why is my bp so active

When I first got him, he would only come out late at night, like 10pm. However for the last few days he has came out as early as 5pm, and is out and moving around in his tank from then until I go to bed at around 12 midnight, and probably after. I wish he could tell me what he wants...lol. Temps are fine...but the only hide he seems to use is this warm side, I can coax him into the cool side like after handling him however he will just come out and move around after 30 minutes..:rolleyes:

When I came home from vacation at 5pm he was out moving around...I can only guess that was doing this while we were gone for the week too.

I have a fan running in my room, it is kind of loud, could this be bugging him?

He ate last Thursday.
He is in early shed right now from what I can tell

Pics of the setup? I'd say stress related. Mine did the same thing until I put her in a 20 gallon.

I would say a pic of the setup would be a big help in answering your question. How big is he and what are you feeding him as he could just be hungry.

Hungry would be my guess too...:confused:

I will try to get a pic.

I feed him frozen/thawed mice...I don't have a scale so I don't know their mass but they are not pinkies. I only feed him one every 5 days because he has never taken two in a row for me.

The snake is only around 20 inches and is pretty young.

It is almost like he is pacing back and forth. He will climb up and down all over the front glass and move from side to side doing it.

Maybe a pic of the setup, the snake and one of the feeders with something next to it for size reference. The prey could be too small, leaving him to roam for food.

Exactly what mine used to do. I though she was just exploring until I learned she was stressed out to the max. Are your hides a good size for him? Not to tight but not too big?

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Originally Posted by mrshawt

Exactly what mine used to do. I though she was just exploring until I learned she was stressed out to the max. Are your hides a good size for him? Not to tight but not too big?

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Yeah I had the same problem with mine. I thought active snake happy snake... Then I learned more and realized hiding snake happy snake. Make sure the tank is not to big, and the hides are the proper size..... if you have a tank maybe consider covering 3 of the sides to give the ball some sense of safety and security.... just an idea.

How big is the tank?

Alright here are pics.

The tank is a 20g long. The sides are covered with black material, but it isn't insulation, yet. My substrate is sani chips. I have a piece of wood with a plant wrapped around it for decoration, but he started this before those were added. The water dish is a plastic tupperware thing. The hides are meant for gerbils and hamsters, and I need new ones, as these are see through, and as you can see from the pictures I have covered them with substrate as a short term fix. They were larger but I cut about 1 inch of depth off of them.

The white round thing in the pictures is a plastic bottle cap.
Temp and humid are a little low because the top is off.

http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/c...h_HPIM2837.jpg
http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/c...h_HPIM2838.jpg
http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/c...h_HPIM2840.jpg
http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/c...h_HPIM2842.jpg

You could probably bump up the prey size a bit. The biggest issue I see is the lack of hides...that is if that blue one is the only one.

If you are having no problem with humidity or temp then I am sure the blacked out sides do just fine. I am not a professional but to me the setup doesn't look that bad. I don't see the hides in the 2nd last pic but in the last on you have your hides which don't look too bad. Sometimes the tank is too empty for the snake and you have to stuff it... crumple up some newspaper and fill the tank a bit and see if that helps... I have found that with balls less room is more room

best of luck

K, sorry I actually see the other hide there. Maybe some more plants and such to fill in and give more cover.

My first thought is hides as well as a bit too much open space leaving the snake feeling exposed, nervous and restless. Hit your local dollar store and look for small dark plastic bowls (like a small cereal bowl type of thing). My local store sells them 3 for $1.00 and they are dark blue in color. Melt or cut an entrance hole either in the roof (bottom of the bowl) or in the side that is just big enough for the snake to enter with a fully tummy. Place one at each end and one in the middle to help the snake have something to dart into if it's feeling unsure of it's environment.

Also where in your house is this tank set up? If it's in a busy room with lots of vibrations from people moving around and so forth you may want to relocate it to a quieter room until the snake matures a bit. Remember when these snakes are smaller everything is a possible predator to them so they tend to be more nervy and easily stressed.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Remember when these snakes are smaller everything is a possible predator to them so they tend to be more nervy and easily stressed.

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excellent point

Yes there are two hides in there but they are hidden from being buried xD. The tank is located in my bedroom on my computer desk... I have no were else to put it right now. I do use my computer alot, maybe I should use my laptop somewhere else until I have a different stand for my snake? Also there is a very noisy fish tank not far away from my snake's tank(stupid water dripping all day every day) could this be bothering him? Should I maybe get more of these plants and hang them accross the tank above the ground a bit to 'lower the roof'?

for what your going to pay for plastic plants you could probably make a tub setup that would eliminate the problems...

but if you like your tank and really want to spend some cash get the plants... if that doesn't help at least you can eliminate one option...

$1.50 for a plastic plant thats 4 feet long at my local 'general store' :D

yeah well you yanks get lots of stuff cheaper.... but really if its that cheap try stuffing the cage with plants to make the snake feel more secure... i think that will probably help the problem

I think bumping up the prey size or feeding two mice that size might solve your problem. I really see nothing else wrong with the setup.

The snake is eating regularly, correct?

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

I think bumping up the prey size or feeding two mice that size might solve your problem. I really see nothing else wrong with the setup.

The snake is eating regularly, correct?

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Yes he has never refused food. However the next size up that my pet store has is just huge, but I will take a picture of those too as my sister's corn snake eats them. We are trying to breed the two rats we have right now though, so should have any size would need soon.

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Originally Posted by unrezt

Yes he has never refused food. However the next size up that my pet store has is just huge, but I will take a picture of those too as my sister's corn snake eats them. We are trying to breed the two rats we have right now though, so should have any size would need soon.

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If the snake is eating fine, then I would rule out stress. When a snake is stressed they will not eat 99% of the time.

Do you weigh your snake? This is a really helpful tool to measure out how much to feed your snake. 10-15% of the snakes body weight is usually a good rule to follow.

Sounds to me like everything was just fine until just a few days ago. This leads me to believe that your set-up is just fine. If the snake was going to stress because of husbandry he would likely have done it when you first put him in the enclosure rather than now. If nothing has changed I would guess that he's just getting comfortable enough with his surroundings to come out a little early.

Could be he's hungry, or that he smells something different. The change of seasons brings new smells to your house as doors and windows are opened. Sometimes rainy weather, low pressure, or a full moon can bring them out too. I have one snake in my entire collection that is almost always out. He has spent his whole life in a tank and when I tried to put him in a tub he didn't like it at all. I put him back in a tank and he went right back to eating regularly and exploring again!

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

If the snake is eating fine, then I would rule out stress. When a snake is stressed they will not eat 99% of the time.

Do you weigh your snake? This is a really helpful tool to measure out how much to feed your snake. 10-15% of the snakes body weight is usually a good rule to follow.

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I don't weigh him yet, I don't have a scale. But I am going to buy one when I go to buy the new hides/plants and foam board.

Now I definitley think it was a food related problem. I actually watched him eat today (the last mouse too, so I will buy bigger ones this time), and his neck area, with the mouse INSIDE of it, wasn't even near the size of his body at the widest point. I guess it just seems so impossible that he could fit something that size down his skinny little neck.

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Originally Posted by unrezt

Now I definitley think it was a food related problem. I actually watched him eat today (the last mouse too, so I will buy bigger ones this time), and his neck area, with the mouse INSIDE of it, wasn't even near the size of his body at the widest point. I guess it just seems so impossible that he could fit something that size down his skinny little neck.

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Except he is still wandering around at night, even after eating today :/ what a weirdo

Yep, their necks can stretch quite a bit further then you would think possible! I know when I wasn't feeding a proper meal, my snakes would often keep cruising after a meal "looking for more".

Well I tried feeding last night, and he struck at the mouse and missed, then wouldn't strike at it again. So I tried the other mouse( 2 f/t because the store seemed like they only had small and huuge mice ), and he struck at that one and missed again........and lost interest. So I know hes hungry, hes trying to eat,and from what you guys told me, a stressed bp wont eat most of the time...well he didn't eat, but he tried to?

But he is still roaming his cage, and from what I can guess, looking for food. Today, he was still out when I awoke...he has never done that before. I tried putting him in his hide, he would only go halfway in. I got two cereal bowls, but they only had white, and they let alot of light through, so I switched back to what I had before.

For the past week or so it has been unbearably hot around here, I havn't even had to use the heat light like I normally do. But I have needed a fan in my room, and it is very loud and obnoxious, do you guys think this could be stressing him out?

Assuming he didn't go into his hide from the time I went to sleep, 12 mid, to now, 8:44, he has been out of his hide and moving around since 5 o clock yesterday afternoon...

Just tried feeding again. This time I used a hair dryer instead of hot water, and fed him in his own cage instead of the separate one(hair dryer because water would get the bedding stuck on the mouse). He struck and direct hit so fast I didn't even really have time to see it lol. Hopefullly he will take more than one

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Originally Posted by unrezt

Just tried feeding again. This time I used a hair dryer instead of hot water, and fed him in his own cage instead of the separate one(hair dryer because water would get the bedding stuck on the mouse). He struck and direct hit so fast I didn't even really have time to see it lol. Hopefullly he will take more than one

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OOohkay...lesson #1 about feeding in a tank with loose substrate...don't...
He ended up getting some in his mouth at the end of the mouse...luckly I got it out.

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Originally Posted by unrezt

OOohkay...lesson #1 about feeding in a tank with loose substrate...don't...
He ended up getting some in his mouth at the end of the mouse...luckly I got it out.

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It doesn't matter if they ingest a little substrate. They can digest bone and hair, a bit of wood won't matter.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

It doesn't matter if they ingest a little substrate. They can digest bone and hair, a bit of wood won't matter.

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He didn't swallow it though, it was sitting in his mouth. I didn't want to chance it getting stuck into his mouth skins :confused:

One of my pastel males is really shy, and even with hides in the tank he would still pace all day long. I took newspaper and covered the sides of the terrarium, which finally calmed him down and got him to eat.

It is quite possible that your computer is bothering him. Vibrations from the unit along with the activity of you being there could be enough to stress him out. BPs are sensitve snakes and it doesn't take much to upset them. I'd set him up in a tub like others have suggested and see if that helps.

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Originally Posted by unrezt

He didn't swallow it though, it was sitting in his mouth. I didn't want to chance it getting stuck into his mouth skins :confused:

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Well, if they have mouse claws going through there, it shouldn't matter if there is a bit of substrate. They will either spit it out or just swallow it. No big :)