My snake's behavior... need your opinion...

[greg728]

Hello -

I've had my BP now for about 3 weeks now. I've noticed that the last couple of days he's been staying in his hides all day and a good portion of the night too. (Although I can't see what he's doing when I'm asleep...) Also, every time I go to pick him up/handle him, he gets in the "s" position & seems really nervous & flinches whenever I go to pick him up... almost like an abused dog would when you accidently raise your hand and they take it the wrong way. He hasn't acted like this yet, and although I feel like this is normal and there's a valid reason behind it, I just wanted to see what you guys think. Once I take him out of his enclosure he seems fine. He'll even come right up to me and check me out & shows no signs of agression. Im confused...

[AussieSnakes48]

Welcome to being a Ball Python owner. I'm new to BP's also but I know from working with them in the pet trade, that your explaining a BP to the T. Nothing to worry about, typical behavior.

[Generationshell]

Is your ball python younger? Because many hatchlings tend to be a bit nippy/on edge and frightened, which all gets better with time and handling.

If not then your bp just need to get adjusted to it's new surroundings. It is prob still adjusting and a bit stressed. It is possible the bp wasn't handled much before you got it. So with continued handling your bp should learn to recognize ur scent and be at ease and learn how to tolerate it.

As far as the hiding all the time. Hiding= happy Ball python.
If they are out too much then that is a bad sign of stress.

Congrats on the new bp!! :]

[greg728]

Thank you! And yes, he's only a couple months old.

[maverickgtr]

That's completely normal. Our male does that all the time. He's all talk though. Be careful though, there are times when they really don't want to be held, like around shed time, so he might be annoyed enough to strike, depends on the snake. But ours changes his hiss when this is happening.

[PixieMaple]

This is completely normal behavious for a healthy BP My guy get's twitchy and shy when I try to pick him up (I've only had him 3 weeks), but he calms down almost immediately when I take him out

[seeya205]

Yep, normal baby bp behaviour! Bps do nothing much but sleep and hide! Bps are always nervous with fast movements even when adults!

[tsdsbd]

ball pythons do that, they are typically not very active snakes, generally active for a few hours at night. when there biological clock tells them its dinner time to start looking for food. if you have them on a proper diurnal cycle (day/night) schedule, then you should notice activity at night. again if not its normally nothing to worry about. snakes do hybernate in case you didnt know. slow metabolisms generally do that for animals. good luck

[stevepoppers]

I'm pretty sure I've read here that ball pythons do not hybernate. And if they do, when? Winter's breeding season, not hybernation season.

[tsdsbd]

my mistake im sorry i didnt actually mean hibernation, i just meant there activity generally goes down alot for long periods of the year. sorry.