Ball python laying with neck out of hide

[Stoola]

Recently my baby ball python (I've had him for 3 weeks) has been laying in his hide with his head sticking out in a loose S shape. (Photo here: https://imgur.com/a/QThovEM). He ate yesterday just fine, and that was his very first meal with me. He started doing the thing I'm describing about 2 or 3 days before his meal, so I sort of took it as that he was hungry. But now that I see he's still doing it even after his meal, I'm curious what he's doing. He does it like 24/7, sometimes sleeping. This is his hide on the cool side btw, he has an identical one on the warm end as well.

[threadgoode]

My 2 year old girl does that all the time, it's perfectly normal. He could be curious about what's going on outside or it's just how he likes to situate himself. They don't always curl up completely, especially if they're more comfortable/confident in their enclosures. I will note though, if he's holding his head in a strike position (like a tight S shape), he might be feeling defensive and/or still hungry. Just make sure you're feeding the right size with right frequency, your husbandry is good, all that. And he should be fine

[Stoola]

Thanks for the reply. This makes me feel a bit more comfortable. It's never in a tight S shape really, more just like a curve so his head isn't awkwardly sticking straight out. The rat fuzzy I gave him was actually quite large, but considering he hasn't eaten in 3 weeks or more might mean he'll be more hungry. He doesn't seem super defensive, and when he is, he just hides if he feels threatened (i.e. by water if I'm bumping the humidity), then he comes right back out like nothing happened 30 seconds later. Considering he ate, I guess I have nothing to worry about, as that's a sign of a stress free snek.

[Absololol]

My baby does this all the time also. They're not just pet rocks, some of them are genuinely curious - they want to keep an eye on the outside, or might do it to thermoregulate a big more precisely. Mine does this when she's hungry and 'hunting' for food.

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[Crowfingers]

LOL - this is my 4yr old male. he "sleeps" like this on a regular basis - (this is the front of his cave hide):

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...415&height=553

This hide is in no way too small either. He can comfortably fit completely inside it. He also just sits with is head out watching things - esp at night.