bp wont come out of hide

Hey, I just wondered something- it seems like a lot of folks feed their BPs in their cages, and I was always told NOT to do this so they don't associate feeding with their cage.

Does anyone else know if there's any credence to this theory?

Hi,


Very little credence at all.

Ball pythons are creatures of habit though and certainly appreciate a routine.

The reason I mention this is one of my girls was always fed in a seperate tank before I got her and stubbornly refuses to eat in her tank almost 8 years later.

This is best described as a pain in the bahookie.

There are excelent reasons for feeding in the tank ( reduced stress, they are ambush hunters, no handling needed after eating etc) and no real reasons to feed outside of the tank for most of us. It's recomended for those who house multiple snakes together but as we don't recomend that in the first place it's a moot point.


dr del

Okay we're going to start with the assumption that your pet store guy is an idiot. Nobody sends home a snake in the process of eating. It's not usually recommended to move them at all like that within 2 days of eating so it's pretty plain that any advice that guy gave you is a wash out and best ignored.

Next, your snake is a baby and is thinking like a baby snake. It's in a new environment, it's wondering what's going to come along and eat it (you're included in that predator category), it's at a stage of life where it's as much a prey as a predator and it's instincts know this. It's also from a species of snakes that live naturally in tight, dark burrows in termite mounds and unused rat tunnels. BP's feel safe in places that are tight, dark and nothing can sneak up on them easily. In captivity that's their hides and they love em!

Your tank is big, it's glass and it's open. Your snake isn't going to feel safe moving about in it at this point. You can add in scrunched up newspaper balls. Not pretty but VERY effective to settle in snakes. They can slither through them and feel like nothing can get at them or see them. Here's some pics....

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

Top view after adding newspaper....
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ickTopView.jpg

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

Once the snake is settled and eating week after week, you can take a few newspaper balls out each week, slowly letting your snake get used to them being gone. It takes time and patience.

How are you measuring the temps on both the cool and warm side? The snake won't thermoregulate properly if those temps aren't correct and stable 24/7. Here's a great little gadget from Walmart. $12.00 or less plus the cost of one AAA battery. Will give you two readings plus humidity...it's called an Acu-Rite and generally found in the outdoor thermometer/weather station area or in gardening....
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...g/Acu-Rite.jpg

Lastly would be the placement of this enclosure in your house. Is it in a high traffic, noisy area where a lot of people walk around, other pets prowl by or loud bass music plays a lot. These snakes live in a world of vibrations and don't do well with that. They also don't make great display snakes.

first, how would i feed him with the paper balls in it... i fed him on monday and he came out struck it and after he was done coiling around it he pulled it into his hide. with all that paper i dont know how i would know if hes coming out to get it or not. (i dangle the pre killed mouse with those big tweezers that they have at pet stores.).

second i put a background around the entire tank except for the front panel and im still working on filling the tank with alot of fake vines and leaves.

i live in the attic of my fraternity house. it can get pretty loud on the first floor but im up on the third floor and its usually not bad at all... sometimes we have pretty big partys and im probably just as stressed out about my bp as she is about the vibration so im constantly sneaking in the music room and turning down the base. and i got rid of the sub i had in my room completely
er tank is in the corner away from the stairs and the door. the only normal traffic around her tank is me misting and checking on the temps.

lastly i have one digital thermometer on the hot side and a thermometer and hydrometer on the other side

I think that unless your environment is extreme your snake will adjust to the sound. I've found that lots of nearby movement that the snake can see causes more stress than anything. I may have missed some other replies along these lines but here are my responses to your husbandry:

1) your warm side should be in the lower 90's. My snake spends the vast majority of the time in the warm side hide. My advice is to worry more about the temps being too low than being too warm (assuming your snake can't come in contact with burning temps). Eventually, you'll want to get everything dialed in perfect. But, when things are in flux I would prefer a tank with a good 82-85d ambient temperate and a 97d hot side over a tank with a 77-82 ambient and 92d hot side.
2) If the humidity drifts so quickly on you that you require daily misting to keep it in range I would suggest the following:
* make sure you have the majority of the tank covered over. Generally speaking you only have to leave a small area around the heat lamp open. See the care sheet stickies.
* Try not to expose the cage to direct air currents such as those from AC vents and ceiling fans.
* Make sure you have enough moisture in the tank to last you. For example, I've found that when using newspaper keeping humidity up can be real hard simply because there isn't enough stuff there to hold water. To correct that I put a couple of handfull-sized water-soaked paper towel wads in the cage. I re-soak them whenever I mist. I also keep them semi-close to the heat lamp to aid in evaporation.
* Arranging things so that the water dish is slighting heated helps boost humitidy.
3) Make sure your hide measurements are an accurate reflection of the temperature inside right next to the snake. I actually have the accurite probe set up so the snake lays right on it in the warm side hide. Its tricky though because if I don't do it just right he doesn't like it and boycotts the hide. :snake: :mad:
4) Make sure you have an accurate idea of the "ambient" cage temperature. Or, to put it another way, don't assume that a couple of measurement points means there is a some smooth temperature gradient. I have had problems where my warm hide was 93 and a few inches away in the corner of the tank it was 75d! Covering restricting excessive airflow helps with ambient temp alot!
5) Playing classical music in the room during the day while your snake is young will make it smarter. :eek:

Ok, just kidding about #5 :P