Weird behavior maybe?

I got a 07 Female Spider about 4 weeks ago and for one she hasn't fed since i got her, which im not really worried about but is still frustrating, but today i noticed her acting a little weird. She keeps cramming herself against the cold side wall of her tank. She used to never come out during the day and now she doesnt go in her hides. I have a themometer on the back of the glass on the hot side and that is between 90 and 95, the cold side is at least 5 degrees colder. This is during the day. There is a hide in the middle and on the hot side. I just put a uth in which i didn't have before and she seemed to like it alot for a while. Now she is doing this. Anybody have any ideas.

Thanks, Jason

Are you using under tank heat? If so it may be to close to the tank. They get fairly hot. Is the hide over the heat source?:snake::snake:

one of the hides is over it and one isnt so she has her choice. The uth really isnt that hot I feel it alot because I thought that was the problem. I even put it more substrate to take away some heat so that wouldnt be the problem

Do you have a thermostat or rheostat controlling the UTH? If not, they can and do get very hot and it is important to have that heat being controlled :)

Hi,

Try and get some accurate temps inside the cool hide and where she is staying now - it might be she prefers it slightly cooler than the norm. ?


dr del

The UTH in my tanks makes the substrate surface temp 110+ degrees....Seeing how our body temp is 98.6, this will just feel warm to us... You need to get a thermometer with a probe and find out how hot it is on the hot side... Then if its too hot you need to get a thermostat or at least a rheostat (rhestats are a pain and require constant calibration)...

BPs don't need temps in the 90's. If the hot side is 90-95 and the "cool" side is 5 degrees less, that means she is stuck at at least 80 degrees at all times. That's pretty hot. These animals are captive bred. They've never been exposed to the hot African prairies/deserts/whatever. They don't NEED those hot temperatures. They're used to civilization and air conditioned buildings. I keep my cool side at 75-ish and the warm side at about 80. She goes back and forth and actually spends a lot of time on the cool side. I would drop the overall temps in your tub/tank. I think it's just too hot altogether.

Another factor might be the humidity. If the water bowl is on one side and she's wanting the humidity, she'd stay close to it. I keep my bowl exactly in the middle and half way over the heat pad. I've noticed that she'll favor the side with the bowl if I move it around. Especially during shed.

I'd make sure both hides are identical, and maybe put a towel over the tank/tub too if none of the other ideas help. Maybe she has a view of goings-on from the hot side, and wants to get away from it. Just a few thoughts.

I will get a thermometer with a probe tomorrow and see if I can figure things out with that, but I will be getting thermostats for both my tanks as soon as I can, thanks for the advice everyone I hope this works out.

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Originally Posted by Mindibun

BPs don't need temps in the 90's. If the hot side is 90-95 and the "cool" side is 5 degrees less, that means she is stuck at at least 80 degrees at all times. That's pretty hot. These animals are captive bred. They've never been exposed to the hot African prairies/deserts/whatever. They don't NEED those hot temperatures. They're used to civilization and air conditioned buildings. I keep my cool side at 75-ish and the warm side at about 80. She goes back and forth and actually spends a lot of time on the cool side. I would drop the overall temps in your tub/tank. I think it's just too hot altogether.

Another factor might be the humidity. If the water bowl is on one side and she's wanting the humidity, she'd stay close to it. I keep my bowl exactly in the middle and half way over the heat pad. I've noticed that she'll favor the side with the bowl if I move it around. Especially during shed.

I'd make sure both hides are identical, and maybe put a towel over the tank/tub too if none of the other ideas help. Maybe she has a view of goings-on from the hot side, and wants to get away from it. Just a few thoughts.

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This is likely why you're having problems with her fasting. She's not a corn snake. They need higher temperatures to be able to digest properly and if they don't think they will be able to maintain proper body temps, then they won't eat. I keep mine at 94-95 on the hot side and 82-85 on the cool side(room temp is 84 usually). They eat, they don't fast in winter(even breeder males), and they growgrowgrow. Termite mounds are quite warm, as are burrows under the ground, blacktop roads at night.

A good number of larger breeders just keep their rooms heated to 88/90 without any supplemental heat. The snakes thrive, which is all that matters. :)

Agreed. Corn snakes can handle lower temps and even temp drops, but BPs need that "ground heat" to digest and thrive.

To the OP: Make sure you have a good thermostat to control the UTH (since they can get killer hot really fast if not controlled), and a reliable Digital thermometer with probe to read the temps. You also might want to get a temp gun to double check things and make sure the ranges are right. Temperatures are actually very important for the health of Ball pythons.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

This is likely why you're having problems with her fasting. She's not a corn snake. They need higher temperatures to be able to digest properly and if they don't think they will be able to maintain proper body temps, then they won't eat. I keep mine at 94-95 on the hot side and 82-85 on the cool side(room temp is 84 usually). They eat, they don't fast in winter(even breeder males), and they growgrowgrow. Termite mounds are quite warm, as are burrows under the ground, blacktop roads at night.

A good number of larger breeders just keep their rooms heated to 88/90 without any supplemental heat. The snakes thrive, which is all that matters. :)

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My snake isn't fasting. She's eating, shedding, pooping perfectly. I don't know where you got that idea from.

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Originally Posted by Mindibun

My snake isn't fasting. She's eating, shedding, pooping perfectly. I don't know where you got that idea from.

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Either way, those temperatures are too low, they originate in grassland, woody, and savannah-like climates in Africa with much higher temperatures all year round.
When it does get a bit colder, they go underground, where things usually stay pretty warm and snug in burrows. :]
85-90 is ok for the warm side if shes not having problems but anything in the seventies is much too low for a ball python.

To the OP: Try lowering the cage heat a bit and see how she reacts. If she shows any interesting reactions let us know, if she goes back to normal and hides and such, maybe keep her high side between 88-90. :]