Ground Dweller ???

I thought BP's stayed on the ground. Is this normal behavior? :confused:

JohnNJ


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They are pythons, and pythons like to climb sometimes.....LOL

I had one that did that for a while too.

When they're young and small, they like climbing and aren't bad at it. Once they get older, though, it's up to us keepers to make sure there's nothing too high in their enclosure they could get hurt falling off of...cause they WILL fall once they get bigger. :D

My spider girl seems to think she is an actual spider and not a snake, since she continuously climbs up over the vines in her tank and pulls them down with her weight. She also loves draping herself over the thermometer. :)

It could be a stress response to the openness of the tank for such a little snake. It could be stress from having such open and large hides. It could be a response to too high of heat on the floor. It could just be because he likes to climb!

I would enclose the sides of the tank and get some smaller and more enclosed hides. Double check the temps and make sure they are spot on. When this is done, if he still climbs, then so be it :)

mine climbs when it is looking for a way out. every so often i see it wraped around the thermostat probe wire looking around the edges of the lid for a way out.

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Originally Posted by starmom

It could be a stress response to the openness of the tank for such a little snake. It could be stress from having such open and large hides. It could be a response to too high of heat on the floor. It could just be because he likes to climb!

I would enclose the sides of the tank and get some smaller and more enclosed hides. Double check the temps and make sure they are spot on. When this is done, if he still climbs, then so be it :)

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Ah, thank you for noticing the things I didn't in my rather tired state, my friend. :D

Yes, you need to change a few things in that tank. Get two identical hides that have one opening and completely surround the snake. Plastic flower pots work great and don't cost much. :)
Also, get rid of the carpet (which is hard to keep clean and collects bacteria like nothing short of sponges) and use newsprint paper, paper towels, or aspen for bedding.
As was said, cover the sides as well as the back of the tank for added security and make sure you have your screen top covered with either foil or plastic. (I can send you a picture tutorial I made on how to cover the screen if you like).
Unless you have humidity problems, replace that huge water dish. You only need something for them to drink from that is low and wide...they don't need to fit into it.
And you can add some more greenery to fill in the open spaces in the tank, since BPs don't like open areas. :)

All that should really help your pretty little one settle down. If they still climb after all that, then they just like doing it.

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Originally Posted by Argentra

Get two identical hides that have one opening and completely surround the snake. Plastic flower pots work great and don't cost much. Also, get rid of the carpet (which is hard to keep clean and collects bacteria like nothing short of sponges) and use newsprint paper, paper towels, or aspen for bedding. As was said, cover the sides as well as the back of the tank for added security and make sure you have your screen top covered with either foil or plastic. (I can send you a picture tutorial I made on how to cover the screen if you like). Unless you have humidity problems, replace that huge water dish. You only need something for them to drink from that is low and wide...they don't need to fit into it. And you can add some more greenery to fill in the open spaces in the tank, since BPs don't like open areas.

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The snake is my son's. The tank is in my living room so I can't use newspaper or paper towels. My only option is aspen. My concern with aspen was that the UTH would be too hot since I don't have a thermostat. The reptile carpet reduces the heat and I wash it in a bucket with disinfectant every other week. Also, it's easier to clean out the tank with the carpet than with aspen.

That water bowl is smaller than the one I used with my previous BP, many years ago. That snake loved to sit, fully immersed, in the water bowl. I will put a smaller bowl in there.

The back of the tank is covered with a background picture. I'll get the same for the sides. And I will get some more plastic plants to fill in the open areas.

The screen top has a red light on the hot side and a piece of cardboard covering the other half. I don't understand the foil or plastic covering the screen. What about air flow?

The two log hides are used alot. The other side of the tank (cool side) has a ceramic tree with plastic top; you can see it next to the water bowl in the last photo. The base is hollow and the snake spends lots of time in there. Do they really need to be identical?

A lot has changed since I had BP's 20+ years ago.

Thanks for the advice.
JohnNJ

I moved stuff around in the tank, moved the heat lamp and added more hides (closed all around except for one opening). The hollowed out ceramic tree is still the hide of choice. We'll see if the others get any use over the next few days.

Thanks for the advice.
JohnNJ

Good job! And now it is just a waiting game to give him time to settle in to the new set-up :)

Many people choose to wait an extra couple of days for feeding when such big changes occur in the cage ;)

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Originally Posted by starmom

Good job! And now it is just a waiting game to give him time to settle in to the new set-up :)

Many people choose to wait an extra couple of days for feeding when such big changes occur in the cage ;)

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I forgot to mention that I also put in a smaller water bowl. I'm also going to add a few more plastic plants and cover the two sides of the tank.

Tonight was feeding night. I guess I'll put it off until Thursday or Friday.

Thanks for the advice.
JohnNJ

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Originally Posted by Dragoon

every so often i see it wraped around the thermostat probe wire looking around the edges of the lid for a way out.

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Mine does this every single night, except after he eats, of course. Makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong, him trying to escape all the time. :(

My adult is a clutz when it comes to climbing. He doesn't have anything in his cage to climb on and probably wont get anything because he falls off me when I have him on my shoulders. Heck he even fell off the chair trying to climb down the leg to the ground....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by starmom

It could be a stress response to the openness of the tank for such a little snake. It could be stress from having such open and large hides. It could be a response to too high of heat on the floor. It could just be because he likes to climb!

I would enclose the sides of the tank and get some smaller and more enclosed hides. Double check the temps and make sure they are spot on. When this is done, if he still climbs, then so be it :)

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Totally agree, otherwise bp's are pretty :banana:wacky:taz: sometimes.

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Originally Posted by skaplan86

My adult is a clutz when it comes to climbing. He doesn't have anything in his cage to climb on and probably wont get anything because he falls off me when I have him on my shoulders. Heck he even fell off the chair trying to climb down the leg to the ground....

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Balls like to go down. Boas like to go up. ;)

I don't think he's a clutz. That's just how they are--not very adapted to climbing, as adults especially. That doesn't stop them from wanting to explore or find a better hiding place. It's up to you as his keeper to make sure he doesn't hurt himself. A big job, I know. :)

Took out the new hides. They weren't interested and they kept getting pushed around.

I put in the smaller water bowl and the snake took a nice soak in it. Must mean smaller is better.

I added a small dish of moss to help the humidity stay up since I have a smaller bowl.

I put the heat lamp on the cool side of the tank (no UTH) and the floor temp is 83-87F. Floor temp on the hot side (UTH) is around 93-96F.

Ambient temp is 70-72F. Can't get that higher without making the floor temps too high. I have insulation panels but they're not on the tank yet. I asked about this on another thread.

Is it OK for ambient air to be room temp if the floor temp is OK? Then I could put another UTH on the cool side with a rheostat and not use the heat lamp at all. Opinions?

Thanks.
JohnNJ

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JohnNJ

Took out the new hides. They weren't interested and they kept getting pushed around.
Is it OK for ambient air to be room temp if the floor temp is OK? Then I could put another UTH on the cool side with a rheostat and not use the heat lamp at all. Opinions?

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How long did you give the BP to adjust to the new hides? BPs love squeezing into tight spaces so IMO you should probably try the other hides again. But if you do want to use the log hides I'd recommend covering up both sides with plastic/cardboard leaving only a small hole for the BP to enter/exit by. Having two wide open sides on both ends doesn't provide much security. The only problem with using cardboard blockers is that they need to be replaced every time they get poop/peed on.

And those ambient temps do sound a bit low. Adding another UTH with a rheostat is perfectly fine to get the cool/ambient temps up. You'll also probably notice that your humidity is no longer getting zapped down to nil!

Hope this helps.

-Dennis

Also forgot to mention how new is the snake? Mine explored her tank for the first two weeks after purchasing her and I haven't seen her out and about since! But its harder to see her as she's in a tub now so that may be skewing my judgment.

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Originally Posted by Hapa_Haole

Also forgot to mention how new is the snake? Mine explored her tank for the first two weeks after purchasing her and I haven't seen her out and about since! But its harder to see her as she's in a tub now so that may be skewing my judgment.

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The snakes are very young. They stay hidden away most of the time. They do come out and explore. It's funny how they stretch up to the screen and then topple over.

I just purchased new hides. They'll be in next week.

Thanks.