My BCI "burrows"?

Hello! So, I purchased Rojo, my (roughly) 6-month-old BCI a little over 1 month ago. I've got her on Eco-Earth right now, and I rarely see her because she's usually burrowed (I'm not sure if that'd be the word) down in the substrate! She's a healthy little girl and her husbandry is correct. Is this completely normal or should I do something? I'm just worried about her digging down to her UTH. I check her every time I hold her for burns, but she usually does it in her cool hide or on the cool side of her tank. Thank you!


Husbandry
Ambient- 78°F
Cool- 76°F
Warm- 79°F
On UTH- 91°F

- I JUST HAD HER OUT FOR MAYBE 10 MINUTES AND FORGOT TO PUT HER LID BACK ON. SO YES, IT'S COOLER THAN IT SHOULD BE. I GET MORE ACCURATE READINGS IN A BIT. IT'S USUALLY AT 80-89°F!

Humidity- 54% - JUST MISTED!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GpBp

Hello! So, I purchased Rojo, my (roughly) 6-month-old BCI a little over 1 month ago. I've got her on Eco-Earth right now, and I rarely see her because she's usually burrowed (I'm not sure if that'd be the word) down in the substrate! She's a healthy little girl and her husbandry is correct. Is this completely normal or should I do something? I'm just worried about her digging down to her UTH. I check her every time I hold her for burns, but she usually does it in her cool hide or on the cool side of her tank. Thank you!


Husbandry
Ambient- 78°F
Cool- 76°F
Warm- 79°F
On UTH- 91°F

- I JUST HAD HER OUT FOR MAYBE 10 MINUTES AND FORGOT TO PUT HER LID BACK ON. SO YES, IT'S COOLER THAN IT SHOULD BE. I GET MORE ACCURATE READINGS IN A BIT. IT'S USUALLY AT 80-89°F!

Humidity- 54% - JUST MISTED!

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Mine does the same thing. He's healthy and very active when I take him out to play. Every once in a while, he soaks in his water dish but he spends most of his time buried. It's kinda funny when I show him to people because I have 3 bp's and a corn so they are never suspecting a 6' boa when I dig him out and everyone so far has taken a step back and just said "whoa!"

Phew! Roe will do the same, I will see her out sometimes in or drinking from her water dish. Most people think I've got an empty tank until I dig her out :rofl:Thank you!

My baby boas love to dig around in their aspen. I dont use Eco Earth as I've had issues with it a number of times. Had Gina's mouth literally get packed with it where she couldnt close her mouth. I had to scoop it out with a Q-Tip and then hold her head downward and use a spray bottle to spray the rest out of her mouth. Had to do this twice. Problem was, the sutff is damp. Inside the hide, there is no vents so it got condensation. She would rub up against it and then the stuff would stick to her mouth. It just snowballed from there. Plus Eco Earth never holds humidity for long. The stuff dries out so fast and then gets really dusty. Bottom line is Eco Earth is junk lol.

I hope you are running a t-stat on that heat source. If not, turn it off and go buy a Herpstat NOW!!. There is no excuse for owning a reptile and heater with no t-stat. the t-stat should be purchased before you even buy the reptile.

As for your temps right now, they are fine. I keep all my snakes at 77-79F ambient with 87-88F hot spots with 65-75% humidity. Your humidity is low. You need to get it up to at least mid 60s on the dry end.

Contrary to what a lot of people will tell you, snakes dont need 85+ temps 24/7. They do like it cooler a lot too lol. I very rarely ever catch my snakes on the heat tape. 90% of the time they are on the 77F cool end just relaxing either inside a hide or hanging outside.

LMAO - you brought me back to the day I thought I had my first escape.

I used eco earth and had concerns about misting and dumping water on it to maintain proper humidity levels so I switched to the Reptile Prime coco husk. First morning I come home from work (midnight shift fire dispatcher here) and I can't find my BCI - the panic set in and I started to freak a tiny bit but thought there's no way she got out. Well there she was, totally buried except for her snout LOL

All but my carpet python burrow and I think it's awesome that they can in the coco husk. It's especially rewarding on feeding day when they explode of of the bedding.

The morning I thought she escaped - I had to move the hide to see her head LOL
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...8/ccburrow.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...9/8/cchide.jpg



Bob also enjoys hiding once in a while
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../bobburrow.jpg

Sonny - ready to feed
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...onnyburrow.jpg

So fret not - your snakes will burrow from time to time....

Ive stripped my tanks so many times with my heart racing thinking they have escaped but luckily I’ve tucked away nicely under the bark, so don’t worry it’s a normal behaviour


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

Sauzo-
Woah! I switched to Eco like, maybe a week ago and before that she was on aspen. I switched because I thought aspen was the dustier of the two, and I didn't want her to ingest any when she dug. A week ago all my snakes were on aspen (Two bps and her), should I switch them back?

She's got a T-Stat:gj: Set at maybe 93°F? I'll have to check.

Oh wow! I did definitely think her temps would be around that 85°F. Good! I'm not home now so her temp probably went back up, but I'll move her lamp up when I get back. As for humidity, I was going more towards the bps, because that's what I'd read. I'll be sure to get some spag moss and mist more :)

BR8080-
First off, those pictures are amazing :aww::rofl:
The day after I brought her home she dug, and I thought she got out! Even worse, she was in a little nook under her cool hide, it scared me to death lol! Would you reccomend Reptile Prime? I've been meaning to try it out but never got around to it. I could pick some up at the show I'm going to next weekend though. Love the names, and the pics!

richardhind1972-
Good good. She scares me so bad sometimes :rofl:I'm really glad it's normal :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GpBp

Sauzo-
Woah! I switched to Eco like, maybe a week ago and before that she was on aspen. I switched because I thought aspen was the dustier of the two, and I didn't want her to ingest any when she dug. A week ago all my snakes were on aspen (Two bps and her), should I switch them back?

She's got a T-Stat:gj: Set at maybe 93°F? I'll have to check.

Oh wow! I did definitely think her temps would be around that 85°F. Good! I'm not home now so her temp probably went back up, but I'll move her lamp up when I get back. As for humidity, I was going more towards the bps, because that's what I'd read. I'll be sure to get some spag moss and mist more :)

BR8080-
First off, those pictures are amazing :aww::rofl:
The day after I brought her home she dug, and I thought she got out! Even worse, she was in a little nook under her cool hide, it scared me to death lol! Would you reccomend Reptile Prime? I've been meaning to try it out but never got around to it. I could pick some up at the show I'm going to next weekend though. Love the names, and the pics!

richardhind1972-
Good good. She scares me so bad sometimes :rofl:I'm really glad it's normal :D

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Well if Eco Earth works for you, go for it. The stuff is junk to me as I've had nothing but problems with it. The whole getting in the mouth for the little ones plus the stuff is so fine that is doesnt really hold water well. The top section would dry out quick while the bottom stayed wet and unless i mixed it by hand, i actually had it grow mold on me. So yeah, it sucked for me. If i was to use another cocofiber substrate, i would use something a little bigger in size like ReptiChips but that stuff isnt perfect either. Its size is nice so it holds water well yet is big enough to allow air to circulate in the substrate. Problem is little boas would bury their tails and poop under the substrate lol. Even my big ones did it. So i would have go poop diving every few days and there is nothing like sinking a finger into a cold turd lol.

And good you got a T-stat. I would definitely turn it down. You want it around 86-90F at the cage floor. Use a temp gun to measure it if you are using something like heat tape. I have mine set at 90F but the AP cage floors absorb about 5F so on the cage floor inside, its around 85F or so and my snakes still dont sit on it 90% of the time lol. I catch Dottie over in the warm hide sometimes and sometimes i also catch Rosey sitting over there but thats usually about it.

And yeah, bump the humidity up. You dont want a sloppy wet mess but i would shoot for at minimum mid 60ish and then spike it here and there up to 70-80% and let is drop a little. I actually mist my aspen usually once a week. In the winter i sometimes will mist it twice a week. Then i just let it dry out and rinse and repeat. I do that with pretty much all my snakes, even the dumerils who they say like dry conditions. Luna LOVES when i mist her down with warm water but she is a weirdo and will sometimes sit half in her water bowl too. But anyways. dont worry about a nice misting as long as the substrate gets to dry out and doesnt stay a sloppy mess. And as for aspen molding, i have never seen it mold and i've used it for years. I'm sure it will mold if it soiled with waste and you mist it constantly but thats more bad husbandry than the aspen itself.

But give different substrate a try and see what you like. What works for me might not work for you. And same with the temps, play with them a little and see what your snake likes but dont go above 92F at the hot spot. And the temps should always be taken at the hottest part of the hot spot ie the cage floor under the substrate for belly heat and on top of the substrate for overhead heat.

And yes they love to burrow lol.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ec4b4e12_h.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...f1df13ef_h.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Well if Eco Earth works for you, go for it. The stuff is junk to me as I've had nothing but problems with it. The whole getting in the mouth for the little ones plus the stuff is so fine that is doesnt really hold water well. The top section would dry out quick while the bottom stayed wet and unless i mixed it by hand, i actually had it grow mold on me. So yeah, it sucked for me. If i was to use another cocofiber substrate, i would use something a little bigger in size like ReptiChips but that stuff isnt perfect either. Its size is nice so it holds water well yet is big enough to allow air to circulate in the substrate. Problem is little boas would bury their tails and poop under the substrate lol. Even my big ones did it. So i would have go poop diving every few days and there is nothing like sinking a finger into a cold turd lol.

And good you got a T-stat. I would definitely turn it down. You want it around 86-90F at the cage floor. Use a temp gun to measure it if you are using something like heat tape. I have mine set at 90F but the AP cage floors absorb about 5F so on the cage floor inside, its around 85F or so and my snakes still dont sit on it 90% of the time lol. I catch Dottie over in the warm hide sometimes and sometimes i also catch Rosey sitting over there but thats usually about it.

And yeah, bump the humidity up. You dont want a sloppy wet mess but i would shoot for at minimum mid 60ish and then spike it here and there up to 70-80% and let is drop a little. I actually mist my aspen usually once a week. In the winter i sometimes will mist it twice a week. Then i just let it dry out and rinse and repeat. I do that with pretty much all my snakes, even the dumerils who they say like dry conditions. Luna LOVES when i mist her down with warm water but she is a weirdo and will sometimes sit half in her water bowl too. But anyways. dont worry about a nice misting as long as the substrate gets to dry out and doesnt stay a sloppy mess. And as for aspen molding, i have never seen it mold and i've used it for years. I'm sure it will mold if it soiled with waste and you mist it constantly but thats more bad husbandry than the aspen itself.

But give different substrate a try and see what you like. What works for me might not work for you. And same with the temps, play with them a little and see what your snake likes but dont go above 92F at the hot spot. And the temps should always be taken at the hottest part of the hot spot ie the cage floor under the substrate for belly heat and on top of the substrate for overhead heat.

And yes they love to burrow lol.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ec4b4e12_h.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...f1df13ef_h.jpg

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I'll kinda go through everything you said and tell you what I'm doing for it if that's ok?

As far as substrate goes, I've honestly had the opposite experience. When I had the aspen, I took -dug lol- her out one day to handle her, but she had maybe 2-3 aspen chips stuck in her mouth to where she couldn't really close it. IMHO Eco-Earth seems to hold humidity better, but that's just what I've seen in only a little over a year of working with snakes lol. It doesn't seem like It'd mold, huh. "there is nothing like sinking a finger into a cold turd" :puke:! But it is a price I'd pay for having a comfortable boa :D Is that what you're using in the top pic?

Ok, I'll turn the T-stat down. :gj: would like 88° be okay?

I'll bump the humidity up when I get back. I don't overmist, I lightly mist maybe... 4 times a week? I'm not sure, but it works for my bps. I also use sphagnum moss with foil on the top. Which brings me to the fact that her setup is a 10-gallon, with 2 hides and a water dish. Also some leaves. I absolutely know I'll have to upgrade her to at least a 40-gal, I just got this 10 when I was at the dollar a gallon sale, and when I bought it the tank was originally going to be for a hognose.

I'm not home now, but tonight will be dedicated to adjusting the temps and humidity. :)

(Beautiful boas and great pics!)

My BCI never ever burrowed himself in substrate. The only time he did it is when i moved him to his adult enclosure and took his hide away. He kept burrowing until i gave him his hide back. Give him/her a hide and they won,t burrow. This is what i have experienced so far