Behavior problems

I have a baby ball python, he's about 20 inches long. Ive had him for about 3 weeks now. Every night when I get home from work he is always out from under his log and roaming around his cage. Recently he has stopped all of this activity and just stays hidden in the evenings. It appears that he's getting ready to shed also. I handle him EVERY NIGHT for atleast 45mins to an hour. Im wondering if he is just getting very use to his cage or should I be concerned with the lack of evening activity. Also, when I get him out of his cage, he moves around a little bit in my hand but then just gets comfortable and stays there. Is there anything wrong?

You could be handleing him a little too much. 2-3 times a week is enough to keep him tame but will not stress him out. You definately don't need to hold him for 36 hours after eating or during his shed cycle. Give him a little break from holging him and see what happens.

Like they say. A hiding/sleeping ball python is a happy one. I wouldn't worry about it. As for the being lazy in your hand... mine does too sometimes when he finds a comfy spot.

Ball pythons spend the majority of their time in their hide. They are nocturnal so do come out more often at night but during shed and after meals it's normal for them to just stay in the hide for days.

Mine is almost always hiding out in his little cave. It's normal behavior for them, although I would say 45 min to an hour every day is a bit much for a snake. I'd cut back on the handling a bit. But as long as his temps and humidity are fine, and he eats for you, I'd say he's fine.

First of all, Id like to thank all of you for your quick responses. Ive had him for a solid 3 weeks and he has eaten all 3 weeks. He still hasnt shed yet but is starting look a little cloudy and dull. His temp on the warm side stays at 90 F all day and all night. The humidity hangs around mid 40's. I have the hardest time keeping it up around 50. I know it should be but its so difficult to do for me. I use repti-bark substrate, it seems to hold the moisture in for a little while, but by the time i get home from work its right back down to the 40's. I have him in a 20 GAL. long tank. I have a non-light emitting ceramic heating element and a UVB light on top the screen lid of the cage. Whats the best possible way to keep the humidity up while Im at work all day?

Well, he doesn't need the UVB light, for one. They don't get any benefit from it and having their cage lit up that brightly might stress them out. Ceramic heaters dry the cage out so it would probably be a better idea to get an undertank heater with a thermostat instead. So far as keeping up the humidity in a tank, it's tough to do, if you don't want to switch him into a tub (which is the easiest and best thing to do) then you can get a piece of plexi to cover the top with and that should hold the humidity in better. What are you using to measure temps/humidity?

If you absolutely have to use the ceramic heat emitter, try getting a large surface area water bowl near the basking area of the CHE. This will kick more humidity into the air. Also, like a previous response said, cover up that top to keep humidity in. Pre-shed: mist if need be and definitely lay off the handling when they are shedding. Imagine if you couldn't see AND were preparing to slough off all your skin...I imagine it would be pretty stressful.

For the humidity it would be best to bring ambient temps up in the room so the CHE is not needed. Mind you, I say this as I sit here and sweat. But gotta keep the herps happy!

-JonV

i would agree that the ceramic heat element just sucks the humdity out of the aquarium. since i switched to useing 2 under the tank heaters i haven't had any issues

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Originally Posted by tippmann

i would agree that the ceramic heat element just sucks the humdity out of the aquarium. since i switched to useing 2 under the tank heaters i haven't had any issues

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Remember to mention your thermostats that regulate the temps!!! :gj:

Thanks again for the responses. I"ll get rid of the ceramic heater. I have a heating pad under his tank on the warm side right now, is that all you use, or there something a little more powerful than that? Also, should I still try to cover up one section of his cage with a piece of plastic or will getting rid of the ceramic heater take care of my humidity problem? What kind of tub do you use for your snake? Do companies make them with perfectly clear sides so you can still see in, or do they all have cloudy sides? One more thing, is it normal for them to be a lot less active when preparing to shed? Im almost positive that he is, and he hasnt been out from behind his logs and vines since wednesday when I fed him. Thanks agian for the responses.

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Originally Posted by enzo617

Thanks again for the responses. I"ll get rid of the ceramic heater. I have a heating pad under his tank on the warm side right now, is that all you use, or there something a little more powerful than that? Also, should I still try to cover up one section of his cage with a piece of plastic or will getting rid of the ceramic heater take care of my humidity problem? What kind of tub do you use for your snake? Do companies make them with perfectly clear sides so you can still see in, or do they all have cloudy sides? One more thing, is it normal for them to be a lot less active when preparing to shed? Im almost positive that he is, and he hasnt been out from behind his logs and vines since wednesday when I fed him. Thanks agian for the responses.

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Some snakes are less active when they are going through their shed cycle. I use Iris brand tubs and a lot of people also use Sterlite brand. Both are pretty clear. Do you have a thermostat regulating your UTH? Oh wait, is it a human heating pad? Yowzer!~if so, you'll need something to regulate it becuase they get so hot they will cook your ball!

No, its not a human heating pad. Its specifically for terarriums, its made by zoo-med. Should I use 1 big undertank heater, or 2 smaller ones? As far as temp. and humidity guages go, I just have 2 non-digital guages. My thermometer is about 1 inch off the bottom of his cage on the warm side, and the humidity gauge is around the middle of his cage a little higher up. Should I use less substrate on his warm side with the under tank heaters so its gets through the substrate better? Also, is a manual heat controller needed for the under tank heaters or can I just plug them in and let them get to the max heat output? Thanks for your response

2 smaller UTH's will work fine but everyone here will emphasize the incredible importance of a control for a under tank heater. Even the ones by zoo med (I have two also) will sky rocket to 110 degrees plus without some sort of control, like a thermostat. The non-digital (dial gauges) are very unreliable. I have compared my dial gauges to my digital gauges many times and found them to be off by 7 degrees and 15 % humidity. You can purchase inexpensive digital gauges at walmart or a hardware store that measure two temperatures at once(so a UTH and the ambient temp of the tank) To help with humidity immediately I would suggest soaking some towels and ringing them out, then laying them atop the tank. This is what I do every 2 days and it keeps my humidity right around 60. When my bp is about to shed, I put some sphagnum moss in his tank to up the humidity to 70% (this can be purchased from a reptile store or even a gardening store) The level of substrate does not make a huge difference protecting your bp because he/she can simply burrow under it like mine does often.

I have a glass tank with a scree top as well. I also use repti-bark. I keep my humidity up by having a large surface area water bowl. I also cover about 2/3 of the screen top with a wet towel. In the morning before work, I spray the tank with a small spray bottle and wet towel. I do the same thing before going to bed.

Another option may be to just create a humidity hide with some moss.

ok, so 2 UTH's should take care of my humidity problem. should I place the UTH's so that his warm side hide is over one of them? Also, I have a UVB light on top of his tank. I've heard some say that they need it, and some say that they dont need it. What do you think?

You should have a hide on each side of the tank, identical so your bp does not prefer one over the other because it is more secure. A bp will chose security over warmth often. UVB is not needed because bp's do not require uv light to generate nutrients in the body like other repiles (as far as I know). I know I have already mentioned this but how are you controlling the UTH's? The UTH's will not solve your humidity problems completely but it should make a big difference. You may still need to spray the tank once or twice a day and monitor it from there. Cover 3/4 of the top of the tank to keep that humidity in.

Right now, I dont have anything controlling my UTH. I only have one and its pretty small. Its under his hide log. His warm side never gets above 90 F, I have a heat controller on the ceramic heat emitter I use, it would get too hot if I took it off. Im going to get rid of the ceramic heater and the UVB light and add a UTH. Also, Im going to cover 3/4 of the top of the cage with a damp towel. How does that sound? Do you prefer 2 UTH's side by side on the warm side or just one big one to cover the entire warm side? I really thought I had a nice cage set up for my new buddy, but now Im starting to think that I've got it all wrong. Thanks a lot for your responses.

Oh you haven’t got it all wrong at all! You could do much worse What I have done with the UTH's in my tank is put one on the warm side set around 90 and the other on 'cooler' side set around 83. This way I know Hes got the right variation in temps without killing my humidity with hot lamps. Once you take the ceramic heat emitter off, it the control for that is removable, attach it to one of your UTH's to adjust the temp.

Also please consider spending the $10 for a digital temp/humidity reader, they are great! Measuring the temp just above the substrate at 90 with a dial likely means the temp right on the surface on the glass (which is accessible to your bp) is over 100. (owy burn) If you are low on funds you can grab a lamp dimmer from a hardware store for $10 as well. You can also buy rheostats from pet stores that will work well to control the temps as well. With the digital thermometers/humidity readers, there is a probe that you can place right on top of your UTH to measure the temp and not cook your snake I have two probes because I use to UTH's. Your doing great by getting info, keep it up