Solidus

Here's my gorgeous baby boy that I got today. He's super docile, but also a lot more inquisitive and active than I expected.

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I snapped a few quick pics when I took him home and put him in his tank, to my surprise he almost immediately climbed into one of the fake plants I used in his tank to add clutter in it lol.

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I honestly hadn't anticipated him to climb up into the artificial plants. He also peed, I don't know whether this is due to stress, or if this is a good sign? He hasn't shown any interest in his hides so far, which worries me a little, because the hides are size M (I did add crumpled paper towels inside to make it seem more crowded for him), I don't want to stress him out unnecessarily because I'm supposed to avoid handling for at least 2 days to let him settle in, I did manage to switch out his cool side hide to a smaller black box hide instead.

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Should I just calmly and quickly move him so I can switch out his hot spot hide to a smaller hide as well, or should I just let him stay where he wants to stay?

Right now, he's been chilling between his hide and the back of the tank, on the warm side (but hasn't gone inside of either hide yet). I really care about this little guy and want him to feel as secure as possible and just let him de-stress in peace. How long does it usually take for babys to go inside their hides? He explored the tank for a bit (climbing the fake plants) but did not seem to want to go inside the hides even though when I placed him in the tank I put him close to the opening of his warm side hide.

Any advice or thoughts anyone can give me? The back and sides of the tank are covered in black paper and I guess the plant next to him also helps provide security, but I would feel less anxious if he went into his hide, either the smaller one I managed to switch out on the cool side, or to the medium sized green one on his hot side. He appears to be okay, he's remaining still, and as far as I can see, he stopped breathing heavily (which I associated with stress, his sides were heaving slightly even back at the breeder when she took him out and let me handle him for a minute).

I really wanna switch out his smaller hide for him on the other side as well to encourage him going into either one of them, but like I said because I think the reason is either unfamiliarity or he feels the space is too open for him, I /don't/ want to disturb him now that he's seemed like he's calmed down and found a spot for himself even though he's not inside a hide.

Should I wait, or switch out the other hide, too? (Just for clarification, he does currently have two hides within his enclosure, the cool side hide is much smaller, I left the mid-sized hot side hide in there with him, because he's curled up behind it).

My caramel albino has never used her hides. She'll push them away with her body or rest on top or right next to them. She eats well, goes active at night, and sgeds fantastic. But even as a baby she never used her hides, and she has three to choose from that are proper sized for her. One of them she'll turn over somehow. But shes done this for three years now and has never gone off feed or seemed stressed. Maybe hes like Cara and prefers to be able to see everything? Lol.

Either way. Hes a very pretty baby [emoji7][emoji7]

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Mine is the same way, he is never in his hides, but everything else is perfect


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Omg maybe this is wishful thinking because of my inner nerd, but did you name him after Solidus Snake from Metal Gear Solid?

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Originally Posted by MissterDog

Omg maybe this is wishful thinking because of my inner nerd, but did you name him after Solidus Snake from Metal Gear Solid?

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I absolutely did, I was half waiting for someone to get the reference lol!!

I also contacted his breeder and asked for her opinion, I'll wait to see what she says, but hearing some of you guys also have snakes that don't really use their hides makes me feel a lot less anxious, I think I'll just let him chill. The temps and humidity are good, so my baby should be good.

I LOVE his name! I'm sad I didn't think of it first. 😭

And a very nice bp, congrats!

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Originally Posted by iddah

I absolutely did, I was half waiting for someone to get the reference lol!!

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Awesome!!! You get cool points from me! I was actually considering naming mine Raiden or Big Boss at one point. Nice to find a fellow Metal Gear fan :p

also congrats! Beautiful noodle <3

Congrats Iddah!! Solidus is a pretty solid snake ;)

Forgot to ask, what morph is Solidus?

In my experience, ball pythons introduced to a new environment will spend some time exploring around their enclosure. Sometimes this means that they might not end up utilizing the beautiful setups we create for them right away. Give your new snake some time to acclimate and he'll figure out how to use his hides eventually! Also I would recommend not handling him for at least 7 days, and get a meal in him first, before working on handling. I think the hides you have in there now will be fine until then. The less stress for a new snake, the better he'll be at figuring out his new enclosure. And remember - a hiding snake is a happy snake!


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@KayLynn: Thanks!!


@MissterDog: Thank you, if I ever end up getting more bp's, they'll be named Liquid and Ocelot, lol.


@RickyNY: LMAO. Solidus is a pretty solid snake, yeah. He's a spinner, I'm totally in love with that pattern/morph.

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Originally Posted by kenthebird

In my experience, ball pythons introduced to a new environment will spend some time exploring around their enclosure. Sometimes this means that they might not end up utilizing the beautiful setups we create for them right away. Give your new snake some time to acclimate and he'll figure out how to use his hides eventually! Also I would recommend not handling him for at least 7 days, and get a meal in him first, before working on handling. I think the hides you have in there now will be fine until then. The less stress for a new snake, the better he'll be at figuring out his new enclosure. And remember - a hiding snake is a happy snake!


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He's been exploring for a good amount, he immediately climbed up into the fake plants when I put him in the tank. He settled down for about an hour, but is now currently continuing exploring, I noticed the explored the back of the tank first, and then moved to the front, so I think he's definitely checking out his surroundings, I'm gonna let him do his thing. I did notice he's a bit calmer already tho so I think he'll adjust fine if I just leave him alone, which is what I'm going to do.

He has a pinkish tint to his belly so he's about to go into shed, I'm going to feed him Sunday evening, so I might just give him a couple of extra days just to be 100% sure he's settled in, his breeder recommended 2-3 days of not handling, but I will try to avoid handling for a longer period if that's better for the snake. I'm glad I provided him the fake plants and put black paper on the sides of his tank, they seem to be adding to his sense of safety because he was chilling behind his hot spot hide next to his water dish, partially hidden by the artificial foliage. He seems to be really into those fake plants lol.

I'm gonna give him at least a couple of days w/o disturbance from me, and only check in on him to make sure he's alright and everything's good inside his tank. I changed his water dish this morning so his water should be good for a few days, as well (when he's settled in, I will provide fresh water daily; right now, I just don't wanna stress him out and just let him be on his own). I'll also casually monitor his behavior, that way I can tell if he's calming down or not, but like I said, right now it's all about letting my baby adjust.

Ooo, congrats on the adorable baby! I love his pattern, is he a spinner?

Anyways i would just let him chill and explore for now, and if he doesn't show any signs of stress he might just be quirky. My boy normally uses his hides but sometimes he likes to be funny and chill on top of it or under his plants :P


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Originally Posted by BluuWolf

Ooo, congrats on the adorable baby! I love his pattern, is he a spinner?

Anyways i would just let him chill and explore for now, and if he doesn't show any signs of stress he might just be quirky. My boy normally uses his hides but sometimes he likes to be funny and chill on top of it or under his plants :P


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He's a spinner, I rly love the greenish, golden yellow color on him and that sick pattern. He's going into shed, I'll post more pics afterward, but he is so gorgeous.

That's what I'm gonna do, just let him chill, no added stress or disturbances. He did show some signs of stress inititially and was exploring /way/ more actively than he is right now (he settled down for approximately an hour, hiding/being curled up behind his hide, now he's out exploring again, but his movement seems a lot calmer and slower and his stress seems reduced than what it were hours ago). I'll keep an eye on him, but I'll leave him alone.

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Originally Posted by iddah

He's a spinner, I rly love the greenish, golden yellow color on him and that sick pattern. He's going into shed, I'll post more pics afterward, but he is so gorgeous.

That's what I'm gonna do, just let him chill, no added stress or disturbances. He did show some signs of stress inititially and was exploring /way/ more actively than he is right now (he settled down for approximately an hour, hiding/being curled up behind his hide, now he's out exploring again, but his movement seems a lot calmer and slower and his stress seems reduced than what it were hours ago). I'll keep an eye on him, but I'll leave him alone.

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Yeah, I love both the Spider and Pinestripe morphs and together they just look amazing! You're doing a good job, just hang in there. I know how hard it is to leave them alone for the first bit [emoji28]For sure keep us posted on how he does though, I'd love to see

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Originally Posted by BluuWolf

Yeah, I love both the Spider and Pinestripe morphs and together they just look amazing! You're doing a good job, just hang in there. I know how hard it is to leave them alone for the first bit [emoji28]For sure keep us posted on how he does though, I'd love to see

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Same, I love spider, from what I know a lot of people love it for the pattern but hate it for the neurological dysfunction/wobble. Solidus has a slight wobble as well, just a small head "tremor" and he did appear to turn upside down when he was climbing high up, but it's nothing major and he doesn't have it constantly, it's a lot more prevalent in spiders, and in some cases the snakes lose their wobble as they mature. I'm not bothered by his wobble as long as it doesn't affect his ability to function and he's able to strike/eat but his is hardly noticeable on him unless he's reaching up. His balance in general seems really well developed, just from watching him slither and squirm around in the fake plants lol.

UPDATE: Solidus checked out his cool hide, that's my boy!!!

Managed to snap a pic with my phone just in time, I was like "where did he go" at first when I didn't see him when I peaked into his tank til I saw his lil noodle face stick out lmao.

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Yeah, I don't own a spider myself yet ( I do hope to change this soon however :P) But from my own research I've decided for myself that the wobble doesn't effect their quality of life too much. Other then some difficulty striking at first they seem mostly fine to me except for some extreme cases of course and I see many amazing breeders and experienced owners that I trust on here producing and owning them. So I don't mind it, but this is just my opinion of course ^-^ Anyways I know your little guy will do just fine


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Originally Posted by BluuWolf

Yeah, I don't own a spider myself yet ( I do hope to change this soon however :P) But from my own research I've decided for myself that the wobble doesn't effect their quality of life too much. Other then some difficulty striking at first they seem mostly fine to me except for some extreme cases of course and I see many amazing breeders and experienced owners that I trust on here producing and owning them. So I don't mind it, but this is just my opinion of course ^-^ Anyways I know your little guy will do just fine


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Soli's breeder was rly forthcoming and open about him having a wobble, at first I had no idea what she meant until I researched it, I also came to the conclusion based on reading about it and doing research, that it does not have a negative or harmful impact on the snake's basic functions, bp's with a wobble still eat, defecate, shed, etc, same way as neurotypical snakes, it just seems to affect their balance when their head is not supported or on a flat surface (his sense of direction is fine, so is his body control, so it's rly not bad at all). Solidus only has a wobble when he's reaching up, as well as his head tremouring very slightly, it's barely noticeable and if you wouldn't know he had it, you wouldn't even notice it, it is that slight.

Fresh out of shed, tho he still hasn't eaten yet.

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Did some late night spot cleaning and snapped a couple of shots. My guy is doing really well. Beyond relieved I got him to accept prey items after moving him to a tub setup. He's the most chill little dude, I can't get over how cute his face is lol. Can't wait to watch him grow and gain weight and track his progress; still in love with his morph because that spinner pattern looks absolutely sick -- tho not so much in that horrible lighting, I'll take more pics again after his next shed cycle.

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Haven't posted anything new of Solidus in awhile, so here he is. Still eating like a champ and gaining weight/size.

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Last last pic of him is adorable! Like a little puppy!