bigger girth than him.

T

Tracy, because you've brought in some new snakes and Ben is acting oddly around his water dish do keep an eye out for mites. It's possible the new snakes brought along some nasty bug buddies which could have hitched a ride on your sleeve and gone to visit Ben. It may not be mites so don't panic, just something to just keep in mind and watch for. Here's what mites look like in a snake soaking in a water dish (basically like pepper flakes). You can wipe Ben down with a slightly damp pure white paper towel (Viva brand does a nice cloth like paper towel perfect for use with snakes) and see if anything comes off him.


http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...nWaterDish.jpg

We often use old dark blue sheets and pillowcase to help a nervy snake settle in. You can also use the newspaper trick...it's a sure winner and many of us have had it work miracles in settling down a stressed snake.

Tub before newspaper....
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...MuirnesTub.jpg

Tub after newspaper....
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ickTopView.jpg

Side view.....
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ckSideView.jpg

frankykeno

Wow! What a great post! The newspaper thing, very intriguing. So the balled up newspapers in there make the snake settle down. Why I wonder?

I'm gonna try that.

frankykeno, forgot to mention as I was so excited by the newspaper thing...

I'll check for mites when he awakes next.
Thanks.

Tracy, I think it's probably to do with using up "blank" space in the enclosure. Glass enclosures especially have a lot of open, empty space and this can freak out some ball pythons. Remember these are snakes that in the wild live a lot of their lives tucked deep down in empty rat burrows and termite mound tunnels so it's not natural for them to feel so exposed. Also the rustling around, through and under the crumpled newspaper may in some way feel like what it would be to move through a natural open area with grasses, brush, etc.

Just remember with the newspaper to remove it very, very slowly...bit by bit each week. If the snake gets stressed again, stop removing it or put some back. It's a long process and not a particularily pretty one visually for the owner. One of our very experienced breeders here (Adam from 8BallPythons) first suggested it here at BPNet and I've seen it really help a lot of snakes to settle in nicely.