Change in behavior since eating

Hi everyone~

Another question from the "newbie" - Hope you're not getting sick of me yet :)

We've had our baby BP for 10 days now- The first week she seem fairly active to us, and I thought a good "temperment" . Awake in the evening and morning and sleeping most of the other time. One strange thing is that she didn't seem crazy about her hides and would sleep under the greenery and sometimes just out in the open.
After reading here I learned that was a bit unusual- and that maybe I need to try some other hides. Also, that her "active" behavior might be a sign of stress- not necessarily a good thing. Another thing she did was if she was active when I would change water, etc. She would immediately try to make a break for it. We were amazed at how fast she sensed the top being open :)

Anyway, we fed her for the first time on Monday and she ate the F/T without hesitation. We were so happy. After she ate, she crawled into the cool side hide and stayed there for the night (or at least she was back in there the next morning) and for the whole next day.

Since eating she seems more "Skittish"-- we haven't tried to handle her or anything- we know to let her digest. But she's jumpy when we come in the tank and she hasn't been out of the hide to much and certainly not making a run for the top when its open.

Im wondering if THIS is more normal BP behavior compared to what we saw last week?? or if we should be concerned at all. Im wondering if she was just hungry? Her head movements are actually making me a bit nervous, but maybe im imagining things because ive never owned a snake before :)

As always- Thanks for the input and advice!
Lisa

What kind of hides do you have? Logs, coconut shells, boxes, etc? Most BPs don't like log hides, I know mine won't lay in them even if they're the only thing offered to him. They prefer hides that they can just barely fit into, or that they can easily touch all sides. It lets them know they're the only thing that could possibly be in there and helps them de-stress.

Activity at night isn't necessarily a bad thing. They're nocturnal creatures so if they show their face it should be at night. Quetzal's usually very active for an hour or two between 11pm and 5am, so that sounds about right to me :3 Active when you first get them is also a sign that they're just taking a little to adjust... they want to see what's in their new home so that they know the best places to hide and where to get warm.

It might take her a little to completely calm down after coming home. It'll take a bit before you see her true behavior, just let her chill and she'll eventually settle into her normal routine so you can see her real personality. I know a lot of people on here have a hands-off policy with their snakes until they get two good feedings in, which gives the snakes at least 2-3 weeks to settle before they start poking at them.

Any chance she may be going into shed? They can get real jumpy around shed time.

Also, young BPs can be pretty jumpy in general. They do grow out of it though.

She was probably nervous and settling in, perhaps hungry too. X2 on what kind of hides? Reptile basics has the ones my snakes like best. I would completely leave her alone until she has two good meals in here. Only get in her tank for cleaning and water changes. Them gradually start handling for a few minutes at a time. If you are constantly peeking or poking at her, she may just be freaked out and that's why different behavior. She could just want to digest her meal. And no, we aren't sick of you :)

The hides we are using look like this, but its not a very good picture of it. They come all the way down in back & has a smaller hole. Size wise, it would fit her perfect right now and not much room to spare.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2752566

I had a little plastic house with moss in there and she sees to like that better then the hide, so Im going to get her something like that. Who knew that snakes were so fussy?? I guess you all did :)

I haven't seen any signs of shedding, her eyes look clear and tummy doesn't appear pink.
maybe there are other clues?

Well we will leave her alone, except the bare minimum in normal care and see how she is in a few days. I know we weren't suppose to handle her, but often when we opened the tank to change water like I said, she was crawling on to our hands or up the decor in her tank to get out. Thats why this "shy" behavior is so different to us.

we'll do our best to be patient
:)

I didn't realize just how picky snakes could be until Quetzal didn't want to lay in the warm (log) hide I'd originally gotten him. He would lay in the plants around it or squeeze between the water bowl and the glass instead. Silly snakes. Now he's got a plastic cave like you have and a coconut shell and loves them both. Just gotta find what they seem to prefer and go with it :3

To help convince her that her hides are safe, you can also turn the hides so that they're not facing out. If you've blacked out the sides of her tank, turn the opening toward one of those sides. Not all BPs need their tank blacked out, Quetzal seems pretty thrilled without it, but for those that might be a bit more nervous it'll help make them feel secure.


Another sign of shedding aside from pink belly and blue eyes is dull scales. If her colors suddenly turn dull, that's a sign that you might have missed the pink (or it's about to happen) and she'll be going blue soon. If she does start to shed, then that would be a perfectly good reason for her to be a little more skittish.

Quetzal will also let me know when he's interested in coming out: he'll pop his head out of his hide and start climbing the walls. If he wants to stay in, he'll just retract his head and (I assume) go back to sleep. It just depends on how they're feeling that day, how close was their feeding day, how close they are to shedding, etc. As you get to know your snake you'll learn what behaviors mean what.


Something I missed in your last post: snake head movements and whether or not she's itching for a bite. Bites from these guys, especially as babies, sound a lot worse than they usually are. If she's nervous, she'll do a whole lot of bluffing to convince you that she's not worth it, but if she does actually connect be assured that right now her bites are not going to hurt that much. I'd actually be kinda impressed if she managed to do anything more than feel like rough velcro against your skin.

These are the hides I use. I used to have those rock things too. Trust me they like these much better. The saying is a hiding bp is a happy bp. So her out trying to escape her enclosure is stress. Hiding, is her settling in.
http://img.tapatalk.com/aee9867a-362b-1211.jpg

You can get them at Reptile Basics. The price is right too. :)

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

We fed Medusa on Monday evening and she's still in her hide. She came out after the first day for a very short time, and has been in the hide ever since. Of course, she could be coming out at night, but before we went to bed, she had her head sticking out and resting on this log and this morning the was nearly in the same place.
Ever since she's been coiled up more inside. She'll lift her head, as I come in & out of the room, or when I opened the top to change her water. But no real movement that I've seen.

Should I be worried at all?? This is such a change from how she was last week.

Nope. Hiding is completely normal during the day while they're more active at night. She could be moving around when you're not watching and the way she's laying could just be comfortable enough that she likes to lay like that. But a BP will happily stay in one spot all day if undisturbed. They're opportunistic hunters, which means they sit around all day and wait for a rodent stupid enough to get close then strike.

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Originally Posted by Lisn123

Should I be worried at all?? This is such a change from how she was last week.

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No, because now she's acting like a Ball Python. It's a good sign.

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Originally Posted by Slim

No, because now she's acting like a Ball Python. It's a good sign.

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ha ha... Thanks! I guess it will take us some time to get use to her "quirky BP behaviors"

Well Medusa is back to her "non-typical" BP behavior" lol She's Active- looks up when we come in, excited to come out on our hand -she often just slithers right into my palm- when changing water, etc.
It appears she took about 3 days to process her meal, before returning to her crazy self.
Im anxious for her next feeding and see how her behavior is this time.

Sorry for "thinking out loud" on here. Im just new to the snake world and find
it fascinating. :)

Have you completely blacked out the sides and back of her tank? I'm assuming you're keeping her in a tank. If you haven't completely blacked out the sides and back I would try that. If you have, then we'll both just have to sit here and wait for somebody more experienced to weigh in on this.

How much does your snake weigh, and how big of a meal did you give her? If it was small, and she is young, she could very well be getting hungry again.

We fed Medusa her 2nd meal tonight since being home, we'll see if she does the same "hide away" for several days. I actually hope its not just being hungry, and that is why she was so active again, but her personality. I know everyone says BP's spend most of the time hid away, but I like that she peeks up to see us and crawls on my hand to come out, when I change her water dish, etc.

She seems "social"- never scared- I mean if she's hiding or curled up "resting" we leave her alone. Maybe it is stress and I have no clue as to snake body language, but she doesn't appear that way.

Time will tell as we learn more about our baby. :)

As always- thanks for the advice

PS. She ate well again tonight- no hesitation. Its going to be a long time before we get bored of watching her eat. :)

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Originally Posted by DrDooLittle

How much does your snake weigh, and how big of a meal did you give her? If it was small, and she is young, she could very well be getting hungry again.

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We are feeding her one Fuzzy right now. She's quite small.
And I know everyone will freak out when I tell you this, but the pet store said they were feeding her every OTHER week, because she was so small, (the other 2 there were getting fed, once a week)
We are feeding her weekly. Dont yell at me- it was the pet store- and if I knew then, what i know now... well.....Anyway, she's ours now and Im trying to do right by her :) She may be able to eat more, but actual size wise, and getting it down, fuzzy's seem plenty big.

PS. And before you all ask- I still need to buy a scale. I know about the body wt vs. amount fed :)

Wait... So she was small so the pet store was feeding her less often than the bigger snakes? What world does that make sense in?

Fuzzy mouse or fuzzy rat? Fuzzy mice are too small for pretty much all ball pythons except for hatchlings.

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Originally Posted by Inarikins

Wait... So she was small so the pet store was feeding her less often than the bigger snakes? What world does that make sense in?

Fuzzy mouse or fuzzy rat? Fuzzy mice are too small for pretty much all ball pythons except for hatchlings.

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i know, I couldn't figure out that rational either.

We are feeding fuzzy mice- she's quite thin & small. I honestly couldn't imagine her swallowing much bigger then these. Her head is so small and the neck right behind her head is just tiny. The first time we fed her, we were really concerned she was going to be able to get it down.
They told me the snakes were about 14 weeks, but im beginning to question that now.
I just read a hatchling is often 15-18 inches?? She is just about 18" now, and she's grown a lot, in just 2 weeks since we've had her home.

Maybe she was the "runt" -lol :)
The picture I have as my profile pic is Medusa in my daughters hand, who is only 10- to give you an idea how small she is.

Hopefully we can help her "flourish" now?!?!