My BP just kind of chills in one hide for several hours.

This is my first BP and I don't know if I'm just over thinking it or something. But my little guy just kind of stays in one hide for a long time. I haven't had him but a couple of days now. But he doesn't really seem to move around a whole lot. He just kind of stays in his cold side hide for most of the time (Ranges from 76-79 F on the cold side and 85-92 F on warm side). Is it normal for them to kind of just stick to one side for multiple hours? I got him directly from the breeder also if that makes a difference.

yes, this is normal. BPs are not very active, especially during the day. don't be surprised if he stays in one place for multiple days at a time. :)

"a hiding ball is a happy ball."
completely normal ball python behavior. your temps sound fine, you're just overthinking. 😀

also, welcome to the forum!

Mine tends to stay on the cool side during the night and moves to the warm side at night. "A hiding ball is a happy ball" :gj:

Edit: tttaylorrr you beat me to it! Haha

They spend 9/10s of their life hiding.

Sounds perfectly fine to me. Mine hide a ton during the day, then like to try and wake me up at night or disturb me late afternoon when I'm playing games. :rolleyes:

As everyone as mentioned you won't see them much during the day as they're nocturnal but in the evenings they're far more active IF there's something to climb over or through , add a few branches and they will spend hours in them in the evenings ...

Thank y'all very much! Made me feel a lot more at ease with several people saying this! :D

Yup, that's a good sign. He's settling in and getting comfy. My BP got a little more active after acclimating to his new environment, getting a few meals in him and getting comfortable with me. He's still in his hide all day, every day, and most of the night, but that's what BPs do. He has a few branches to climb on, but doesn't use them all that often, he mostly just roams a bit when he comes out at night and then settles back into one of his hides for a while. I leave the branches in there so he at least has the option to climb when he wants to. :D

Ball pythons are like pet rocks....they don't do much!
He sounds fine. Now, if he were trying to escape all the time, that's a problem.
Mine like the cold side better too but will occasionally go to the hot side. They know what to do.

Now this isn't aimed at anyone in here as we don't know what their setups are like .... BUT there are so many threads and posts around showing a Royal / Ball python in his Viv ( more commonly a RUB ) kept on kitchen roll , a hide and a little water bowl and then a comment at the end like " I love my little guy but I just wish he'd do something , he just stays in his hide all day " !!!

My question is 'what the devil is he supposed to do in that set up ? '

If you add logs and branches and fix some fake foliage against the walls you'd see that they're actually very interesting and will climb for hours ( in the evenings ) .

Some even criticise them for only making an appearance in the evening despite Royals being nocturnal .

Rant over . Apologies .


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When I first got mine, he would come out at 10 pm on the dot and explore the cage for about an hour, but now that he's settled in, he's in the hide most of the time. In the morning he's always in the opposite of whichever hide he was in when I went to bed.

Even my kids that are in their featureless quarantine tubs will poke their head out and sit in the wait pose in the evening. So they're not entirely pet rocks, but yes they will be more encouraged to come out and do something if there is something to do.