Glass surfing

My ball python lucifer is 1 and a half years old So I posted not so long ago about my humidity levels they have since gone down all temps and humidity are fine I was feeding my boy 90g weaned every week (as told to do so by the breeder) my friend told me I should now be switching to every two weeks so I skipped this weeks (normally a Wednesday) since Monday it gets to 8pm and he’s glass surfing very active in his tank tongue flicking I havnt yet held him as he was shedding when I first got him then give him his first meal then had humidity issues should I just open his tank while he’s doing this and see if he wants to be out? Or is this feeding mode?


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The most important info is I think how much does your boy weigh?
He should be getting around 10% of his body weight. How long have you had him/has he been eating the 90g weaned?

It sounds more like he's looking for food to me. My boys will definitely be alert and ready to go when they know a meal is on the way soon.
If he's already on the lean side, weekly meals won't hurt for now. Bi-weekly meals are recommended if it looks like he's getting a bit more pudge to him. If he's pet only, then I would keep him on the leaner side.

I havnt managed to weigh him as of yet I compared his food size to the size of biggest part of his body.
He’s definitely pet only yes he’s on 90g weaners I’ve had him about a month now but he was in shed as soon as I got him.
The man I got him from said weekly it was my friend that said that’s a lot to be digesting in a week I’m very very new to ball pythons I’ve had corn snakes but not ball pythons


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Originally Posted by Bluebell_1990

...should I just open his tank while he’s doing this and see if he wants to be out? Or is this feeding mode?

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If he's surfing, he wants to get out. Whatever the reason, if you have the time to supervise him, I'd let him out. The enrichment and exercise can only benefit him.

I will try tonight to see if he wants to come out [emoji4] Thankyou


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So he hasn’t came out tonight [emoji53] I put a humid hide in his enclosure as he last shed on the 23rd and he’s been in there from last night all day and is still in there now


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Originally Posted by Bluebell_1990

So he hasn’t came out tonight [emoji53] I put a humid hide in his enclosure as he last shed on the 23rd and he’s been in there from last night all day and is still in there now

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You gave him what he wanted/needed. Good on you.

Thankyou! [emoji4]So maybe he was just looking for a humid spot to hide [emoji2368] I think I overthink everything little thing as I’m still new and worry all the time I’m not doing the right thing [emoji23]


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Figuring out what our snakes want gets easier with practice. Try not to panic- :D

I’m sure it will get easier and I’ll try not to panick every two minutes haha Thankyou for advice [emoji4]


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Originally Posted by Bluebell_1990

I’m sure it will get easier and I’ll try not to panick every two minutes haha Thankyou for advice [emoji4]


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It's great that you're paying attention & wanting to know- it's just that knowing the exact reason is a vague process of elimination & good guessing on your part.

Likely reasons include hunger, looking for more suitable accommodations (more privacy perhaps, or temperatures are too warm or cool), looking for a mate (in mature snakes) & plain old curiosity. I've seen my own snakes, when allowed to explore the floor, head un-erringly to the tiny bit of fresh air coming in thru the sliding glass door that was open just a crack. When we remember how good their sense of smell is, & how much they detect in fresh air, that makes sense.

For safety, when a snake adamantly wants out, it's good to first double-check the temperatures- sometimes a probe gets moved (or other malfunction) & excessive heat can injure or kill your pet. Then consider the other possibilities. Hunger can wait a little while- but safety might not- also make sure the water bowl isn't dry -sometimes snakes spill them or do things with substrate that makes the water wick out & evaporate.

Thankyou so much that’s very helpful advice I went through checked all the enclosure all temps and everything I change his water every couple of days and do spot check and daily temp checks so it only came down to 3 things wanting to explore hunger or looking for a humid place to hide although since I’ve just changed his feeding to every two weeks he might still be hungry as he gets used to this but humid hide seemed to do the trick for him I’m still looking into the feeding though as he’s only 1 and a half and I’m unclear on if I should be feeding every week or 2 he’s on 70g-100g weaner rats


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Feeding every week or every 2 weeks works for the human calendar, but snakes don't get hungry on schedule, nor do they understand schedules. Many snakes do well being fed every 10 days- in other words, a week & a half...see? If you need a reminder, it's easy to mark it on your calendar, & if you miss a date, remember that wild snakes don't find food on schedule either- ie. a rigid schedule isn't necessary or natural. However, having some idea of when your snake fed last helps to keep from OVER-feeding them, which is more common than "not enough".

I'm not going to advise you on what your snake should be fed right now, as I don't weigh prey items, & I no longer keep BPs (I have in the past). I go by how the prey looks (size in relation to the size of the snake) because I've been keeping snakes for many years. But many snakes (of all kinds) that are 1 1/2 years old do well being fed roughly every 10 days. ;) (Remember I'm not seeing your snake- & I'm assuming he's not overly-thin or on the heavy side.)

BTW, since you just changed his feeding from every one week to every two, the most likely reason he'd be glass surfing is hunger. ;)

Thankyou again for the advice I will try him on every ten days in case that’s better for him and see how he goes with that [emoji4] I’ve compared prey size to body aswel and it’s about right if anything maybe very slightly bigger than him but not by much at all


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Originally Posted by Bluebell_1990

Thankyou again for the advice I will try him on every ten days in case that’s better for him and see how he goes with that [emoji4] I’ve compared prey size to body aswel and it’s about right if anything maybe very slightly bigger than him but not by much at all


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:gj: Actually, prey that is slightly smaller than mid-body (or equal to) is preferable & would be my goal, instead of "slightly larger than".

Ohhhhhhh :0 ok I’ll have a look at the ones I have and get a smaller one


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bluebell_1990

Ohhhhhhh :0 ok I’ll have a look at the ones I have and get a smaller one


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And just to be clear, you don't have to throw out what you have- I'd just go a couple days longer between meals while using them up. See? And an occasional variance (either way) is no big deal either.

Thankyou for all your help I won’t throw them [emoji4]


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