Changing hides?

[rtman26]

Rookie owner here...and I would like your opinions. I'll be honest, when my girlfriend and I were buying the stuff for Wasabi's enclosure, we were going for "looks cool and could be functional". Basically we have a tall tower that he used to spend all of his time in (because it's directly over the uth), but since I made a little shelf for him to hang out on inside of his aztec head....he is ALWAYS in there....and it is on the cool side. This has me slightly worried because everything I've read says they need belly heat after eating. He's an excellent eater and has even eaten mice after he's popped them, but as soon as we put him back in his enclosure, he runs (if a snake could) for the aztec head and I'm paranoid he's going to have digestion problems.

We fed him Friday afternoon and he went right up into the head, but came back out shortly afterwards and laid out in the open for a bit. Is that odd?

What I'm getting at is that he had 3 hides, and only uses one. He used to alternate between the head and the cave, but since I put that little ledge in the head he only comes out after his day light(for heat because my apt. is cold) clicks off. Is it "stressful" to change hides? I'm thinking of just putting something else in there, because I CANNOT get him out of the head if I want to.....mostly because he positions his teeth directly in my way. He's only 6 months old and still slightly feisty....

Let me know what all of you think. Thanks in advance!

[Mike41793]

He probably only feels secure in the one hide. I'd ditch those hides and get some of the black ones from Reptile Basics.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Changing hides can be stressful, but it sounds like you need to do so.

These issues that you are having can be easily resolved by using identical hides throughout the cage. If they are all the same your snake can't favor one over the other. That way he will go to the hide that is the temperature that he wants.

I really like these hides, as they provide a lot of security for the snake, are easy to clean, and are cheap!

http://www.reptilebasics.com/hide-boxes

Just to make sure. Your UTH is being regulated by a thermostat correct? sometimes a snake will avoid the hot side because of an unregulated UTH that is way too hot.

[Capray]

I think you should just change to hides that have a space where the snake is lying on the substrate, and that you can get at Wasabi if you need to. He is probably staying in that one because it feels more secure. Could we see a picture of his setup? It's normal for snakes to wander around at night, generally.

[rtman26]

That's kind of what I was thinking,l I just don't want to freak him out by changing a bunch of stuff. I added a thermo probe and he stared it down for like an hour...

[rtman26]

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...54#post2014954

Here's a pic thread where you can kind of see his "tower" in the background which has lots of room (probably too much) inside, and sits over about 1/2 of the uth. The "head" in question is what he has himself perched on top of. I'm actually amazed he can cram himself into it, the "shelf" is situated about where the eyes are.

The UTH is NOT on a thermostat because its the small 10 gallon one(technically a large volume tank with a rather small footprint) and its a 35 gallon vertical, octagonal fish tank (yes I know him being in a fish tank is sub-par) that my girlfriend's parents gave to us. My apartment is pretty cold (65) the lamps and uth do a decent job of keeping his hot spot around 88+/-, and his cool side around 82.
Oh, and there's a piece of carpet between the substrate and the uth to help absorb some heat so I know it's not a "too hot" issue. I think he just feels more secure in the head.

I'll just go buy one of the hides the 'Merchant suggested and put it in there along with everything else.....if he picks it I'll know he likes it.

As always, thanks!

[rtman26]

So...after he comes out to eat tonight, I'm going to take out the "head" hide he's laying on top of in the pic above. I tried to get him out of it today and he spread himself out as far as he could....making it impossible to get him out of there without hurting him. Oh...and he hissed at me for the first time. He's got some spirit...

[ewaldrep]

I would suggest getting a thermostat regardless, even a hydrofarm one, once you have the temp set it will keep it where it needs to be and if there are any fluctuations that allow for more heat, then it will keep the snake from getting burned.

[meechy069]

I catch my python with his head out his hide at night, is this normal?

[brobertson]

A thermostat is an absolute must-have! Commercial UTHs simply get too hot, and even if your temps seem alright, it is a big safety hazard. This T-stat is pretty cheap, and will get the job done fine
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NZZG3S