Trying to escape?

My bp is around 6 months old, hasn't eaten in almost three weeks and is constantly trying to escape his enclosure. His temps are 89-91 hot side 79-80 cool side, still having some humidity issues but as long as I spray down the tank few times a day it stays around 50%. I attempted to feed him last Tuesday & he completely refused it and just kept trying to escape the enclosure while I offered a mouse.
Why is he trying to escape, am I doing something horribly wrong & I just don't know it?

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

How long have you had him? What substrate are you using and how deep is it? When was the last time you cleaned the tank? Do you ever allow him out of the tank?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Taying

How long have you had him? What substrate are you using and how deep is it? When was the last time you cleaned the tank? Do you ever allow him out of the tank?

---

Had him since the beginning of August and up until three weeks ago he's been an amazing eater, I'm using eco earth and it's about 2 1/2 inches deep, I haven't done a full clean since I moved him into a new enclosure around mid November, and he hasn't been out since he stopped eating because I don't want to stress him out, but before that I handled him a few times a week

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

Also, what does he have for hides? What kind, how big is the opening, how snugly can he fit into them, at least 2 (one warm & one cool side of cage)-????

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Also, what does he have for hides? What kind, how big is the opening, how snugly can he fit into them, at least 2 (one warm & one cool side of cage)-????

---

He has two tupperware hides, one on each side, the openings are fairly small but he can still easily fit through, they're a tad bit big for him but when he's in there his body is touching the top

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

Every time I think mine is try to escape, she poops. She climbs like crazy for a day, then poops. Could be what’s going on here. Maybe the movement helps in that process?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jbabycsx

Every time I think mine is try to escape, she poops. She climbs like crazy for a day, then poops. Could be what’s going on here. Maybe the movement helps in that process?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

---

That, or they don't want to defecate where they sleep? "Get me outa here! Gasp!" LOL

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jbabycsx

Every time I think mine is try to escape, she poops. She climbs like crazy for a day, then poops. Could be what’s going on here. Maybe the movement helps in that process?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

---

I don't know if that's what's going on with my guy, I think he's already pooped out all the food in his system

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ditto

Had him since the beginning of August and up until three weeks ago he's been an amazing eater, I'm using eco earth and it's about 2 1/2 inches deep, I haven't done a full clean since I moved him into a new enclosure around mid November, and he hasn't been out since he stopped eating because I don't want to stress him out, but before that I handled him a few times a week

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

---

Just for kicks, try cleaning his cage, waiting a few days, then offering food when he is peeking out of his hide at night.
I can remember reading a long article where this seemed to be a tactic that worked, for whatever reasons. Don't think you have much to lose by trying either?

Snakes often get restless when they're hungry, & they will never explain to us poor humans exactly what they're "thinking", but something is turning off his
appetite: cannot say if the "clean cage" theory will work, but if he was feeding before then he shouldn't be stressing about his cage location or minimal handling.

Unless- is there anything new in his cage or cage location?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Snakes often get restless when they're hungry, & they will never explain to us poor humans exactly what they're "thinking", but something is turning off his
appetite: cannot say if the "clean cage" theory will work, but if he was feeding before then he shouldn't be stressing about his cage location or minimal handling.

Unless- is there anything new in his cage or cage location?

---

I haven't added or changed anything in his enclosure since I first put him in there
Do you think humidity could be the issue? Like where it's at currently isn't terrible but it does fluctuate a bit because I have to spray it

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

Is 6 months too young to be looking for a girlfriend?

You never know, some humans develop at a younger age than others.

Okay I cleaned his tank out this afternoon and left him alone for a few hours, I just came back to check on him & he's hiding! Should I still attempt to feed tonight or wait a day or two?

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

I dunno...I'd probably give him a couple days, unless you find him peeking out & really seeming to wish for some prey to hop by?

(And yes, I think 6 mos. is too young for him to be looking for a girlfriend.)

I also don't think humidity is the issue...'nature' isn't constant either y'know...

Have you changed anything with his food? Type, size, source, heating, etc? Try to make sure you offer appropriately sized prey and heat it thoroughly without cooking it. Sometimes when my guy doesn't strike, I'll leave his food on top of his hot hide for a couple hours and he'll sometimes eat it that way. If he still ignores it, I'll throw it out for food safety concerns, but sometimes it works. I also might suggest weighing your snake every week to make sure he isn't losing too much weight while he isn't eating. Good luck!

Sent from my SM-J327P using Tapatalk

Thank you guys for all your help, and apologies for my late update, I've been sick the past few days.
I decided to go ahead and try to feed him on Monday as planned and he took it like a champ! I'm obviously super excited about it, though I'm also still curious about what caused him to stop eating in the first place

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

Hope you're feeling much better now? Lots of stuff going around, or so I hear? That's awesome that he didn't give you a hard time & just ate..."good snakey"!

Don't lose too much sleep over his missed meal...it's pretty normal for snakes (especially BPs) to just do that now & then. And I just re-read the original post-
many snakes (esp. BPs) will refuse food if it's offered when they're cruising the cage, because they don't feel secure (getting caught in the open while trying
to kill & eat prey puts THEM at risk to be preyed upon). Next time wait to offer food until he's in his hide at night & peeking out...BPs prefer to ambush prey.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Hope you're feeling much better now? Lots of stuff going around, or so I hear? That's awesome that he didn't give you a hard time & just ate..."good snakey"!

Don't lose too much sleep over his missed meal...it's pretty normal for snakes (especially BPs) to just do that now & then. And I just re-read the original post-
many snakes (esp. BPs) will refuse food if it's offered when they're cruising the cage, because they don't feel secure (getting caught in the open while trying
to kill & eat prey puts THEM at risk to be preyed upon). Next time wait to offer food until he's in his hide at night & peeking out...BPs prefer to ambush prey.

---

Practically everyone I know is sick or was recently, there's something in the air!

And yes, I know I that this is kind of what ball pythons are famous for and I did my best to prepare myself for the inevitable, but when it actually happened I pretty much immediately forgot everything I'd read about what to do in this situation lol, though I did TRY not to stress too much

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk