...What are you doing out of your hide, boys?

[shelliebear]

My two definite male ball pythons, CleoMantra and Nergal, are out of their hides again right now.
Last night they were out even when the lights were on, and today sunlight was streaming through the window and they were out again.
They were out at another point yesterday too.
I've been using a space heater, keeping the room no lower then 80 degrees. They have UTH's plugged into a thermostat or turned on a "low" setting t hat does not exceed 90 degrees.
...They have been eating fine, pooping/peeing fine, etc.
But, why do they keep coming out of their hides that they seemed to love so much before?
Should I add some more cover to their tanks, like some decorative vines or plants? Or is it likely they feel secure if they are sitting on the other side of the tank, but will go into their hide at SOME point?
Cleo will usually come out of his rock and sit on the other side if he has pooped or peed, and he will wait until we clean it up. But I checked, and there is nothing.
Nergal comes out of his hide and goes in the middle of the tank, so he doesn't have an issue.
Am I doing something wrong? :/
Or are my boys just being...silly boys that don't make sense?
Thanks,
Shellie

[snakesRkewl]

If all the husbandry is correct then you've got yourself a couple of wanderers, I catch them running about the tubs at all hours of the day not just night time.

[wax32]

When mine are active I feed them... I figure they are hungry!

(as long as it has been four days since their last meal)

[sho220]

Everything sounds fine...they're not vampires...they'll be okay coming out during the day...

[mpkeelee]

if they are breedable they could lookin for some lovin if they smell the others

[sho220]

if they are breedable they could lookin for some lovin if they smell the others

Good point there...could just be hot to trot...

[wolfy-hound]

Make sure the sunlight isn't on the tank. If it's on the glass, it could heat up the tank/hides too much without you realizing it. If the sunlight isn't actually on the glass, ignore this post.

[loonunit]

Mine all hide when they're still digesting, but sometimes I'll see somebody chilling out in the day time as it gets closer to feeding day. So I'm going to go with what everybody else said: probably nothing's the matter. They're either hungry, or they're horny. Or they're just tired of sleeping all day!

[shelliebear]

Funny, I was wondering about the lovin thing--They ARE producing sperm, and haven't been bred to anyone. I wonder if they are looking for the ladies. XD
Funny, because I don't have any breeding size girls, but the one I have who I think MIGHT be a girl is too small to breed (maybe 300 grams ish)
Silly boys.
I fed them today, it was close to feeding day. I know Nergal, no matter how much we feed him, will ALWAYS come out of his hide on feeding day or close to it--he will eat ANYTHING. He just loves his food and lots of it.
A question regarding that, too--how do you tell if they are obese? I'm kind of worried Nergal is getting there. He's big, like BP's are, but I'm worried he's a little bigger than normal, maybe? Maybe not. If the scales on their stomach are stretched out often is that a bad sign? Like if you can see the skin in between the scales?
He ate 3 adult mice last week, 2 this week, I'm betting he'll do 3 again next week.
Thanks you guys.
All of them are healthy, and eating well. I even got Cleo eating F/T ASF's now.
(Figured out the trick--you have to close the lid, or he's too scared to eat, LOL.)
Shellie

[loonunit]

How old are they? I basically don't worry about obesity at all when they're under 3 years and 1000 grams. I had one 700 gram male that looked pretty round last October... and then he didn't eat again until April. So now I feed him whatever the heck he wants.

I've heard it IS possible for adult males to have obesity problems? But if they're still juveniles or small adults, and you're not throwing rats at them every 5 days, they're fine. Basically if they're still hungry when you feed them, they're not obese.