Anyone else experience this? Always in cool side hide?

Hey guys, I have had my almost 1 year old boy for about 5 months or so and he is now starting to change his routine. I have noticed that for the last two weeks plus he hasnt been in his hot side hide at all. In the past he would make the occasional journey to the hot side yet he always seemed to favor the cool side more. I have seen him roaming late at night if I wake up to go the bathroom but he hasnt been going in for a nap on the hotside at all.

He has two identical hides, temps are steady at 92/84 with a 54% humidity level. I double check his thermometer readings with a temp gun and it is always within a degree of what his thermometer says. He has eaten like a monster every week I had had him and has had two perfect sheds thus far. He seems good but ya never know.

Is this typical behavior for a ball python? Just trying to see if this is normal stuff or something to worry about. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Well a guess would be for the past 2-3 weeks the US has been under an abnormal heat wave so it is possible the ambient temp in his cage/tub has changed...gone up. You may not notice it under the hides but the overall temp could have increased.

I have seen a similar situation for me as I have a heater for the room but don't cool it (never needed to) so the temp in the room has increased a few degrees (nothing dangerous for them but could make them spend more time on the cool side)

Has the room temp increased at all?

mine spends almost all his time in the warm side

is the cage clean? I've found that fairly subtle things can deter them from using a hide. Once mine messed in his warm hide and I spot-cleaned the cage. I must have missed something because he wouldn't go in there for days. I had to go back and make sure I replaced all the bedding in that half of the cage before he'd return.

Let me make sure I understand, for 5 months, he's "eating like a monster" and you think there's something wrong because he's active, right?

I have several that have histories of fasting for 4-9 months, while staying in their favorite hides, that I will offer in a 1-to-1 straight-up trade if you're interested.

Seriously BostonMack, I think he's just doing what's natural, which is to regulate his conditions by crawling to where he's most comfortable. I wouldn't change a thing.

Good luck!

My female maggie is almost always in her cool hide 84, unless she has a full belly. She pigs out and is totally healthy. I wouldnt worry balls will be balls. :carrot:

I just experienced this for the last week, and I discovered why, there was a big fat turd in his hot side hide. You should probably check his.

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Originally Posted by harfieldthethirsty

I wouldnt worry balls will be balls. :carrot:

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I think that sums up this thread perfectly.

mine does that too. He roams on the hot side at night, but during the day he is mostly on the cool side, with some forays into the hide I have in the center of the cage.
I think this is normal.....just picking the best temp for sleeping.

I did some experiments, lowering the thermostat target temp by one degree a day for 5 days...eventually he switched sides. So now I know that his threshold temp for comfort is about 76 degrees :cool: So now I keep his cool side at 80 and am saving a couple of bucks!

He does like to poop in his warm side hide though...but like you I am meticulous about cleaning each and every day.

All I can add to this thread is the following. I like my house to be at about 68 degrees and my wife likes it to be 75 degrees. Just as different people have different comfort zones, so do individual snakes. I have some of my snakes that have been in my collection for 3 plus years, and I never see them on the hot side. Meanwhile the snake below them in the rack will never go to the cool side. I guess each snake is individual, and will have a preference, and will satisfy itself the best way it can. Hope that helps.

From the posts here it sounds like he's safe. But, I would be interested in any change in behavior. You might try switching the hides and see if that changes things.

I wouldn't worry about it. He is just using the heat gradiant you provided. Thats why we provide a warm side and a cool side. Its been pretty warm lately. It sounds like you are watching his behavior patterns and thats a good thing. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

I just thought it was odd that he just started doing this in the last two weeks. He is acting all kinds of wierd. Last night he was out roaming the cage from about 7:00 to 10:00. Now he's all curled up in his cool side hide as he has been. I will keep a close eye on him for sure. He's eating every week like a champ so he must be doing OK but anything out of the norm tends to raise red flags in my head.

Thanks again everyone.

Yea I don't like the sound of the roaming either. I think you have good reason to be concerned. I don't mean to say your snake is in trouble but what you describe just doesn't sound like everyday thermoregulating behavior.

Can you think of anything else that has changed?

it's that damn global warming....

Bearheart,

Two weeks ago I replaced his hides with larger identical hides, they're the popular black plastic square ones with the little arched entrance. He outgrew his smaller ones seeing they were sitting on top of him like a beanie. Like I said though the new hides are exactly the same only larger.

One thing I am thinking of as far as the roaming is that last week I fed him a smaller meal than usual because that is all that I had. He has been eating 80g rats and last week I gave him a 40g. That being said I am thinking maybe he has been out roaming the past two evenings because he's hungry and he gets fed on Saturday nights which is tonight. He seems nice and relaxed now with his head poking out of his cool side hide. I am going to ge feed him now and i'll report back with the results. If he doesnt eat that will be a first and i'll know I am dealing with a potential problem.

Thanks again for all the feedback everyone.

Well, he just gulped down two 40g rats and had a nice long drink. I think he was hungry judging by how fast and hard he hit the first rat, much harder and faster than he usually does. I also made a point to observe his mouth when he realigned his jaw and it was nice and pink as normal. Maybe he's going through puberty or something? ;)

Thanks again everyone, if I notice any odd stuff I will be sure to follow up here.

:rockon:


in the meantime, post some pics :D

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Originally Posted by fishmommy

:rockon:


in the meantime, post some pics :D

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Hey Fish!

I will let his meal fully digest tonight and i'll take some new pictures tomorrow. You and a few others were a big help for me in the beginning so I owe you atleast a couple pics ;)

Eh, Every time I do daily routine cage maintenance shes always over on her cool side. Not sure why, but I'm just assuming she likes it over there more, she has a warm side if she wishes to go over, which reads at 90-91 degrees regularly, and she eats just fine, I guess she just likes to be cool?

the past couple days my guy has been spending a lot more time on his cold side too, maybe kagez is right, it could be something on a larger scale than we imagine. hahaha just a thought

out of my 3 BPs, my normal male is always on the cool side, and the other two are always on the warmer side. Not sure what it has to do with, they have the same temeratures, but as long as you are providing the option for them to be on either side you're fine :)

It is good to hear you watch him/her so closely too, always nice to see a caring BP owner :D

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Originally Posted by BostonMacK

Bearheart,

Two weeks ago I replaced his hides with larger identical hides, they're the popular black plastic square ones with the little arched entrance. He outgrew his smaller ones seeing they were sitting on top of him like a beanie. Like I said though the new hides are exactly the same only larger.

One thing I am thinking of as far as the roaming is that last week I fed him a smaller meal than usual because that is all that I had. He has been eating 80g rats and last week I gave him a 40g. That being said I am thinking maybe he has been out roaming the past two evenings because he's hungry and he gets fed on Saturday nights which is tonight. He seems nice and relaxed now with his head poking out of his cool side hide. I am going to ge feed him now and i'll report back with the results. If he doesnt eat that will be a first and i'll know I am dealing with a potential problem.

Thanks again for all the feedback everyone.

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Perhaps the newer ones are warmer than the old ones??

Glad to hear he ate so well! I definately tend to see increased activity on weeks following smaller meals.