Is it normal?

Is it normal for my juvenile BP(about 1 month old)to be highly active about an hour after she consumed a hopper mouse?Sphinx was stuck in the dashboard for 2 days,then took a mouse when I got her into a tank.She's been pretty active day and night,I avoid handling her so she doesn't regurgitate,and only get into the cage to change/add water,check for any messes,check temps,etc.Could it just be her temperment?(She can be pretty feisty)

It sounds like she's stressed. High activity suggests that. A happy ball is a hiding ball.
Can you describe your husbandry and set up?

And you can black out the cage on the sides and back with black construction paper or whatever you want in order to make the enclosure feel more 'secure'.

Active right after the feed may mean she is looking for more food. Is the food 10-15% of her body weight?

Quite a few ball pythons will roam after eating before settling down on their hot spot, IF they have one.
You need to describe and or show your set up before anyone can give you good sound advise...

Temps, how you heat it, what you use to read temps, hides, water dish, etc...

Her tank setup-a 38x18x18 tank,with aspen bedding,her basking area is 88-92(i have a cage thermometer,and a probe),and her cool area is 82(with cage thermometer and probe),I have water dishes on both sides,and hides on both sides.I use a heat lamp and UTH on the basking side.For humidity I keep part of the tank covered on the top,and building some humid hides,the petstore is out of stock on the moss :(. As far as stress,she isn't getting aggressive,if I'm cleaning her water,she'll come over and investigate and try coiling on my hand(if shes out while I'm doing so).And the mouse is a small hopper,Sphinx is about 15-16 inches long,so maybe I need to increase the mouse size?The guy I got her was feeding hoppers,but she seemed to digest this one pretty quick,maybe its just me,but my other BP digested fast and was timid for about a day after eating,and was out of her hide box to explore before settling back in. Phoenix seems more laid back with handling,and rarely coils unless in her hide box,Sphinx takes a few minutes to uncoil and is very cautious.So its hard to tell whats going on,whereas Carmen(the smallest of the 3),is always timid and needs more handling.

So I wonder if I need to increase the mouse size,seeing as after Sphinx and Phoenix ate,they were highly active.I'm covering 3 out of 4 walls on my tank,do you think that will be too much?

You need to get some digital scales and weigh your bp and feed them 10-15% of their body weight.

That's a large tank for such a small snake


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Im just a rookie snake owner, but the tank size might be a bit large- causing him to stress out. Im sure the experts will weigh in.
Our baby was that way when we first brought her home (first few days- literally) I think she was just getting settled in on where she was comfortable "hiding". Then she would get that way about 4-5 days after we fed her. and realized we needed to up her feedings, to every 5 days.

Now she's acting "normal"- sleeping most of the time- at least 2-3 days after eating. Then I start to notice that she comes out to "redecorate" her tank at night time. (moving objects around) She's usually back in her hide by morning :)

I'm fairly certain the OP is housing all the snakes together in that large tank. Correct me if I'm wrong.


As per your original question, I think its quite common for a snake who has just eaten to cruise a bit, although I think in this case you are probably underfeeding. Hatchlings straight out of the egg eat hopper mice. Bump her up to adult mice. I would get a scale and start keeping track of their weights. Feed 10-15% of the snakes body weight once a week and you should notice the cruising after meal time drop off.

Yes I house the 3 girls together for the time being,I've asked plenty of people on if it was ok or not,and I have gotten plenty of ok's with it,as long as I seperate them to feed.When they start to get bigger I'll house them seperately.Don't think 3 full size BP's could fit in that tank together.I mostly have experience with smaller snakes,so I still have a lot to learn with BP's,but I do appreciate the tips and suggestions,and don't take offense,we were all new once =).I'll weigh the girls this evening,all of them are in the hide boxes,one was active a bit earlier,got a drink and went back to her box,so the activity has been back to normal for the past few hours,usually they are active at night.

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Originally Posted by Fester_Fang

Yes I house the 3 girls together for the time being,I've asked plenty of people on if it was ok or not,and I have gotten plenty of ok's with it,as long as I seperate them to feed.

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You asked here if that was ok... I haven't seen a thread were anyone advises that


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Thats probabl why there stressed ball pythons arent.social snakes. They dont enjoy being in the same space

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I read it on other forums,not this one is particular,along with friends who keep BP's.And if need be,I have an extra tank for one,and can divide my big tank so they are all seperated if one is stressed due to all 3 being together.Which was my first plan,but was told by several people who keep theirs together.

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Originally Posted by Fester_Fang

Yes I house the 3 girls together for the time being,I've asked plenty of people on if it was ok or not,and I have gotten plenty of ok's with it,as long as I seperate them to feed.When they start to get bigger I'll house them seperately.Don't think 3 full size BP's could fit in that tank together.I mostly have experience with smaller snakes,so I still have a lot to learn with BP's,but I do appreciate the tips and suggestions,and don't take offense,we were all new once =).I'll weigh the girls this evening,all of them are in the hide boxes,one was active a bit earlier,got a drink and went back to her box,so the activity has been back to normal for the past few hours,usually they are active at night.

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While there is nothing wrong with housing your ball pythons together, there are some risks involved. This topic has been discussed at length on this forum so I won't get into the details. In my opinion, you have your husbandry down and you have your tank set up in a way that is fairly suitable for multiple BPs. If you have experience with snakes, cohabitation can be done.

I'm under the impression you got some of these snakes fairly recently which leads me to believe that you did not quarantine them. So if one of the new snakes has some sort of illness or is carrying mites or other parasites you put them all at risk for these illnesses and parasites.

Just something to consider for the future. I am glad to hear you plan on separating them when they are older. Please keep a close eye on them while they are living together.

All 3 were in tanks by themselves and checked out by a vet before I put them in a tank together,which I did yesterday,except to feed.When they reach about 2 feet or 2.5 feet,they all will have seperate tanks,but these girls are about 14-16 inches(with Carmen at barely 14 inches).They havent shown any aggression and didn't have any problems when I fed them,and showing a good amount of activity at night.But I do check in on them throughout the day,havent noticed any mites so far.I try to keep handling during the day to a minimum,and handle in the evenings or night.

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Originally Posted by Fester_Fang

All 3 were in tanks by themselves and checked out by a vet before I put them in a tank together,which I did yesterday,except to feed.When they reach about 2 feet or 2.5 feet,they all will have seperate tanks,but these girls are about 14-16 inches(with Carmen at barely 14 inches).They havent shown any aggression and didn't have any problems when I fed them,and showing a good amount of activity at night.But I do check in on them throughout the day,havent noticed any mites so far.I try to keep handling during the day to a minimum,and handle in the evenings or night.

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If they are eating regularly then they can't be too stressed. The vet check was a good idea. Every ball python is different. Some cannot tolerate being housed with other snakes, and some don't really care either way.

Honestly, I think you are doing fine. Just up the prey size and the cruising after mealtime should subside.

Thanks,Monday is their next feeding,so I'll up the mouse sizes on monday.I was worried that I would have a problem with my smallest(Carmen).But she's always been timid,but warming up slowly,whereas Phoenix is laid back and loves being handled,and Sphinx doesn't mind but can be feisty at times and is the biggest of the 3.But all seem to be well adjusted,and don't get aggressive when handled.Sphinx only struck Monday evening,she got stuck in the car's dashboard and came out on her own..But shes calmed down.I appreciate the help you guys,and I'll try to get some good pictures posted of the girls.

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Originally Posted by Fester_Fang

Yes I house the 3 girls together for the time being,I've asked plenty of people on if it was ok or not,and I have gotten plenty of ok's with it,as long as I seperate them to feed.When they start to get bigger I'll house them seperately.Don't think 3 full size BP's could fit in that tank together.I mostly have experience with smaller snakes,so I still have a lot to learn with BP's,but I do appreciate the tips and suggestions,and don't take offense,we were all new once =).I'll weigh the girls this evening,all of them are in the hide boxes,one was active a bit earlier,got a drink and went back to her box,so the activity has been back to normal for the past few hours,usually they are active at night.

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There's likely the answer to her stress and why she's roaming. She's telling you by her behavior.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

There's likely the answer to her stress and why she's roaming. She's telling you by her behavior.

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I assume the answer you are referring to is that they are being housed together?

If we take that single piece of information out, the roaming could be from a number of things. It is a new snake, and we all know new animals will often roam the enclosure for a few days until they get comfortable. It could be underfed and still hungry. It could be looking for a way out after its 2 day vacation in the car.

I'm just playing devils advocate. :) Just noting that there are other possible reasons for this behavior. It isn't necessarily related to being housed with other snakes.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

I'm fairly certain the OP is housing all the snakes together in that large tank. Correct me if I'm wrong.


As per your original question, I think its quite common for a snake who has just eaten to cruise a bit, although I think in this case you are probably underfeeding. Hatchlings straight out of the egg eat hopper mice. Bump her up to adult mice. I would get a scale and start keeping track of their weights. Feed 10-15% of the snakes body weight once a week and you should notice the cruising after meal time drop off.

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My little 7 is about a month and half old and eating fuzzies, still.

I have a bag of 'very small mice' ["teenagers/weanlings", possibly]

Should I attempt to feed her one of those?

I need to weigh one of them to figure the weight percentage but they're not very much bigger than the hoppers..maybe half again as big.

She very daintily just picks up her mouse and disappears into her hide with it where she eats it in absolute privacy.

A day or so later, she's up late at night fiddling with her 'toys' [paper towel tubes, various hides, etc] and seems to very calm and content...just awfully adventurous and curious.

She's not a bit shy or "stressy".

When I open her tub, I have to be careful that she doesn't zoom right out onto me.

She's a 'funny little thing'.

For some reason my girls dont take their mice into the hides,but I try stay out of sight so I can monitor feedings.Carmen is a bit shy but she was the least handled of the 3 when I got her,but has warmed up tremendously from the past few days.Whats the best way to weigh them? I was going to put them in a small container,collect the weight,then weigh the container by itself,then subtract the containers weight,does anyone else do it that way?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fester_Fang

For some reason my girls dont take their mice into the hides,but I try stay out of sight so I can monitor feedings.Carmen is a bit shy but she was the least handled of the 3 when I got her,but has warmed up tremendously from the past few days.Whats the best way to weigh them? I was going to put them in a small container,collect the weight,then weigh the container by itself,then subtract the containers weight,does anyone else do it that way?

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Yes you can do it that way, or put the container on the scale, zero it, then put the snake in so you just have the snake's weight.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fester_Fang

For some reason my girls dont take their mice into the hides,but I try stay out of sight so I can monitor feedings.Carmen is a bit shy but she was the least handled of the 3 when I got her,but has warmed up tremendously from the past few days.Whats the best way to weigh them? I was going to put them in a small container,collect the weight,then weigh the container by itself,then subtract the containers weight,does anyone else do it that way?

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I got this at WallyWorld and it "zeros" with the bowl on top and give very accurate weights and is quite affordable.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Oneida-Dig...Scale/16486675

I've managed to stuff 1800 gram girls in there with a bit of fussing and arranging but the scale itself goes up to something like 7 pounds.