Should I be worried?

[postminpat]

Alright. So i'll try and keep this post as concise as possible. If pictures are absolutely needed i'll complete the spiel to get them on here for you all. I'm pretty sure i'm in the right section for this thread. If not my feelings won't be hurt if it gets moved lol.

So on to it.
I've been on this forum lots just reading and I have to say i'm impressed with the amount of information available. I've had my ball python for about 2 months now. I got him as a gift from my buddy who bought him from some people who in turn got him from a breeder. The enclosure he came with was a corner aquarium (about 30 gal's tall) At any rate, it was too small for my liking so I bumped him up to one of those Zilla 40 gal breeders with the sliding screen top. Modified with perforated plexi glass to keep heat and humidity in. I have him on two different types of substrate. Aspen and coconut husk. With newspaper on the very bottom above the glass away from his UTH. He has a cold hide and a hot hide, 2 water dishes (one is mostly used to maintain humidity) with the UTH under his hot hide set to turn off at 92 F and an IHE centered above the enclosure to provide an all-around ambient temp that turns off at 79 F (i've read on here it's ok to have a single ambient temp throughout the enclosure provided it does not fall below 75F) I have two Inkbird digital thermostats set up to both the infrared heat dome and UTH. Both set to turn back on when it falls a degree below its cutoff level for maximum consistency. I also have the IHE on a dimmer switch so the heat beam isn't comming down at 40 C as advertised when it's at full wattage. I've had him in this setup for about a month and a half now and he seems to be doing great. Even now. He's moving from hot hide to cold hide throughout the day. sometimes every other day. My concern now is that lately he's been about 1/3rd out of his cold hide. Resting on top, or resting above his water dish right beside it. (I have both his water dishes away from the UTH) There's times where he appears to be stargazing but that doesn't last long (about 3-5 minutes) then he will go back to resting either on top of his cold hide or on edge of water basin. He doesn't seem to be doing this behavior on his hot hide. And he'll also go back into his hides completely, often during morning and early afternoon hours. I know I just got him and have yet to see different habits he may have/develop. I just need to put my mind to rest. I can think of nothing more to do for husbandry (Btw I maintain his humidity at around 65-70% sometimes it goes higher right after a cleaning or changing his water bowl and newspaper under-substrate. But will level off at the levels previously mentioned by the next day. My question is; Is he just getting comfortable within his enclosure and curious as to what's around him or is this the beginning of a potential RI? It's humid in his enclosure. He sheds in one, full piece, His substrate is always dry in both his hides. And dry on surface throughout shortly after a misting job. (even the big ones when I clean his enclosure) I tend to spray down his coco husk generously, while always leaving the aspen dry. He has a hell of an appetite and hasn't refused one meal yet. Frozen thawed or Live. Any and all feedback will be appreciated. And if you have any further questions i'll do my best to answer them.

Cheers

Don.

[Hannahshissyfix]

Sounds like he's doing normal snake stuff. If he's still eating then I wouldn't worry about a RI. I think if we stare at our snakes long enough it becomes easy to over analyze what they're doing but just have faith he knows how to thermoregulate himself and is most comfortable where he puts himself.

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[Craiga 01453]

Sounds like he's doing normal snake stuff. If he's still eating then I wouldn't worry about a RI. I think if we stare at our snakes long enough it becomes easy to over analyze what they're doing but just have faith he knows how to thermoregulate himself and is most comfortable where he puts himself.

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^^^^ great reply ^^^^

[postminpat]

Thanks for the replies. I think he's doing alright. For the most part he stays in either his cold or hot hide. Mostly the hot. I'm pretty sure he's just finally got comfortable in his enclosure and is now curious about his surroundings.

Cheers