Sticking Head Out- Strange?

[Hannahvh]

Hello,

I've had my 3 year old BP, Nagini, for about 2.5 weeks. Set up: 20 gal plastic tub, cyprus mulch substrate about 1", 2 hides- one on warm side the other on cool, water dish, some logs to play with (which she does- so cute), and fake vines along the walls of the tub so she feels extra hidden. Humidity is consistently around 54-56%, ambient air 77-80, warm side UTH held around 90 which is under her warm hide, and cool side 78 floor temp. I use digital thermo/hygrometers on both ends to measure this and a temp gun for the floor.

Nagini is a very "non-typical" BP as she isn't very timid, she's very good with handling (I only handle her about 1 a week though), she's very curious when I take her out, and she thinks she's a hair accessory (always crawls up my shoulders to play in my hair- this last week my hair was in a bun and she wrapped herself around it and refused to get down for like 15 mins lol, much to my discomfort as I had to keep my head ducked so she wouldn't slide off lol). She eats like an absolute machine on a weekly basis- is not even slightly picky. I've been keeping a hawk eye on her, as I am a new BP mom and I haven't noticed any abnormal physical symptoms (no mucus in nose, no dented eyes, no wrinkly skin, no spots on skin or mites).

Overall, she seems very healthy and happy and I put in a lot of effort to monitor her and make sure she's okay all the time

However, I do notice an odd behavior from her sometimes and I'm wondering if it's normal or if I am missing something. She hides as normal during most of the day and at night she gets pretty active. I heard BP aren't supposed to be very active either day or night, but she can be a little rambunctious sometimes- climbing in her vines and over the logs and stuff. I figured this is kind of normal and maybe even healthy as it's a bit of "exercise" for her. She doesn't appear to be trying to escape or trying to open the cage at all, just looks like she's exploring. ANYWAYS, the weird thing I've caught her doing is climbing up the taller log I have in there, so that her body is kind wrapped up it and then she extends her head straight OUT. Not up. Just literally sits with her neck extended horizontally and chills like that for a while without moving much. The log happens to be placed under the heat lamp (the heat lamp is about 8" from the lid and I check it regularly to make sure it is not over heating. It is set to a thermostat to be around 80, making ambient temp 77). Is she maybe basking in the heat of that? Is she just exercising? OR is she trying to get "fresh air"? Is this a behavior I should worry about?

It is not constant and I have only seen it a couple times at night so my gut tells me it's just another weird personality trait of hers, but I just want to check. It does not last THAT long- she'll do it 2-3 times for maybe 10 minutes and then just goes about her life as usual. Thanks!

[Sunnieskys]

Normal. She is just "laying in the sun in her bakini" then gets warm and moves into the shade. No worries.

[MR Snakes]

She's being a snake.

[MR Snakes]

Hello,

I've had my 3 year old BP, Nagini, for about 2.5 weeks. Set up: 20 gal plastic tub, cyprus mulch substrate about 1", 2 hides- one on warm side the other on cool, water dish, some logs to play with (which she does- so cute), and fake vines along the walls of the tub so she feels extra hidden. Humidity is consistently around 54-56%, ambient air 77-80, warm side UTH held around 90 which is under her warm hide, and cool side 78 floor temp. I use digital thermo/hygrometers on both ends to measure this and a temp gun for the floor.

Nagini is a very "non-typical" BP as she isn't very timid, she's very good with handling (I only handle her about 1 a week though), she's very curious when I take her out, and she thinks she's a hair accessory (always crawls up my shoulders to play in my hair- this last week my hair was in a bun and she wrapped herself around it and refused to get down for like 15 mins lol, much to my discomfort as I had to keep my head ducked so she wouldn't slide off lol). She eats like an absolute machine on a weekly basis- is not even slightly picky. I've been keeping a hawk eye on her, as I am a new BP mom and I haven't noticed any abnormal physical symptoms (no mucus in nose, no dented eyes, no wrinkly skin, no spots on skin or mites).

Overall, she seems very healthy and happy and I put in a lot of effort to monitor her and make sure she's okay all the time

However, I do notice an odd behavior from her sometimes and I'm wondering if it's normal or if I am missing something. She hides as normal during most of the day and at night she gets pretty active. I heard BP aren't supposed to be very active either day or night, but she can be a little rambunctious sometimes- climbing in her vines and over the logs and stuff. I figured this is kind of normal and maybe even healthy as it's a bit of "exercise" for her. She doesn't appear to be trying to escape or trying to open the cage at all, just looks like she's exploring. ANYWAYS, the weird thing I've caught her doing is climbing up the taller log I have in there, so that her body is kind wrapped up it and then she extends her head straight OUT. Not up. Just literally sits with her neck extended horizontally and chills like that for a while without moving much. The log happens to be placed under the heat lamp (the heat lamp is about 8" from the lid and I check it regularly to make sure it is not over heating. It is set to a thermostat to be around 80, making ambient temp 77). Is she maybe basking in the heat of that? Is she just exercising? OR is she trying to get "fresh air"? Is this a behavior I should worry about?

It is not constant and I have only seen it a couple times at night so my gut tells me it's just another weird personality trait of hers, but I just want to check. It does not last THAT long- she'll do it 2-3 times for maybe 10 minutes and then just goes about her life as usual. Thanks!

Where did you hear that? They are nocturnal and thus are active at night.

[Hannahvh]

Love it, thank you! She is a bit of a diva

Normal. She is just "laying in the sun in her bakini" then gets warm and moves into the shade. No worries.

[Hannahvh]

Well I’ve just read on other threads/websites that BP are supposed to”always hide”. I figured that can’t really be true, and mine in particular seems pretty outgoing, but i just wanted to make sure this particular behavior wasn’t some weird symptom of something.

Where did you hear that? They are nocturnal and thus are active at night.

[Bogertophis]

Well I’ve just read on other threads/websites that BP are supposed to”always hide”. I figured that can’t really be true, and mine in particular seems pretty outgoing, but i just wanted to make sure this particular behavior wasn’t some weird symptom of something.

BPs aren't real active snakes...they are typically ambush-predators, meaning they lie in wait for prey to cluelessly pass by within reach. That's what they're doing
when you see them in their hide with their nose peeking out. That doesn't mean they never come out & explore some though. Make sure the hides aren't heated
to excess, that's one possible reason I could imagine a snake being restless & not using them. Also if hides are too big ("ceiling" too high, or doorway too big) they
may look for a better place where they don't feel so 'exposed'. We have to be "part-time detectives" to figure out what our snakes are trying to tell us sometimes.

[Hannahvh]

Absolutely! I think Nagini does weird things just to throw me off and freak me out. LOL Thanks for your rely. I think she was just exploring. She went back to her usual hiding most of the day and doing some exploring at night, but wasn't as abnormal as I first thought! (She was probably just trying to stress me out, I swear). Plus her appetite is great and I double checked the temps in her hides like you recommended and all are good!

BPs aren't real active snakes...they are typically ambush-predators, meaning they lie in wait for prey to cluelessly pass by within reach. That's what they're doing
when you see them in their hide with their nose peeking out. That doesn't mean they never come out & explore some though. Make sure the hides aren't heated
to excess, that's one possible reason I could imagine a snake being restless & not using them. Also if hides are too big ("ceiling" too high, or doorway too big) they
may look for a better place where they don't feel so 'exposed'. We have to be "part-time detectives" to figure out what our snakes are trying to tell us sometimes.