Ball python climbing to the top of the enclosure?

Is it normal for BP's to climb the top of their enclosure at night?

I think the humidity and temperatures are fine
(55-70℅ humidity, 88°F on the warm end, and 78°F on the cool end)

She has 6 hides and lots of clutter, she explores her entire tank but she'll climb up to the rim of the enclosure at night. (Her enclosure lid is mesh and opens from the top)

Shes a young ball python around 2 feet long in a 47 gallon enclosure, so it's surely enough space.

Is this normal behavior? Is she just exploring? Or am I doing something wrong with her husbandry.

Here's a photo of her doing it. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0c8c85067d.jpg

BPs will climb if given the opportunity, and nighttime is when they're most active so she feels safest to explore more "avant-garde" areas like the more exposed top area of the tank. My male is at his most adventurous at night as well. Always craning around checking the limits of his home, high and low.

Thank you, that's very reassuring knowing other BP's are doing this haha.
This is my first BP and I want to make sure she's healthy.

mine has definitely used all of the climbing stuff i’ve given her and she definitely loves exploring at night - i think is just normal BP activities lol

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Originally Posted by Ruby

Is this normal behavior? Is she just exploring? Or am I doing something wrong with her husbandry.

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She senses the fresh air and she's seeking a way out. No matter how nice your enclosure is, your BP will seek freedom, at least until she realizes there's no way out.

Snakes are intelligent and naturally curious. If her temps/humidity are good and she is otherwise comfortable with her setup, then she may be looking for more mental stimulation. Can you open the enclosure and supervise? If she doesn't get enrichment in her enclosure (such as offering her new items to engage with and explore regularly) she may be bored.

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Originally Posted by Caitlin

Snakes are intelligent and naturally curious. If her temps/humidity are good and she is otherwise comfortable with her setup, then she may be looking for more mental stimulation. Can you open the enclosure and supervise? If she doesn't get enrichment in her enclosure (such as offering her new items to engage with and explore regularly) she may be bored.

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I'm a big proponent of activity sessions. I give my Children's python the opportunity to come out of his enclosure and explore daily. I have two activity stations that I use. A modified coat rack for him to climb on:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/NxYoKbE.jpg
and a pet tent for him to crawl around:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/5zMaTXU.jpg.
In addition, I've recently started adding items with novel scents (nothing perfumey) to his enclosure for him to ponder.

I used to let my BP out of his enclosure as well. Usually, he would curl up under my couch or my bookcase. While not terribly active compared to, say, a toddler on a playground, he took the trouble so he must have gotten something out of it. So, in my experience, enrichment not only engages your snake mentally, it's fun for you as a keeper.

I take her out daily to explore, and eventually, I will set up a snake room for her to free roam.
I occasionally rearrange the stuff in her tank for enrichment.


If she is bored, What else can I do?

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Originally Posted by Ruby

If she is bored, What else can I do?

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Probably, nothing. If you're letting her out daily, I doubt she is bored. Like I said before, I think she's seeking freedom instinctually. In the wild, being trapped is very dangerous. In captivity, not being trapped is more dangerous. Your BP just doesn't understand that.