Baby Ball Python Always Wandering

[kburge]

So I am kind of new to keeping snakes, I worked at the zoo and handled them a lot and am a science teacher but keeping them is a whole different ball game. I have 1.5 yr male albino ball in an identical tank that is doing great! But I also have a 6 month old normal that won't eat and is constantly wandering her cage. She has a larger cage about 3.5-4ft long, with a warm side at about 92 under the heat light and a cool side that can get down to room temperature and obviously the whole range in between. she has a large bowl of water that is always filled up along with 3 different hids, one on the warmest side, one on the coolest side and one in the middle. I have had her about 3-4 weeks and I can't get her to eat, I have tried f/t pnkies, rat pups, hopper mice and she has no interest in anything. I tried the paper bag over night trick and nothing seems to work. Like I said she also is very active and crawls around her cage for most of the day. Any help would be very much appreciated!!!


I also have a 3 month old boa constrictor that is more than happy to stay in her hide on the warm side of her cage but I can't get her to eat anything either, I can only do f/t pinkies for her because she is very small and I can't find anywhere that has tiny live babies mice or rat, my husband is breeding rats but only just started and havent had babies yet.

[melcvt00]

A heat light? Bps like darkness. If you need a heat bulb for ambient temps, I would suggest going ceramic.

How about a pic of her setup? A wandering bp isn't happy about something - hide space (needs to be tight), temps (what are you measuring yours with?), and humidity (you didn't mention that).

Are you using a UTH at all? How often are you handling her? You should let her be and not handle her until after she eats consistently for you.

Your tanks is probably the size of the earth to her right now, and she doesn't feel safe.

[kburge]

I have one of the red heat lights that is on during the day and there is an under the tank heat pad that is always on. I have a tank thermometer and then I have one of the laser heat things. Yeah I know wandering isnt a good thing which is why I was asking, I am thinking maybe I should block part of the enclosure off so it isnt so big, or add more like fake plants and what not for her to hide in? And humidity is between 50-60%.

[kburge]

Also I have not been handling her so she can feel more comfortable

[MixtSpice]

The more open the space is, the less happy a bp will be. Make sure you have enough clutter in there, hides are good but if there's still open spaces, get some fake foliage to fill it in. Also, get a probed thermostat to regulate the uth temp

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[Stewart_Reptiles]

But I also have a 6 month old normal that won't eat and is constantly wandering her cage. She has a larger cage about 3.5-4ft long,

There is your issue, downsize the cage size (and I mean huge downsize (12 quarts tub), and no handling until the animal eats. Also provide very tight hides (all sides touching your animal's body. And if that animal never ate for you feed a live mouse (equal the girth size) and do so in the enclosure.

4 feet cages are way too large for an animal that size, even for an adult a 3ft is more than enough. The cage needs to be upgraded as the animal grows.

An over active BP that does not eat is trying to tell you that it's needs are not met, security is the single most important part of husbandry.

[Willowy]

Unregulated UTHs can burn the snake. BPS are kind of known for not moving off the heat pad even when it gets too hot :/. A thermostat is a necessity in BP keeping.

But that's a a safety issue and probably not related to her not eating . I agree that she probably feels too insecure in the large tank. Try cluttering it up with silk vines and other high-coverage tank decor. If that doesn't work, get a smaller tub and kept her in that for a while. You can even put the tub in her large tank, that way you can put it halfway over the heat pad so you don't need to buy extra supplies.