Personality change in my BP??

I JUST got my ball python on Thursday of last week, it's my first snake and I could be being a bit paranoid but right when I got home today I took her out for a little handling and love, and put her back in her tank. Normally, she crawls into her little rock cave and relaxes, but for the past hour she's been trying to slide up the walls of her tank and seems overly active.

She's only six weeks old, but was captive bred and seems to be adjusting well other wise.

Am I just being paranoid and she's possibly just getting more comfortable about checking out her new home?

Rather be safe than sorry :P

(Also, I haven't had her sexed yet, so I'm not sure if she is in fact a "she", but her name either way will be Polaris, or Poli for short :))

Could she be hungry

Are the temps ok?

The temps are around 81 degrees and we keep the house itself at around 77 degrees during the winter.

The place I got her at said they feed them once a week on Thursdays so I don't think she should be hungry.

I took her out for a bit and let her roam around some on my bed, and when I put her back she seemed to go back to just relaxing again, so I'm not sure what was going on.

Your temps are a little low - is her warm side hotter? What are you using to measure the temps? Check out the caresheets on this site.

And generally you wanna leave her alone for at least a week to settle - I'd put her back in her tank and leave her alone for at least a week from now - give her time to get used to her new home. She might be stressed. Give her that week of no handling- no bothering except to change water and then go from there.

What is her tank set up like? Some pictures of your tank will help people answer your questions.

And make sure once she is good and settled that you get some pics of her up too, we like those! :gj:

81 is on her warm side, and currently I have a digital thermometer which is what every site seemed to recommend since they tend to be a bit more accurate.
Right now I'm using a heating pad on the under side of the tank, but it's not adjustable.
Is there possibly a better heating source opposed the the heating pads or possibly adjustable ones that anyone could recommend?

She's in a 20g tank with a rock type cave on the left side and a drinking/soaking dish more towards the right side but slightly in the center.
I'll be sure to take some pictures when I get my camera back from my dad to give you a better idea.

And, thanks for letting me know about leaving her alone for a week or so, I'll be sure to let her be for a bit to make sure she doesn't get stressed :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lxndria

81 is on her warm side, and currently I have a digital thermometer which is what every site seemed to recommend since they tend to be a bit more accurate.
Right now I'm using a heating pad on the under side of the tank, but it's not adjustable.
Is there possibly a better heating source opposed the the heating pads or possibly adjustable ones that anyone could recommend?

She's in a 20g tank with a rock type cave on the left side and a drinking/soaking dish more towards the right side but slightly in the center.
I'll be sure to take some pictures when I get my camera back from my dad to give you a better idea.

And, thanks for letting me know about leaving her alone for a week or so, I'll be sure to let her be for a bit to make sure she doesn't get stressed :)

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Sorry I took so long to get back - work got busy!

If you have one of those under tank heaters I bet its actually warmer in there than you think. It is actually usually reccomended that you get a thermostat or at least a dimmer because those things can get very hot! Unregulated mine gets upwards of a 120 degrees farenheit. ts great that you have a digital thermometer - do you have the type witha probe? If not you should look into that - you can get them for like 13 bucks or so at walmart - the accurite indoor outdoor type and put the probe under the warm side hide and the device itself on the cool side - this will give you the warm and cool sides as well as the humidity.

You will hear many times that you should have a hide on both sides. If you have identical sides on both sides then your bp won't have to decide between thermoregulating and feeling secure - the reason they should be identical is so she doesn't get a "favorite" hide that feels more secure and do the same thing.

How is your humidity doing? My guy is in a 20 gallon long as well - and sometimes you can have humidity issues with them.

I know its hard to give her some time - probably the hardest part of bringing her home! It will give her time to adjust - and you'll still have many MANY years of fun with her.

Btw... saw the pic of her (i'm guessing thats her) in your profile - so cute!

@ Stacey

No problem! Work comes first :)

I actually don't have a thermometer with a probe, but I will be sure to get one tomorrow along with another hide for her. That's actually the first I've heard of having two separate hides in a tank, so I'm glad you mentioned it.

As for the humidity, it's been around 50% to 55%, I've been monitoring it closely and misting lightly when it drops below 50%. From what I've read, that's around the ideal percentage for her, is this correct?

For future reference, I know you're not supposed to handle them a day or two after feeding, but other than those days, will it be fine to handle her on a daily basis, or should I start slower?

Since I'm a first time owner there was only so much I could learn from the information provided online and I don't know of anyone else that owns one that's near me, and I just want to make sure she's as happy and comfortable as possible :)

And yes, that's my pretty Poli on my profile, thank you so much for the compliment!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lxndria

@ Stacey

No problem! Work comes first :)

I actually don't have a thermometer with a probe, but I will be sure to get one tomorrow along with another hide for her. That's actually the first I've heard of having two separate hides in a tank, so I'm glad you mentioned it.

As for the humidity, it's been around 50% to 55%, I've been monitoring it closely and misting lightly when it drops below 50%. From what I've read, that's around the ideal percentage for her, is this correct?

For future reference, I know you're not supposed to handle them a day or two after feeding, but other than those days, will it be fine to handle her on a daily basis, or should I start slower?

Since I'm a first time owner there was only so much I could learn from the information provided online and I don't know of anyone else that owns one that's near me, and I just want to make sure she's as happy and comfortable as possible :)

And yes, that's my pretty Poli on my profile, thank you so much for the compliment!

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Yea, 50% - 55% is pretty good, you usually see people saying between 50 and 60. When mine dips I use glad press and seal over half the top but it sounds like you have it going pretty great.

I handle Stan just about every day for a little bit (except of course after he eats). I think it kind of depends on the personality of the BP - I watch for signs of stress and if he starts to show those I put him back in his tank but he is usually pretty calm and likes to be out and explore. I'd say go by her - if she unballs and is looking around and is still shedding, eating and all that normally she is doing good.

I also forgot - someone on here mentioned it for Stan and it worked well - it will help her stress level if you cover both sides and the back with posterboard or something - so only the front is open - so she won't feel so out in the open. Stan was already pretty calm but I could see a change in him when I did that.

This site is great! I've had Stan for 5 months or so and he was my first snake and I came on here looking for answers to some questions, everyone is so helpful! (Pretty darn friendly too!)

@ Stacey

The couple times I did have her out she seemed to absolutely love it. I've only handled her three times since I brought her home, and every time she was exploring everywhere I'd let her go, including burrowing in my hair and weaving through my hands. So I'm pretty sure she'll enjoy the future attention after she gets more adjusted, it's definitely going to be worth the wait! :)

I'll be sure to add the sidings to her tank as well, thanks for the extra tip!

Oh, and one more question about shedding. I know it varies for age and each individual snake and it's environment, but is there an about answer on when she should shed?

I'm happy I found this site, you've been both extremely helpful and friendly.
Thanks so much!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lxndria

@ Stacey

The couple times I did have her out she seemed to absolutely love it. I've only handled her three times since I brought her home, and every time she was exploring everywhere I'd let her go, including burrowing in my hair and weaving through my hands. So I'm pretty sure she'll enjoy the future attention after she gets more adjusted, it's definitely going to be worth the wait! :)

I'll be sure to add the sidings to her tank as well, thanks for the extra tip!

Oh, and one more question about shedding. I know it varies for age and each individual snake and it's environment, but is there an about answer on when she should shed?

I'm happy I found this site, you've been both extremely helpful and friendly.
Thanks so much!

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When they are young since they are growing rapidly she will probably shed frequently. I bought Stan at a year old - and in 4 and a half / 5 months he has shed 3 times - others with more experience can jump in more here. Sorry I don't have that info!

Mine will be active like that after I put him back so don't be alarmed for that. For the rest I'd get some type of thermostat to plug the UTH into. I'd also have a hide on warm side and cool side and have the water dish in the middle. My Python is 3 years old and has already shed twice in a 5 week period. As they get older and more they eat the more they'll shed. So don't be alarmed if they start shedding often (as I was a couple weeks ago).

@ Stacey
Alrighty then, thank you so much for answering all those questions for me and the great tips!
It's time for me to get some sleep, I'm becoming a bit of a nite owl :P

@ Wizzy
Yeah, I figured she was just trying to find an escape route since everything I've read states that they're quite the escape artists :P
Thanks for the information on shedding, I'll be sure to keep that in mind!


@ Both
Thanks again and Goodnight/Morning to both of you! :D
-Alexandria

Just wanted to say welcome to the site. :D looks like Stacey took good care of you. :gj: Now get that camera back so you can get some pictures up. :)

Oh! And don't forget to go to the OFF-TOPIC section and introduce yourself. :gj:

invest the $30 in a IR temp gun. Possibly the best investment I have made to date (Im a rookie as well)
You will be surprised at just how HOT something that feels warm to you is.


Get the second hide and some vines to create more hide spots

Get the warm side up a little. Covering the lid with some aluminum foil will probably help. I actually used styrofoam insulation around 3 sides of mine. Isnt as pretty so to speak but it sure helps to hold in the heat.

Good luck sounds like you have a great friend there

Hi,

You might alo like to check out the caresheet. :colbert2:


dr del

@ snakecharmer
I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and I just finished posting in the Off-Topic section, thanks for the reminder!

@ uafgrad
I can't believe I didn't think of that!
I have a custom pizza oven in my backyard and had to purchase a heat gun to make sure I didn't instantaneously set fire to a pizza, those things get crazy hot. I'll be sure to use that to get an even more accurate temp, thanks!

@ dr del
Thanks for the care sheet link, I'll be sure to use it for future reference!

@ Everyone
I'm off to do some shopping now, thanks to everyone again!