Ball python with a strange habit

[kldoss89]

I have a ball python, Severus, who has always stayed in his shelter most of the day (pretty normal from what I have read). However, about two months ago, he went on a "shelter strike" and would sit anywhere except for in his shelter. He was still getting the heat from the under tank heater because it heated more than his shelter. His new favorite place was to be wedged in the corner of the tank. It didn't bother me because he was still eating and obviously not distressed (he's a difficult eater so if he is eating weekly, it's a sign he is VERY happy)

Well, now this is his new thing:



I never catch him actually going in, but he doesn't use the door at all anymore. I had this problem with him in the past wanting to wedge under his water rock, but I was able to arrange the substrate where he could not do that anymore. Should I be worried? i don't want him to get crushed, but he seems to think he is above using doors.

He fits in the shelter completely. It's a snug, but not tight fit. He just doesn't coil as much anymore. When he is sleeping, sometimes he coils tight, and other times, he is all sprawled out like in this picture.

[SCWood]

What a goofy snake. Mine does it too. I think they like confusing us lol

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[DVirginiana]

Seems like normal goofy BP behavior to me. They've been known to basically wear smaller hides like hats just because they don't want to switch. When I got mine a new hide that fit her she went on strike for several weeks and would only sit sandwiched beside it. Now I've only actually seen her out of it at feeding time for about two weeks lol.

[kldoss89]

What a goofy snake. Mine does it too. I think they like confusing us lol

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"I think they like confusing us" I think you just described my snake experience perfectly. He's always been...... strange. lol. I am used to him doing weird things like this. I just want to be sure he won't get injured. Between vet bills for his shenanigans and having to constantly upgrade his lid to keep his curious self contained, he has definitely been labeled my "expensive problem child" lol.

It's a good thing I love him so much!

[SCWood]

"I think they like confusing us" I think you just described my snake experience perfectly. He's always been...... strange. lol. I am used to him doing weird things like this. I just want to be sure he won't get injured. Between vet bills for his shenanigans and having to constantly upgrade his lid to keep his curious self contained, he has definitely been labeled my "expensive problem child" lol.

It's a good thing I love him so much!

Exactly! I love Eden, but she's a pain and a garbage disposal! She will slither into her hide and has enough room to fit my fingers in there and then she will relax and the shallow end will lift off the floor and you'll see her back end hanging out she's so weird. If you poke her, she'll slowly pull it back in.

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[kldoss89]

What a goofy snake. Mine does it too. I think they like confusing us lol

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lol Thank you for making me feel like I'm not alone...

[JoshSloane]

BPs are super strange. It never ceases to amaze me the weird stuff they do. Ive had snakes go on "strike" and prefer one part of the cage over the other. I obsessively checked temps and were within specs. They just get an itch and its off.

[anicatgirl]

BPs are super strange. It never ceases to amaze me the weird stuff they do. Ive had snakes go on "strike" and prefer one part of the cage over the other. I obsessively checked temps and were within specs. They just get an itch and its off.

I can so relate... Mine only wants the warm side or lays next to her water bowl in the middle... Temps are fine, nothing has changed. And yet... They're just weird... They live to perplex us

[SCWood]

You can follow husbandry rules to the T and they'll still be weirdos lol

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[Penultimate]

Oh, my girl Onyx does some weird stuff... As in, she sits stretched halfway across (not in) the water dish every night and just... stares. If not that, she's on top of her hide looking at me. Or she'll have pressed herself on the ledge between the cage door and the rest of the cage because she can. Or, her favorite, sitting next to or behind the hide but not in it. I don't get it, haha.

And don't even get me started on my rainbow boa. She's a weirdo. Her favorite thing is making tunnel networks around her cage and hiding underneath the substrate in her hide. She never uses her hide entrance. Just burrows right under the side. Oh, and she likes her food either right in front of or on top of her hide. Then there's her random temper tantrums. "Moooooooom, I don't want you to take my picture! Get that camera away! No!" and then a whole bunch of striking and then trying to run or jump out of my hands. The instant the camera or whatever is gone, she stops. Hates the camera more than anything, it seems.

The weirdest snake we have, however, is one of my dad's ball pythons. She didn't eat for a while, so we put a hide in to help with security. Instead of going in the hide like a normal snake, she'd go under the paper towels below or directly outside of the hide. I tried to put her in the box to show her what it was, but she'd go right out and under the towels again. Eventually I took it out because she never used it. My next feeding trick with her? Putting the rat under the paper towels. And... ummmm... it worked. I don't even...

And then there's Disco, my bumblebee het red axanthic! When I come into the room, she likes to come to the front of her tub to watch. Often times she loops herself over her hide and her water dish and watches everything I do. If I put my hand in the tub, she climbs up my arm and curls around my wrist or elbow and hangs out, still keeping an eye on me. Not as weird as the others, but it's pretty sweet.