Do your BPs like baths?

Today, I took Monty, my BP, out and noticed he was a little chilly. I remembered reading somewhere that snakes like to swim so I put an inch or two of warm water in the bathtub, gave him a place to slither up onto if he didn't like it, and placed him gently in the tub. He absolutely seemed to love it. He swam around the tub like it was the best 5 minutes of his life. My question is, if he does indeed like this, how often is okay to let him swim? I don't want him getting stressed out, but he seems to enjoy it and its a good way to warm him up!

Just for the record I have never given a ball python a bath, I really don't think they need it. If he is cold how about raising the temps in his enclosure:confusd:

I've tried that, but we're having an unusually cold winter, he's been staying at around 76-80 on the cool side and 85-90 on the warm, but he NEVER goes to the warm side. I've had him over 3 months now and he's never even been on the warm side of the tank, unless he's basking (which he's done once). I had to soak him once when I got him because he wasn't shedding correctly, and he enjoyed that. I know he wasn't dangerously cold, but I can tell he is bored. I figure it wouldn't hurt so I wanted to try it out.

Your temps are fine on both sides so it does not matter if it does not visit the warm side. Your snake knows what it is so there is no reason to try to make it warmer.

Be careful when giving a soak as water that feels warm to you is usually to warm for a snake. Anytime I give a snake a soak I use my temp gun to make sure the water is no warmer than 85F.

It was at 84.6. He seemed to be very very happy, and very active after.

I love how people can tell when their snakes are happy, sad, bored, blah blah blah etc. etc. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

If you have an familiarity with your animals you can tell by their body language. I think that it is incorrect to read human emotions into what they are doing but it is pretty easy to see if they are relaxed (happy, like) or stressed (unhappy, sad) or in feed mode.


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So if he bites you he is mad, if he doesn't he is happy? Maybe so on a very basic level, but I find it somewhat amusing how people think they "know" how their ball pythons feel...:weirdface:rofl:

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Originally Posted by albinos_rule

So if he bites you he is mad, if he doesn't he is happy? Maybe so on a very basic level, but I find it somewhat amusing how people think they "know" how their ball pythons feel...:weirdface:rofl:

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I get what you're saying and it gives me a chuckle sometimes too. While I do believe that you can learn your snakes behavior and tells it is usually the very new owners that think they know their snake is hungry, wants to escape, and so on.

However I did have a gtp that I believe was only happy if it was biting me.:D

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Originally Posted by MontyAndMelissa

I've tried that, but we're having an unusually cold winter, he's been staying at around 76-80 on the cool side and 85-90 on the warm, but he NEVER goes to the warm side. I've had him over 3 months now and he's never even been on the warm side of the tank, unless he's basking (which he's done once). I had to soak him once when I got him because he wasn't shedding correctly, and he enjoyed that. I know he wasn't dangerously cold, but I can tell he is bored. I figure it wouldn't hurt so I wanted to try it out.

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Hello, yes ball pythons can enjoy baths occasionally. But are you sure he wasn't trying to get out of the water? (baths for reptiles should not be "warm" closer to luke warm them warm) and with the cage, your're snake should spend the majority of his time toward the warm side, paired with this info and the fact he had a bad shed, I would check your cage out. He should have a hide on the warm and cool side. His humidity Probably is to low I'd check that. Lastly i would make sure the hot side is not to HOT. ( Also if you're humidity is to low try providing a humid hide.). If all is well, then maybe you just have "an odd ball" :D Pun intended.

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Originally Posted by xXBASSXx777

Hello, yes ball pythons can enjoy baths occasionally. But are you sure he wasn't trying to get out of the water? (baths for reptiles should not be "warm" closer to luke warm them warm) and with the cage, your're snake should spend the majority of his time toward the warm side, paired with this info and the fact he had a bad shed, I would check your cage out. He should have a hide on the warm and cool side. His humidity Probably is to low I'd check that. Lastly i would make sure the hot side is not to HOT. ( Also if you're humidity is to low try providing a humid hide.). If all is well, then maybe you just have "an odd ball" :D Pun intended.

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He didn't seem to want out at all. The temperature was no where near hot, it was about two degrees warmer than where he usually hangs out. He only had bad sheds when I very first got him (he was a rescue)and I adjusted his humidity since then and he's shed perfectly every time since. I intentionally put a towel on the dry end of the bath (its like a small step) and he avoided it and just swam and swam and swam. He is kind of a dork.

This is a cute story. I enjoyed it.

All of mine freak out whenever I need to soak them so I do not think the ones I own like baths.

To all of those mocking the fact that my snake enjoyed his bath, I didn't mean that he didn't bite me, so that means he's happy. He didn't try to get out, I know my snakes signs of stress, and he showed none of them. You may have owned snakes for a long time but you do not know everything about every snake.

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Originally Posted by salt

This is a cute story. I enjoyed it.

All of mine freak out whenever I need to soak them so I do not think the ones I own like baths.

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Thank you. My Monty loves baths. Or so it seems. He doesn't seem to escape the water, and when I place him above the water, he tests it with his tongue and quickly slithers off my hands. He doesn't even do that when I take him out onto the bed, he slithers back up my arm when I try to put him down.

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Originally Posted by xXBASSXx777

Hello, yes ball pythons can enjoy baths occasionally.

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How would I go about letting him take a bath?
Any degree of temperature you would recommend?
I want to give him more things to do since his aquarium is a bit boring!

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Originally Posted by MontyAndMelissa

To all of those mocking the fact that my snake enjoyed his bath, I didn't mean that he didn't bite me, so that means he's happy. He didn't try to get out, I know my snakes signs of stress, and he showed none of them. You may have owned snakes for a long time but you do not know everything about every snake.

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I was not trying to mock you and if you stay here you will see the threads pop up from new owners and see what Im talking about.

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Originally Posted by MontyAndMelissa

He didn't seem to want out at all. The temperature was no where near hot, it was about two degrees warmer than where he usually hangs out. He only had bad sheds when I very first got him (he was a rescue)and I adjusted his humidity since then and he's shed perfectly every time since. I intentionally put a towel on the dry end of the bath (its like a small step) and he avoided it and just swam and swam and swam. He is kind of a dork.

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Ok. Good everything seems fine then. I'm so glad there are people like you who take in less than perfect rescues. (most breeders will pass this up for the sake of the rest of their collection (typically me included) especially if it is just a normal. If you don't want to commit then don't get the snake or any pet for that matter.) when you say there was a dry towel on one end makes me think that the water was very shallow. which was Probably why he didn't flip out. :)
(As far as emotions I think if the keeper prefers to think of the snake or reptile as one with emotions than so be it, especially if it makes the keeper more interested or more committed and more likely to give the animal what it deserves)

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Originally Posted by KMG

I was not trying to mock you and if you stay here you will see the threads pop up from new owners and see what Im talking about.

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Not you, specifically the one person who stated that they love how "owners can guess a snakes emotions blah blah blah" or something along those lines.

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Originally Posted by Kiraush

How would I go about letting him take a bath?
Any degree of temperature you would recommend?
I want to give him more things to do since his aquarium is a bit boring!

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You will see it said that a hiding snake is a happy snake. I promise you that your snake is not needing or wanting anything to do.

But a good soak can be great for a snake. You want to make sure the water is in the range of the temps of the tank. When I soak a snake I use water in the range of 77-85.

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Originally Posted by xXBASSXx777

Ok. Good everything seems fine then. I'm so glad there are people like you who take in less than perfect rescues. (most breeders will pass this up for the sake of the rest of their collection (typically me included) especially if it is just a normal. If you don't want to commit then don't get the snake or any pet for that matter.) when you say there was a dry towel on one end makes me think that the water was very shallow. which was Probably why he didn't flip out. :)
(As far as emotions I think if the keeper prefers to think of the snake or reptile as one with emotions than so be it, especially if it makes the keeper more interested or more committed and more likely to give the animal what it deserves)

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My bath tub has a shallow step (about 3-4 inches high) the water was deep enough for him to submerge himself if he wanted, and the towel was more for traction onto the step of he wanted out.

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Originally Posted by Kiraush

How would I go about letting him take a bath?
Any degree of temperature you would recommend?
I want to give him more things to do since his aquarium is a bit boring!

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Make sure your snake likes the water first. The temperature should be roughly the temperature of the side of the tank he's on more often (that's what I did at least) and make sure they have somewhere to go if they don't like it.

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Originally Posted by Kiraush

How would I go about letting him take a bath?
Any degree of temperature you would recommend?
I want to give him more things to do since his aquarium is a bit boring!

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Hello,
If it is his/hers first bath, then go with some large space (tub) because he/she may totally freak. start with shallow water that way he/she is very comfortable and allow him/her a place to escape the water complete. (like a dry towel, it will get wet ;))

I would recommend NO more than than than 85 degrees. (If you do not have a proper form of measurements, go with slightly warmer than luke warm. Human external body temp is like 93 so it should not feel warm to you, but it should have NO chill.)

If his/her aquarium is rather large for him/her than more things is not just nice but nearly imperative. you can add fake leaves, three hides (one on hot side, one on cool side, and one in the middle that is humid), you can get something solid for him/her to climb (if you get it from outside DO YOUR RESEARCH first), and just use your imagination (and the internet ;)).

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Originally Posted by MontyAndMelissa

Make sure your snake likes the water first. The temperature should be roughly the temperature of the side of the tank he's on more often (that's what I did at least) and make sure they have somewhere to go if they don't like it.

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When I let a snake soak I use a locking tub and it has no other place to go. If Im soaking them its for a reason so they need to stay in the water.

One other thing is when you soak them you don't want to leave them in water so deep they have to continually swim to stay above the water. Snakes can and do drown. I only put enough water to go about 3/4 of the way up the snakes body.

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Originally Posted by KMG

When I let a snake soak I use a locking tub and it has no other place to go. If Im soaking them its for a reason so they need to stay in the water.

One other thing is when you soak them you don't want to leave them in water so deep they have to continually swim to stay above the water. Snakes can and do drown. I only put enough water to go about 3/4 of the way up the snakes body.

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There is also a difference between a soak and a bath. I've had to soak Monty before, where I used a tub with a locking lid. This was a bath, where he had free range of the tub and I watched him the entire time. I don't leave my snake alone when I take him out.

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Originally Posted by albinos_rule

I love how people can tell when their snakes are happy, sad, bored, blah blah blah etc. etc. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

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I love how people can't tell when their snakes are stressed out, relaxed, blah blah blah. Maybe you should get a dog.

Yeah I like people who have had one snake, and think they know all about them :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

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Originally Posted by MontyAndMelissa

Today, I took Monty, my BP, out and noticed he was a little chilly. I remembered reading somewhere that snakes like to swim so I put an inch or two of warm water in the bathtub, gave him a place to slither up onto if he didn't like it, and placed him gently in the tub. He absolutely seemed to love it. He swam around the tub like it was the best 5 minutes of his life. My question is, if he does indeed like this, how often is okay to let him swim? I don't want him getting stressed out, but he seems to enjoy it and its a good way to warm him up!

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Ball pythons are fairly sedentary animals. Except for feeding and roaming about looking for other ball pythons to have sex with, they choose to remain in a den or a hide.

There are several reasons for this and they are all biological.

We don't know if any snake "likes" to swim. We can ASSume that they do not. What we do know is that they do not do things for fun and that their biological imperatives center around conserving energy, making more snakes and limiting opportunities for other creatures to harm them.

Some snakes are aquatic, some snakes will take to water to hunt, and some snakes will swim as part of their normal travels. The purpose of these travels are too seek mates, to find prey or to find suitable den sites...not for exercise, relaxation or any other form of perceived happiness.

In the end, it's your snake and you can do anything you want to it. However your goal as a keeper should be to minimize stress.

When you place a ball python in a tub and he swims around for 5 minutes, keep in mind that being in motion = an indication of stress for a ball python...not the opposite. He is moving in an attempt to get somewhere where he doesn't have to move...out of the water. Ball pythons move only for specific reasons and a recreational swim is not one of them.

You can do lots of things with your snake, you can keep him in several ways. Whether in a tank or a tub, whether with a heat lamp or a heat pad, as long as you meet his husbandry requirements, you are doing okay by him.

However, you need to pay attention to signs of stress. In a ball python, one of those signs is restless behavior. A happy ball python is one that spends most of it's time feeling secure in a hide. A happy ball python is not one that is swimming (either frantically or lackadaisically) in the tub.

Again, your snake shows signs of contentment in several ways. One of them is to find a secure and happy place and then move as little as possible. In other words, you should probably change your assessment of what makes him happy.

I guess the question I have for you is: How do you know he likes it? What behavioral clues are you focusing on?

My BP always seems nervous when she's moving more than just her head. She'll crawl under the first thing she sees and immediately try to curl up again.

I base whether my reptiles 'enjoy' something or not on whether they'll seek it out. For example, if I put a large tub of water in my garters' enclosures they will repeatedly seek it out and go swimming. I think it's safe to say they 'enjoy' it since it fulfills an instinct to seek out prey in water. If I did that for my BP I get the feeling she'd probably ignore it until she was thirsty.

Well I figured out today (in the worst way) that it was time to feed. He damn near bit me. So I would assume he was looking for prey.

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Originally Posted by MontyAndMelissa

Well I figured out today (in the worst way) that it was time to feed. He damn near bit me. So I would assume he was looking for prey.

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Well you probably know why, seeing as you are the snake whisperer and all :rofl::rofl::rofl:

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Originally Posted by albinos_rule

Well you probably know why, seeing as you are the snake whisperer and all :rofl::rofl::rofl:

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You're hilarious. If you would really like to tell me what my snake was, since you know it all, come place your hand in his tank.