Unusual BP behavior??

So I have only had my Bumblebee BP for a few weeks. She is a beautiful 08 baby with quite the personality. I thought BP's like to hide and don't like getting held. Mine has a cage full of hide spots and she never uses them. She is crusing the cage, perched on the logs and rocks, and when I hold her she never curls up and comes right out of the cage and very active and curious. She eats like crazy so I guess it is not problem, but I expected a little more shy activity for a BP based on comments from this forum. How many of you have similar personalities from your BP's?

Gary

Can you describe your snake environment?
Typically, if a ball python is cruising their cage all the time it means that the snake is stressed and perhaps a husbandry error is occurring.

mine usually cruise their tanks when they are getting hungry or right after i handle them, if they dont want to deal with anything they just hide out.

as long as their living conditions are alright and they are eating and drinking well then i say you just have a bp that doesnt like to hide out as much.

mine cruises his tank once and a while usually trying to figure out how to escape.

I always thought an active BP was a good sign. As long as they're eating right your all good.

Most BP's like to hide but a lethargic snake is way worse than a active one. They all have their own personalities.

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Originally Posted by starmom

Can you describe your snake environment?
Typically, if a ball python is cruising their cage all the time it means that the snake is stressed and perhaps a husbandry error is occurring.

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The cage has Cyprus mulch as bedding, two water bowls, a thermostat heat pad under the cyprus set at 90F, and a red night light to warm the air. The ambient stays around 82F and I now am doing better on the humidity keeping it around 55. It seems I have things set right, but I expect less activity.

One thing is I feed one small mouse every five days and she is aggressive. Maybe she is getting hungrier and I need to up the prey size? I noticed that the few times she is under a log, her head sticks out and when I come by the cage and make noise she pays close attention. Maybe I am over analyzing this but since this is my first BP and am a little cautious.

Gary

Gary,
Do you know how much your snake weighs? I like to feed prey size that is 10-15% of the body weight of the snake. It could be that it is time to feed multiples, depending on the weight of the snake :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by starmom

Gary,
Do you know how much your snake weighs? I like to feed prey size that is 10-15% of the body weight of the snake. It could be that it is time to feed multiples, depending on the weight of the snake :)

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I don't know her weight, but I fed her again today. It was weird, she was out crawling around again all day. I gave her a bigger size mouse and she attacked it instantly. Now she is relaxing in the corner of the cage, but right out in the open. She is avoiding the hide spots altogether. I don't get it, but the way she eats she has to be feeling pretty good, right?

Gary

Can you take a picture of the enclosure?

Here is the enclosure. You can see on the left is a thermostat for the UTH set at 90F. The red bulb stays on and the ambient is 82F. Now that I covered some of the upper vents, the humidity is staying around 55 to 60. You can see part of the BP in the right foreground. She has been relaxing there since feeding earlier today.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w...e/DSC_2313.jpg

Thanks for your help.
Gary

Does she have two small hides? I think I see a big one and then the log, but neither are sufficient for her to snuggle in and be really out of view and feeling secure.

Also, I can't believe that such a fancy-shmancy cage like that does not hold the humidity better.... :P

Three words: Radiant Heat Panel :D
A RHP would throw the heat and not zap your humidity...!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by starmom

Does she have two small hides? I think I see a big one and then the log, but neither are sufficient for her to snuggle in and be really out of view and feeling secure.

Also, I can't believe that such a fancy-shmancy cage like that does not hold the humidity better.... :P

Three words: Radiant Heat Panel :D
A RHP would throw the heat and not zap your humidity...!

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Thanks, I will get a radiant heat panel. I absolutely hate the red bulb, definitely want to get rid of it if I could.

Gary

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Originally Posted by truthsdeceit

I always thought an active BP was a good sign. As long as they're eating right your all good.

Most BP's like to hide but a lethargic snake is way worse than a active one. They all have their own personalities.

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An active ball python is a stressed ball python. They like to hide away and stay there for long periods of time. If they aren't doing that, your snake is probably stressed and looking for a way out to find a more secure place to hide.

Try spraying the tank with warm water once a day, and get the RHP, after that you shouldn't need the second water bowl. :]

I suggest calling or emailing Rich at Reptile Basics. If you email him, you could attach a picture of the cage you have. You might also want to let him know what the room temps are so that he can advise you as to the correct wattage RHP you would need.

Here are the RBI RHP's: http://www.reptilebasics.com/RBI-Rad...p-1-c-283.html. I have 6 of them and will purchase 6 more for my new boa cages. I'd imagine that you also won't need to spray anymore. I never spray my cages though I do have a bowl filled with damp sphagnum moss. I live in the high desert where it is cold and very dry.

I love my RHP's and will never go back to flex watt :gj:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by truthsdeceit

I always thought an active BP was a good sign. As long as they're eating right your all good.

Most BP's like to hide but a lethargic snake is way worse than a active one. They all have their own personalities.

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I actually worry more if my any of my ball pythons are constantly roaming their enclosure when they normally are happily snuggled away in a hide. It causes me to re-check their enclosure to find out what has them so disconcerted.

It's the nature of a ball python to be quiet and hidden away during the daytime and out casually exploring in the late evening (usually after I've gone to bed).

If your ball python is training for the snake olympics - it's probably stressed out by some stimulus in its enviroment.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I could not fit a RHP on my cage so I bought the equivalent ceramic heat element bulb. This really solved my problems with controlling heat. The ceramic bulb gives off no light and a nice steady heat maintaining the ambient. I also have more stable humidity in the enclosure. As far as my BP training for the olympics, the last two days I woke up and she was under the log resting. Come five or six at night she was training for the marathon again, but at least not 24/7. Maybe she is settling in and likes the ceramic bulb better than the red one.

Gary

I have dozens of BP's. They all conform to the normal behavior patterns of BP's EXCEPT for my Bumblebee!!! If I didn't know better I would swear this snake isn't even a BP. He is ALWAYS crusing around and he loves to be held. I stopped worrying about him a long long time ago. He pounds rats and has become my favorite by a long shot. Perhaps you just have a bumblebee like mine.