restless behavior

Hi, I'm fairly new to ball pythons so I don't know entirely, but are ball pythons typically restless at night? I find that my BP's sleep all day (which I realize is completely normal lol) but at night they seem to be always trying to escape the enclosure. I thought they were hungry but I just tried feeding them last night and they didn't take. Temps are normal, typically 90-95 basking, 75-80 ambient, humidity is between 50-60%. The dimensions of the enclosures are approx. 1.5'x2' for both snakes (both snakes are 09's - not sure about the exact weights), and both enclosures contain nice fitting hides. And fresh water is offered daily. Also, one of them, has not eaten in exactly 2 weeks so I am beginning to think there is something wrong with his environment. Though I have no idea what would be wrong. Any ideas as to why they would be so restless? Or is this normal behaviour? Thanks

This is normal behavior for stressed snakes that is in a new home! You need to make them feel secure by cover the sides and top. Even if you just use newspaper! Make sure you have two tight fitting hides with only one small opening. If you have them in a large enclosures(bigger than 15 quart or 10 gallons) then you can add crumpled newspaper for security. No handling or disturbing for one week and then feed. Keep repeating until they eat! Make sure you are feeding them the same as what the previous owner fed them. Do not handle them until they have eaten a few meals! They should start eating in a couple of weeks! They will calm down and spend most of their time in the hides when their stress level goes down! Good luck and be patient!!!

I've noticed my BP comes out alot at night to. She's spent less time lately trying to escape an more lounging outside her hides.


I think BP's are nocturnal. I enjoy seeing her come out. One of the highlights of my day. As long as she's secure and has good hides she should be fine. Giving the enclosure more cover like the person before me said could only help.

I like seeing my snake hide lol. Only time he should come out is for water :D

And to eat. Other then that he just chills in his hide

But like a day before feeding day he does come out at night :rolleyes:

Those enclosures sound a little large for 09's. I would move them to a small tub for a couple months until they get a little bigger.

What kind of hides do you have?

2 weeks is not long to go without eating, but the roaming and trying to excape combined with the not eating means he is stressed.

The hides for the pastel male are small. They fit his curled up body with a little extra room. I just added another hide last night for the cooler end of the enclosure. Both are small and dark. The spider's hide is also small and dark, it is a very low lying cardboard box. Whereas the hides for the pastel male are plastic bowls each with a hole cut in them. If I add some fake plant type stuff to the enclosures to fill in some of the empty space, do you think that will reduce stress levels? I ask because I have a ton of it, and it is just going to waste otherwise. Thanks for the replies

Don't worry man. He will calm down. Some take a little longer than others do also, so don't freak out.

Just make sure your temps are always around the same as the day before, ect ect

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but the roaming and trying to excape combined with the not eating means he is stressed

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They should roam and try to escape sometimes though right? Mine tries every couple days when I'm feeding the geckos or tending to the beetles. He's a good eater though...he was roaming and trying to escape before his feeding last night.

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Originally Posted by jfreels

They should roam and try to escape sometimes though right? Mine tries every couple days when I'm feeding the geckos or tending to the beetles. He's a good eater though...he was roaming and trying to escape before his feeding last night.

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If they feel safe, they should not try to escape. My snakes will occasionally take a quick spin around their tubs, but nothing more then that, no pressing their faces in the corners or scaling the walls.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

If they feel safe, they should not try to escape. My snakes will occasionally take a quick spin around their tubs, but nothing more then that, no pressing their faces in the corners or scaling the walls.

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Hmmmm thats bad then?


I always thought if they felt uncomfortable they'd spend all there time hiding.

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Originally Posted by Seru1

Hmmmm thats bad then?


I always thought if they felt uncomfortable they'd spend all there time hiding.

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Its the opposite. If they are happy, they will hide all the time. If they are constantly cruising, they are stressed.

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Originally Posted by Seru1

Hmmmm thats bad then?


I always thought if they felt uncomfortable they'd spend all there time hiding.

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See I though the same thing until someone set me straight :) I was thinking she was getting really happy to be coming out at noon LOL now that she has proper hides I don't see her any more except when the rat came out ;)

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Its the opposite. If they are happy, they will hide all the time. If they are constantly cruising, they are stressed.

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Hmmm... I guess it's a good thing she's been coming out less lately then. Though I still find her out sometimes at night and occasionally near the glass. :confused:


Maybe my 8 in pot holders are to big...hrmmm...

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Originally Posted by Seru1

Hmmm... I guess it's a good thing she's been coming out less lately then. Though I still find her out sometimes at night and occasionally near the glass. :confused:

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Coming out at night is not the same as looking for a way to escape. They are nocturnal, so coming out at night is perfectly normal.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Coming out at night is not the same as looking for a way to escape. They are nocturnal, so coming out at night is perfectly normal.

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Well thats good. I wish I could make up my mind on a rack system. I think she'll be much happier in there. NEwspaper and a humid hide this time though. The wood substrate is driving me banana's on the temp differential.

Well the new hide I added last night seems to be working effectively. I peeked in just a minute ago and he is under it. I guess my other hide was either too large or too warm. The temp inside the hide was 85, and maybe a tad on the larger side. I'm glad the new one is working. I also added some fake plants for extra security. Thanks everybody! I will keep you guys updated on how feeding goes on sunday.

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Originally Posted by reno-cg

Well the new hide I added last night seems to be working effectively. I peeked in just a minute ago and he is under it. I guess my other hide was either too large or too warm. The temp inside the hide was 85, and maybe a tad on the larger side. I'm glad the new one is working. I also added some fake plants for extra security. Thanks everybody! I will keep you guys updated on how feeding goes on sunday.

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Add lots of plants, that will help! They will choose the cool hide sometimes and the warm side sometimes. They regulate their body temp that way!

:(

I'm worried. She came back out and started exploring the creases in the door. and the glass surface again *sigh*


Her husbandry seems okay. I am gonna buy a pair of 6" pot lids instead of 8 inch pot lids.


I dunno what to do I dunno why she feels uncomfortable. Was it the handling today? I've only had her about a week and a half could it still be new cage syndrome?

Don't worry about it. eventually she won't do that as much. my snakes will wander out right after I put them back after handling. Sit back and relax and quit worrying :P

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Don't worry about it. eventually she won't do that as much. my snakes will wander out right after I put them back after handling. Sit back and relax and quit worrying :P

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As you may have guessed by now I have a very hard time doing that!!

:P Thanks again kaorte. You've helped me out so much Your totally on the Xmas card list.

Both just ate last night. I can definitely say that the added extra security of the plants helped a lot. I had the exact same problem with my old leachie when it was a baby. It was literally starving itself because there was not enough cover in its enclosure. As soon as I added some fake plants, it became more aware/responsive, and started eating. Just to let people know, if their animal is not eating, definitely consider the amount of cover you have in their enclosure. You may also want to consider where in the room the enclosure is. Is it in the middle near high traffic areas? If so, you may want to move it to a darker corner of the room. I think ball pythons tend to get stressed under too much bright light so covering the sides will help as well. Hope this helps, and thanks to those for reminding me of this important husbandry issue!

Also understand that BP's are Nocturnal and usually hide during the day, and come out at night. I have 13 BP's that I have had for years and they all do this. I also notice they become more active around dusk (sun-setting) when they are hungry. Do not be alarmed by it. Could be stress, hunger, or just a BP being normal

I might add some fake plants to mine, the only problem Is I don't wanna risk them cooling it off. Any ideas?

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Originally Posted by Seru1

I might add some fake plants to mine, the only problem Is I don't wanna risk them cooling it off. Any ideas?

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How will fake plants cool it off?

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

How will fake plants cool it off?

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I thought I read somebody saying it would.

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Originally Posted by Seru1

I thought I read somebody saying it would.

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its plastic....It might be a little cool initially, but it isn't going to make it permanently cooler..

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

its plastic....It might be a little cool initially, but it isn't going to make it permanently cooler..

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Cool. Might look into some nice fake potted plants then.