Ball Python Quirks? (For Fun)

I know every animal has their own little personalities, I have owned a lot of them. But my Ball Python had me so worried for a while I was doing things wrong, until I learned that's just how he is. So I'm curious was little quirks or silly things your babies do.
Loki is my three year old male Pastel Super Stripe. 1. He practically lives on his cool side, no matter what temp I put the warm on. (everything is ideal) 2. He also loves to splash his water everywhere, or just knock his bowl over entirely. 3. I learned recently he'll soak for about two months before he goes into shed. (again, humidity ideal) and 4. He will sometimes push his hides around!
I have come to the conclusion I have a "drama queen" who loves attention and hates my decorating.

I have one that lives on his cool side also. He will cruise through his hide on the warm side and then go get back in his hide on the cool side. Hides are identical but he likes it cooler I guess. My other one, she will venture out only when she’s hungry, she will go to the middle of the tank and set there for hours staring. Once you feed her she is back in the cave. She had her first shed this morning so she has that new snake look again.


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Oh yeah, they have their little quirks, and personalities.

My boy Tyson has one that I laugh at all the time. Last winter I added a second water bowl to boost humidity. It's a simple square, plastic dog bowl that's hollowed out underneath. You can get them at Wal-Mart for about a dollar. Well, I placed it on top of his RBI hide, thinking it would basically be ignored but help with humidity. Nope! Tyson likes to "hide" under it, though he doesn't even almost fit. He ends up lifting the hide up, so that at least half of his body is exposed, but his head is usually hidden (unless he's getting hungry) so he thinks he's hiding. Often times his body is draped over the side of the RBI hide basically falling off. It's too funny. I've tried to snap photos, but the glass always creates a glare and crappy pics.

I always get home late from work (2am+) and check the rack. So falling into habit I'll find some cruising their tubs. My killer bee fire is always doing her weirdo dances. She's derpy as hell with the wobble but its cute to see her all excited. I'll check her tub, replace any soiled paper and rinse her hide and she's back in relaxing.
My lesser male moves his hide around constantly. Sometimes I find it over the water bowl. Its like they're waiting for me to get home to interact with them, then they're back in the hide satisfied.

They for sure all have personalities!

My albino male strictly eats once a month and no more. If I even try to offer after 2-3 weeks after his last meal, he will refuse 100% of the time.

My BEL is the most chill snake to possibly ever exist- he doesn't seem to comprehend fear or danger, and doesn't experience nervousness. I'm pretty sure 30 children could be man-handling him and a bomb could go off 10 feet away and he wouldn't even notice. He also definitely would have been taken out by natural selection years ago if he was born in the wild. LOL

My sterling is exceedingly wary, and she tends to writhe in fear during handling.

They all push their hides and bowls and decor around during night time exploring- that's just a general snake thing. My BEL seems to be the most active at night.

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Originally Posted by Sirus Uno

I always get home late from work (2am+) and check the rack. So falling into habit I'll find some cruising their tubs. My killer bee fire is always doing her weirdo dances. She's derpy as hell with the wobble but its cute to see her all excited. I'll check her tub, replace any soiled paper and rinse her hide and she's back in relaxing.
My lesser male moves his hide around constantly. Sometimes I find it over the water bowl. Its like they're waiting for me to get home to interact with them, then they're back in the hide satisfied.

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I get home about midnight and sometimes Loki will be out and about. I know he wants to be held when he is nudging the top of his tank. If I open it, he'll curl around my wrist and slither up my arm.
I like the wobble, I think it's cute.

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Originally Posted by Mb80

I have one that lives on his cool side also. He will cruise through his hide on the warm side and then go get back in his hide on the cool side. Hides are identical but he likes it cooler I guess. My other one, she will venture out only when she’s hungry, she will go to the middle of the tank and set there for hours staring. Once you feed her she is back in the cave. She had her first shed this morning so she has that new snake look again.

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Yea, that living on the cool side thing scared me so bad when I first got him! Even after eating he'll stay on his cool side. SOMETIMES He'll hang out in his warm for a couple hours, then right back to the cool.

ALSO TO ADD. Loki refuses proper sized hides. I realized after I brought him home his hides were too small. But he'll curl up in them, some sticking out. And apparently that's fine! I got him some good sized ones, where he'd actually fit, and he'd rather sit in the open and stare at me. Once I put the smaller ones back, he curled up in them. Like, why do you feel safer with some of your body hanging out?

Aww come on guys! I wanna know more silly things your repti-babies do!

Ehh well, My own Regina has the cool hide hang out thing, she is also the chillest thing around I have a 7 year old sister who just adores her while also having a 80lb black lab roaming looking for anything that is smaller than him to play with(he chills out with house pets after awhile) But even with all this she just sits there and slithers around your arm at least on everyone else, I swear this one has me marked, because she become the worlds first living "Bracelet." On me EVERY time I handle her.

Now as for the albino I got he lives in his hot side :\ and is a decent bit nervous(He actually struck me but, I was secretly a ninja. May have also had a super shield known as a poop scoop!)he hangs at with his head and neck outside his hide 24/7 and just stares outside the front glass with what I swear is a judgmental look every time then again..That is just his face xD

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Originally Posted by mischiefneko

...Loki refuses proper sized hides. I realized after I brought him home his hides were too small. But he'll curl up in them, some sticking out. And apparently that's fine! I got him some good sized ones, where he'd actually fit, and he'd rather sit in the open and stare at me. Once I put the smaller ones back, he curled up in them.

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Looks like Loki and Pylox are clutchmates [emoji23][emoji23]
Pylox doesn't usually use his halflog that I give him, which is understandable, but when I tried giving her a bigger hidebox (pronounced: coconut shell) and even coaxed her by putting her head in the hidebox opening, she wouldn't get in and just go back to her undersized hide (again, shell).
She also tells me when he's recently pooped by basically crawling all over the tank and getting everywhere, except within a 20-cm radius of her "gifts".
Pylox also likes to drink apparently, which is always cute to watch. Every time I refill her waterbowl, no matter what, she'll come over and drink about half of it [emoji2]

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I want more silly stories guys! Don't let this thread die.... :D

Okay, my Clown and my Hypo Super Enchi have no fear either. The Clown since day one. The Hypo Super Enchi not at first, but now just as bad. No need for a hide, they’re both to happy to just watch me. Hang out in the middle of tank with out a care. Lay on the hide, appear to look like they are ambush hunting on the side of their water dish. And both are very good about looking like they never seen a mouse. My Pied likes to hang in his water dish every third shed or so, just enough to make me question everything. Just my Black Pastel Pin knows he is supposed to be a little shy.

One of my snakes will absolutely refuse to get near a fully white rat. This has happened five or six times so, yes, I can be taught!

If it's got even a little brown on it, down it goes. But the pure white rat ends up having to go to the other snake who, if she could, would wag her tail she's so happy to see that rat! lol

<><Peace

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Originally Posted by dadofsix

... to the other snake who, if she could, would wag her tail she's so happy to see that rat! lol

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Actually, they can wag their tails. Females do it sometimes before breeding. That's my contribution to the thread. You know your girls are in the mood when you put the male in and they start wagging their tails back and forth and nudging up against the male. Some of my girls are really enthusiastic and it's fun to watch... right up untill they start peeing. Then it's just kinda gross.

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Originally Posted by dadofsix

One of my snakes will absolutely refuse to get near a fully white rat. This has happened five or six times so, yes, I can be taught!

If it's got even a little brown on it, down it goes. But the pure white rat ends up having to go to the other snake who, if she could, would wag her tail she's so happy to see that rat! lol

<><Peace

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Loki gets excited as soon as he smells the rat. He'll come out of his hide and start nudging the top the of tank. Though! I will get the tongs and open the tank, and Loki then start like coming out of his house. (Even though I hold the rat in the tank) It looks like he looks at my arm but I hold the rat by the tail, so it isn't near me. It gets a little startling at times.
Never been bitten by him though

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Originally Posted by mischiefneko

Loki gets excited as soon as he smells the rat. He'll come out of his hide and start nudging the top the of tank. Though! I will get the tongs and open the tank, and Loki then start like coming out of his house. (Even though I hold the rat in the tank) It looks like he looks at my arm but I hold the rat by the tail, so it isn't near me. It gets a little startling at times.
Never been bitten by him though

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You may want to consider getting long feeding tweezers or feeding tongs to hold the rat with when introducing it to your snake. If you're holding the rat by the tail you have rat scent on you. If your hand is a wee bit warmer than the rat . . . kapow!!!

It doesn't really hurt -- it's more startling than anything. And it's happened to a lot of us on this forum. But the danger can be minimized by NOT using your hands to present food to your snake.

<><Peace

My snake has a favorite wall. When she's slithering around on my bed she always goes up to this one particular spot on the wall and periscopes her little head up and will just sit there staring for 3-5 minutes. I don't know if there's some vibrations she can sense or warm pipes running there or whatever, but she's fascinated. It's a true love affair.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mischiefneko

Loki gets excited as soon as he smells the rat. He'll come out of his hide and start nudging the top the of tank. Though! I will get the tongs and open the tank, and Loki then start like coming out of his house. (Even though I hold the rat in the tank) It looks like he looks at my arm but I hold the rat by the tail, so it isn't near me. It gets a little startling at times.
Never been bitten by him though

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Ooops, I reread your reply and realized that somehow I missed that you were, in fact, using tongs. My bad! I can only attribute it to an aggravated case of caffeine depletion. lol

<><Peace

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Originally Posted by dadofsix

You may want to consider getting long feeding tweezers or feeding tongs to hold the rat with when introducing it to your snake. If you're holding the rat by the tail you have rat scent on you. If your hand is a wee bit warmer than the rat . . . kapow!!!

It doesn't really hurt -- it's more startling than anything. And it's happened to a lot of us on this forum. But the danger can be minimized by NOT using your hands to present food to your snake.

<><Peace

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Sorry for the misunderstanding. I do use feeding tongs and with the tongs I hold the rat by the tail. I, at no point, touch the rat. So it is odd to me that sometimes he seems to eye my hand a foot away from him and not the rat I'm dangling two inches in front of him.

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Originally Posted by purpleroan

My snake has a favorite wall. When she's slithering around on my bed she always goes up to this one particular spot on the wall and periscopes her little head up and will just sit there staring for 3-5 minutes. I don't know if there's some vibrations she can sense or warm pipes running there or whatever, but she's fascinated. It's a true love affair.

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Loki just wants to get down to the ground. I'll hold him while I sit on my bed, then he'll slither until he's on my bed. Then he'll try to get down onto the ground. (My mattress and box spring are on the floor) People keep telling me to get him branches or things to climb but he has ZERO interest in climbing. He won't hang out around my neck, but he'll chill in my lap if I'm sitting Indian styled.

Sometimes Florence sleeps with her hide ON HER! Or she will sleep with half her body poking out of her hide. We've had her on the bed a few times and she'll hide her head under the blankets, but the long half of her body will still be sticking out. We don't have the heart to tell her we can still see her :p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dadofsix

One of my snakes will absolutely refuse to get near a fully white rat. This has happened five or six times so, yes, I can be taught!

If it's got even a little brown on it, down it goes. But the pure white rat ends up having to go to the other snake who, if she could, would wag her tail she's so happy to see that rat! lol

<><Peace

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Loki doesn't seem to like muli-colored rats! Typically the shop I get the rats from are either black or white, down it goes in a couple minutes. But I tried to feed him a half white, half gray rat and he took almost ten minutes to eat!! This past week it was black with some white markings, he stared at it for a solid minute before he even attacked it.

Mine dislikes male rats. He will eat them when he's really hungry, but the surest way to break a fast for him is to offer a female rat. Last winter I only had males left in the freezer and he went on strike for 67 days - refusing every rat offered until I think he was too hungry to care.

He will also strike a female nearly as soon as I get the tongs in the cage but will stare at a male and seem undecided for a bit, usually I have to rewarm it at least once and sometimes also brain it for him to eat.

New hides also apparently equal new positions for sleeping...these hides are easily big enough for him to fit all the way. First pic is hot hide, second is cool hide. He's just strange....

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...617/image0.jpg

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/450442571596955653/507674318101151752/image0.jpg

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

They for sure all have personalities!

My albino male strictly eats once a month and no more. If I even try to offer after 2-3 weeks after his last meal, he will refuse 100% of the time.

My BEL is the most chill snake to possibly ever exist- he doesn't seem to comprehend fear or danger, and doesn't experience nervousness. I'm pretty sure 30 children could be man-handling him and a bomb could go off 10 feet away and he wouldn't even notice. He also definitely would have been taken out by natural selection years ago if he was born in the wild. LOL

My sterling is exceedingly wary, and she tends to writhe in fear during handling.

They all push their hides and bowls and decor around during night time exploring- that's just a general snake thing. My BEL seems to be the most active at night.

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Mine is similar. Her food response is insatiable but her "not be food" response is non existent. I've never even seen her ball up outside of the hides. I think she would be somethings lunch in a quick hurry. I don't know if it's common or not but she loves to hang out on my shoulders whether I'm standing or laying down watching tv. Everytime I pull her out she races to get up there then she just kind lazily lays on my head and shoulders. Likes to watch tv too haha. Not sure if she's interested in the heat coming off it or what but she stares intently.

mine likes to go thru my hair( I have long hair so it gets so tangled bc of that hahah ) or hang around my neck, he'll also not eat in front of people, anyone else have funny stories about ur snakes? :):P

Ever since Loki finally settled in his bigger house, he has a new way of "sitting" He'll fold his body in half in his half log, with his head on the further side, then lay his head and a couple inches of neck on top of the hide. He'll sit like that for HOURS and just watch the world.

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Originally Posted by mischiefneko

Ever since Loki finally settled in his bigger house, he has a new way of "sitting" He'll fold his body in half in his half log, with his head on the further side, then lay his head and a couple inches of neck on top of the hide. He'll sit like that for HOURS and just watch the world.

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Yep, Loki and Pylox are definitely clutchmates, she does the exact same thing [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

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Boops do tend to disencourage them from sitting for too long though :D

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Not a quirk really....just, they don't have them.
But I wish they had EYELIDS!
I never know if he's really asleep or spyin on me ! [emoji102]

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

They for sure all have personalities!

My albino male strictly eats once a month and no more. If I even try to offer after 2-3 weeks after his last meal, he will refuse 100% of the time.

My BEL is the most chill snake to possibly ever exist- he doesn't seem to comprehend fear or danger, and doesn't experience nervousness. I'm pretty sure 30 children could be man-handling him and a bomb could go off 10 feet away and he wouldn't even notice. He also definitely would have been taken out by natural selection years ago if he was born in the wild. LOL

My sterling is exceedingly wary, and she tends to writhe in fear during handling.

They all push their hides and bowls and decor around during night time exploring- that's just a general snake thing. My BEL seems to be the most active at night.

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My two Albinos will only eat every 12days or so ...


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My girl Pancake would soak in her water bowl a lot too last Winter! Her temps/humidity were spot on and she didn't have mites but for almost two months straight she'd just lay in her water dish. Sometimes she'd submerge completely and it scared me a bit. She stopped doing it though. Now she just likes to stick her head in and blow bubbles. She also like to watch TV with me and will do the cobra pose to get a better look at it. XD

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Originally Posted by Pancake's Momma

My girl Pancake would soak in her water bowl a lot too last Winter! Her temps/humidity were spot on and she didn't have mites but for almost two months straight she'd just lay in her water dish. Sometimes she'd submerge completely and it scared me a bit. She stopped doing it though. Now she just likes to stick her head in and blow bubbles. She also like to watch TV with me and will do the cobra pose to get a better look at it. XD

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Awwww, my kinda snake

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Originally Posted by Tonald Drump

Boops do tend to disencourage them from sitting for too long though :D

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Loki doesn't mind boops! He doesn't like the top of his head or the head lumps touched, but boops are okay. Unless he's about to shed or in shed, then he hides his face and hisses.

I hate boops.....who that heck even made that up?!?!?

If I EVER booped mine, I hope he does bite me. Lol

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He seems to like my dressing gown as he will lay on and chill if I’m wearing anything else he tries to explore.

If he gets a bit of stuck shed I put him on the dressing gown and he lets me pretty much do what I want.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...348d17f4a3.jpg

Don’t know why but he becomes very docile if he is on it.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jamiekerk

He seems to like my dressing gown as he will lay on and chill if I’m wearing anything else he tries to explore.

If he gets a bit of stuck shed I put him on the dressing gown and he lets me pretty much do what I want.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...348d17f4a3.jpg

Don’t know why but he becomes very docile if he is on it.


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He has a thing for gowns [emoji16]
Pretty boy

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My female vanilla will (and I’ve seen it on several occasions) lay stretched out clear across the tank with her head in the warm hide and her tail in the cool hide! Actually it could be the other way around hard to tell which end is which! I’ve got a coral glow pastave male that loved small hides. He looked like a turtle because the hide was no where near big enough. But if I took it out and put the bigger one in he would sit in middle of tank and just stare at me. He is a tank re-arranger too. Everything gets moved every night.

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Originally Posted by mischiefneko

Loki doesn't mind boops! He doesn't like the top of his head or the head lumps touched, but boops are okay. Unless he's about to shed or in shed, then he hides his face and hisses.

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Lucky you! Unless Pylox is super tired, she'll jerk away slightly when I boop her. She's basically a cute potato when she's tired though so meh :D

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New Update! I just got my second Ball Python today! He's a two year old Spider morph. Previous owner was moving and couldn't take him. I'm still learning some of his quirks but I've noticed two already. He is not headshy in the least. I can pet his head and boop him and he doesn't care. He licked my finger as I went to boop. He also wiggles his body *underneath* the edges of his half log hide. So his hide is on him.
(not named yet)

I have gotten my first ball python 9 days ago, and after a year of research I never really realized they could have quirks xD until I actuall got Ophidio. He was kind of an unexpected rescue so the first few says all he did was hide, for like 5 straight days I didnt see him. And then i upgraded his tank that he came with, bigger heating pad, better hides, all he had was a half log, and some cork bark. The more "clutter" I add, the more comfortable he seems, now he just sits half in his cool side hide and half out, but the half that is out he stands? Like a cobra how they just o.o and watches everywhere. At first I thought it might be a URI because of how long he stays up, but theres no yawning or wheezing or excess mucus, he just likes to stand up while sitting half in and half out of his hide.

I have a super pastel female that also loves her cool side and every time I spot clean I turn her hide where I can see inside it from the front of her enclosure. Well every time I do this when I wake up in the morning she has spun it around where the openeing is now facing the back of her enclosure....I guess she wants her privacy! :P