Hyperactive Snake Problem?

So my male BP (Kahlua) has been acting nuts, and I cannot figure out why. He is super hyperactive in his tank- ALL THE TIME! I've never seen this from a bp before, because usually they're pretty chill. He never goes in his hide, although he know's it's there and pretty spends most of the day and night slinking around his tank and trying to push the lid off. The few times I have seen him rest are either in his water dish or on top of his hide. He also stopped eating and has no interest in his food.

The temperature and humidity in both the room and the tank are perfect, although I have tried raising and lowering them at different times to see if it helped. It didn't


Background info:
I had bought him in May with a female, and they had been living together their entire lives, so I kept them together in a large 55 gallon tank. Finally in late November I sold her because they had started locking up and I wasn't ready for eggs. At that point I moved most of my other ball pythons into another building for convenience, and Kahlua was the only one who stayed in my room, because he's my spoiled, pampered pet. I moved him into a different (slightly smaller tank) after I had completely cleaned and sterilized it, and he's been acting nuts ever since.

Is this normal? Should I be concerned?

Conclusions:

A. There is something wrong with the way his tank is set up, and it's causing him deep turmoil
B. Because it's breeding season and he's crazy in the mood
C. He's lonely and cannot sleep until he find a lovely lady to share his tank with again
D. He wants us to spend more time together
E. The tank still smells like the last male that lived in there and it's send him into a rage
F. Life in Pennsylvania is boring and he needs an adventure

Help?

Do you have a picture of your setup? Sounds kind of unusual to me. I mean, some cruising the tank is cool, but non stop and not eating is a little worrisome.

Could have something to do with breeding season, could have something to do with the enclosure.

I doubt its the smell of the enclosure if you cleaned it.

Your list is funny. lol E. All of the above? lol

http://i61.tinypic.com/n1uhlc.jpg

Thanks! Here's a picture of his setup right now. I use a infrared lamp to heat the tank, which keeps a nice temperature gradiant with the center of the tank being the warmer basking spot, and the edges being slightly cooler. There's also a humidifier on the floor. He was actually sitting still for me to take the picture, which is unusual.

Since this is his first time being in a tank alone, I'm wondering if he is looking for another snake. I rescued him along with the female he lived with because the guy who owned them wasn't feeding them enough and they were starving. So he was used to living with her for the past two years.

The first thing that jumps out at me is the hide. It looks way too big for him. Maybe try getting some smaller ones that touch him on all sides. 2 identical hides would be splendid.

You can also add in some fake plants or crumpled paper for cover. Covering the back and sides of the tank with paper or foam core would also be a good idea.

I think his main issue is security. Not missing having another snake. I don't think they really care that much lol.

Do you have any thermometers in there?

Thanks, I will try all of that and see if it helps.

I do have two thermometers in there. One on the ground in the middle by the driftwood thing and one on the side behind the hide

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...=1#post2308840

My post is long and full of hot air, but it should give you enough to go on.

AHHHH!!!! I have spent the day following all and every suggestion that has been made, and it has made absolutely no difference. He has a smaller hide, more stuff in his tank to hide or burrow in, a sheet wrapped around 3 sides for more privacy and I checked and double checked that the substrate was clean, there was no scent/odor in the tank. But yet he is still not happy!

He's fine and happy when he's out with me, but as soon as I put him back in he's miserable and trying to escape. I feel horrible

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

The first thing that jumps out at me is the hide. It looks way too big for him. Maybe try getting some smaller ones that touch him on all sides. 2 identical hides would be splendid.

You can also add in some fake plants or crumpled paper for cover. Covering the back and sides of the tank with paper or foam core would also be a good idea.

I think his main issue is security. Not missing having another snake. I don't think they really care that much lol.

Do you have any thermometers in there?

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in addition to this, try moving the light off to one side (it may be possible he is fleeing the heat or attempting to find a "perfect temp.") also soaking in the water may be a sign off mites. with mites come odd acting snakes. so look into those if you belive it will help.
P.S. i have no idea how you are keeping up humidity, so i would double check it (especially because he is soaking) (wire lid +heat lamp= no humidity)
let us know how that goes :)

Don't feel horrible. Give him a few days to settle in with the new arrangement. It takes some time for them to get comfy with every change you make.

I know it sounds mean but... That enclosure sucks.

Im sorry, its just i dont want to toot my own horn but i have the best enclosure u can build IMO, and when i see yours i just want to do a complete make over so bad!! but thats not because im the best or something, its just ive always been OCD about things im really into, take that and the fact that when i first got Vic i just so happened to land a new way better paying job, equals sparing no expense when building his enclosure. I have all the bells and whistles

With that said, three main things (besides checking for mites)

1. Three side black out with contact paper
2. 2 identical more proper hides one opposite side of another and water sish in between
3. Digital thermometer/hygro to

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FrankieCarbone

I know it sounds mean but... That enclosure sucks.

Im sorry, its just i dont want to toot my own horn but i have the best enclosure u can build IMO, and when i see yours i just want to do a complete make over so bad!! but thats not because im the best or something, its just ive always been OCD about things im really into, take that and the fact that when i first got Vic i just so happened to land a new way better paying job, equals sparing no expense when building his enclosure. I have all the bells and whistles

With that said, three main things (besides checking for mites)

1. Three side black out with contact paper
2. 2 identical more proper hides one opposite side of another and water sish in between
3. Digital thermometer/hygro to

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When I saw this it made me sick ... Many people come to this site for help to better the quality of life for their animals, usually pictures are the best way for us to get an idea of what a problem may be and how to help someone and when ignorant spoken people such as yourself are seen belittling others because of what they do or don't have it can discourage others from wanting to post questions or pictures of theirs and the only thing it is doing at that point is hurting the animals because someone was not taught if you don't have anything nice or helpful to say then don't say anything at all ..... That being said I would LOVE to see a picture of this "best enclosure that can be built" of yours :soapbx::2cent::angered:

Whoah there...

While the enclosure of the OP might not be the most beautiful and intricate one I've seen, it surely is not the worst and I can guarantee the snake does not care about how much you spent decorating its enclosure. lol.

My enclosure is in my profile pics

T.Sauers your a idiot.

Hey i made a post, i was joking with the guy, and made it perfectly clear i was joking, and then threw in some suggestions to help. I did not come in here and say he should give up because he is a fool, relax. I know when i first put up MY first enclosure when i got Vic 3 years ago i got a couple of harsh comments. Such as "give your bp to somebody who will take better care of it! "you dont know what ur doing!" and "dont you read the care sheet?!" guess what i took it as advice and made things better.


But, there will always be a person out there like u, like the guitar playing teacher in beavis and butthead.

That post i made made u sick? Really? With so much bad going on right now THAT made u sick? Wow.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Whoah there...

While the enclosure of the OP might not be the most beautiful and intricate one I've seen, it surely is not the worst and I can guarantee the snake does not care about how much you spent decorating its enclosure. lol.

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I really didt mean how it looks, i just saw alot of important things missing, like 2 hides, a proper temp reading device, thermostat. It was so wide and open and not "claustrophobic" like BP's like it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FrankieCarbone

I really didt mean how it looks, i just saw alot of important things missing, like 2 hides, a proper temp reading device, thermostat. It was so wide and open and not "claustrophobic" like BP's like it.

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:sabduel:

No need to be calling other people idiots.

No need to be telling people their enclosures suck.

People come here to learn. They are looking for advice on how to be a better keeper. I also got a lot of harsh criticism in the beginning, and you know what helped the most? The people who were nice, not the people who were harsher than they needed to be. I even had a member send me a bunch of supplies through the mail!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

:sabduel:

No need to be calling other people idiots.

No need to be telling people their enclosures suck.

People come here to learn. They are looking for advice on how to be a better keeper. I also got a lot of harsh criticism in the beginning, and you know what helped the most? The people who were nice, not the people who were harsher than they needed to be. I even had a member send me a bunch of supplies through the mail!

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Your right, i take what i said back except the idiot thing, because anybody who would call somebody else ignorant so quickly over a little joke is a idiot in my opinion.

But your right, even though the harsh comments i received in the beginning did not steer me away from coming back here or giving up on my BP. I did prefer the nicer folks comments better..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FrankieCarbone

...over a little joke...

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Which part of your post hinted at you being joking versus openly mocking and bragging on yourself? You got at least two people to react like this :O instead of :rolleye2: almost immediately. Personally, I reacted the same way to your post but didn't say anything because, well, beating a dead horse and all...

I know my enclosure could definitely use improvement, which is why I came here for advice. People have given me some wonderful suggestions, which I have already started working on. While I would love to get boaphiles or build custom enclosures for them, at the moment I cannot afford to do so, however I'm trying to the best possible for right now. Also...you kept referencing a "he" - I'm a girl :)

Since I posted the picture I moved things around a little bit. Right now he has two smaller hides on the far ends, the water dish in the center and the back and sides of the tank covered with a towel. You can't really see but 2/3 of the top is covered with plastic to keep in humidity as well as a large humidifier that runs 24/7 in the room. I also just put in an order for some sphagnum moss which will not only give him more places to hide and burrow, but also improve the humidity even more

Thank you everybody for all the advice, I really appreciate it and it's given me a lot to work with! He seemed a little more chill this evening, so maybe it's helping??

The mites were something I hadn't thought of and made a lot of sense. I just looked really closely and couldn't see any, however I will probably try again tomorrow in the light of day. Although he did seem intrigued as to why I was staring at his face so closely