Does your Spider has ADHD?

[aureptiles]

I've had my new baby BPs (3-4month olds) for a month now. and my pastel is doing perfect (touch wood). BUT, my spider male is restless! he cruises around his tub all night every night. sometimes even during day time. he just wants out all the time.

So even when i have him out, he wouldn't stay in one place. When he's head shy, he go into ball mode for 2 secs and just come right back out. I'm sure this isn't a problem with the set up, such as heat and humidity... because my pastel has the same everything and she doesn't show any sign of stress. I've noticed that my pastel cruises the tub around 7:00pm, but she stops eventually unlike the spider.

So, my conclusion is that my spider is just hyperactive or that he learned that i will let him out if he pokes the tub with his nose enough times.

What do you think?

[Elise.m]

They're nocturnal, so for him to be cruising at night is completely normal. My Lemon Pastel still cruises at night, I never see her but I hear her. One time I caught her poking up at the screen.

If they're cruising during the day time, then that's when you have a problem.

[Lolo76]

Some snakes are just more active than others, especially when they're babies - or when it's near feeding day. I have a spider male (4 months old), and he's actually pretty lazy. He will cruise his tub the day before feeding, but otherwise he's usually chillin' in his cave. My het albino male who's the same age is MUCH more restless, like how you described your spider... he'd be happy coming out every night if I let him.

[aureptiles]

Yeah, I dont' think it's a problem, it's more like sometime amusing to watch.

I'm confident that there's nothing wrong with their setup, so i'm not worried. they've been feeding on time and doesn't look stressed.

thanks for the input! keep them coming!

[Oxylepy]

My lesser male gets three hoppers a week, and is still active at nights, constantly cruising then. His still shy when I pick him up and is constantly ready to strike, he kinda scares me even though he's like 100g.

[Jenn]

Sometimes you just get a marathoner. I have one too, and he's my favorite. If you're confident his set-up is correct, he's healthy, and his crusing is limited to night time, consider yourself lucky. I keep mine in a display tank!

[vindicatedornot]

They're nocturnal, so for him to be cruising at night is completely normal. My Lemon Pastel still cruises at night, I never see her but I hear her. One time I caught her poking up at the screen.

If they're cruising during the day time, then that's when you have a problem.

Is it a horrible problem? My female normal does this pretty regularly. Towards the end of the day and most of the night she is cruising around, scoping the place out, plotting her escape, etc. But she has done this during the day more than a few times a week. I got her from the petshop I work at, where she was used to being on display. She came from a local breeder we have been buying from for over 10 years.

Is it not ok for her to be out and about more than just on occasion? She's just a baby. 99 grams when I got her and 150 grams empty as of a few hours ago. She's eating just fine(she actually seems like she is still hungry after her meals..every 5/7 days btw depending on how hungry she looks) Temps are 90 hot side 78 cool side. When she's out she is doing one of three things, sitting bluntly on the aspen between her hot and cool hide, periscoping, or sitting on/guarding her water bowl. Most of the time she's in her hides or hiding in her fake plants. I'm just saying its not rare for her to be wandering around random times throughout the day.

[RichsBallPythons]

My lesser male gets three hoppers a week, and is still active at nights, constantly cruising then. His still shy when I pick him up and is constantly ready to strike, he kinda scares me even though he's like 100g.

at 100g hes eating 3 hoppers which equals an adult so why not just feed one adult rather 3 small meals.

[j_h_smith]

I think your spider has a severe problem. If you want to ship it to me, I'll work with it for 5-10 years and see if I can't get it to settle down. It could take some time, so don't look for quick fixes. Don't call me, I'll call you once I have the snake cured.

Everything is probably normal.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

[WingedWolfPsion]

If your spider is cruising even during the day, this means he's unhappy about something. He doesn't like his environment, so he's trying to leave it. I recommend re-evaluating your husbandry and the way you have him set up. It may be too large for him, or too small. He may not like his hides, and needs different ones.
By trying different things, you will most likely solve the problem, and end his stress. I've always been able to find the problem when I have a snake that cruises during the day that way. They stop once you fix their environment to their liking.

I had a hatchling one year that cruised constantly, and wouldn't eat. I tried crumpled newspaper, a smaller bin, more hiding area, etc etc. I eventually hit on his problem--he wanted a larger cage (unusual for a ball python). Once in it, he settled down, ate, and acted normally.

They do have different personalities, and can have different preferences, and different activity levels, but some things point to problems, not just an individual quirk. Ball pythons should sleep most of the day, and move around only infrequently to thermoregulate. Anything more than that is likely a sign of stress.