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  1. #1
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    Ball python pushing against screen lid

    My ball python is in a 10 gallon tank (she’s about 2 feet ling and then some), CHE lamp on top with foil tape covering the metal screen lid to keep humidity in. She’s recently started aggressively pushing her head against the metal screen lid. To the point she has a small mark on her nose. I luckily have some medicine that a vet gave me for a mild infection she’s recovering from (I verified with the vet that it was okay to use this medicine on her nose too).

    I’m just not sure what I should do to get her to stop. I keep the humidity up and she has a hide. She did escape a few weeks ago so I’m assuming she got out by doing this, but I just wish she would stop so she would stop hurting her cute face!!!!

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    Sounds like she wants OUT, & that should be telling you something. A 2' snake could probably use a larger cage, for one thing, but I'm MORE concerned about her
    EXACT temperatures & HOW accurate they are (where are you taking them & with what?). BPs are usually low-key, so for her to desperately push on the screen suggests
    that she is uncomfortable, & most likely TOO HOT...as a cold snake gets less active & tends to hide. So fix this A.S.A.P. for her health & safety. We aren't seeing her
    cage or details...I hope I'm wrong, but fear I'm right. Snakes also NEED TWO hides...one cool side of cage & one warm side of cage, FYI. A previous escape will also
    tend to make a snake more likely to try to escape, as they DO learn their way around (or in this case, how to get out), but it still suggests that her home is not to her
    liking (ie. comfort).
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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    Re: Ball python pushing against screen lid

    Try removing the light. Ball pythons nocturnal.

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    Re: Ball python pushing against screen lid

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    Sounds like she wants OUT, & that should be telling you something. A 2' snake could probably use a larger cage, for one thing, but I'm MORE concerned about her
    EXACT temperatures & HOW accurate they are (where are you taking them & with what?). BPs are usually low-key, so for her to desperately push on the screen suggests
    that she is uncomfortable, & most likely TOO HOT...as a cold snake gets less active & tends to hide. So fix this A.S.A.P. for her health & safety. We aren't seeing her
    cage or details...I hope I'm wrong, but fear I'm right. Snakes also NEED TWO hides...one cool side of cage & one warm side of cage, FYI. A previous escape will also
    tend to make a snake more likely to try to escape, as they DO learn their way around (or in this case, how to get out), but it still suggests that her home is not to her
    liking (ie. comfort).

    Thank you for your response! I actually did have a larger tank when I first got her and she did not like it. She refused to eat and was extremely active. I befriended someone who has multiple reptiles and she is the one who helped me with getting my new supplies. I am monitoring the temperature with a controller that plugs into the CHE lamp and also a hygrometer in the tank. By the way, the CHE lamp does not emit light, only heat (84-86 degrees). When I moved her into this she stayed in her hide all the time for two weeks and finally ate a frozen thawed (I had been struggling with this, I’ve had her about 2 months). When she got the mild infection, that’s when I had to change the bedding to paper towels and keep the humidity very low. This is when she escaped. Since i put her back in this is the when she started pushing. I continued the treatment and the vet gave me the go to put her back in the humid environment, but it has continued. So with that it seems like it’s because she’s learned that’s how she’s escaped, which she can’t do anymore. Just not sure how to get her to stop. She used to love it and I put it back exactly how it was.
    Last edited by someonehelp; 03-30-2020 at 09:15 PM.

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    Re: Ball python pushing against screen lid

    Quote Originally Posted by 2l84t View Post
    Try removing the light. Ball pythons nocturnal.
    Thank you for responding. The CHE lamp doesn’t emit any light, and it’s light in my room for only about 3-4 hours each day.

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    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Re: Ball python pushing against screen lid

    Quote Originally Posted by 2l84t View Post
    Try removing the light. Ball pythons nocturnal.
    CHE = ceramic heat emitter...NO LIGHT, heat only. And BPs sure do need a heat source.

    Oops, didn't see you already got this, lol...
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 03-30-2020 at 09:48 PM.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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    Re: Ball python pushing against screen lid

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    CHE = ceramic heat emitter...NO LIGHT, heat only. And BPs sure do need a heat source.

    Oops, didn't see you already got this, lol...
    No worries. Did you get a chance to read my response to you? If so, what do you think? The thought of me doing something that could seriously hurt her or even kill her scares me to death. Just trying to get as much knowledge as I can from other ball python owners.

  8. #8
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Re: Ball python pushing against screen lid

    Quote Originally Posted by someonehelp View Post
    Thank you for your response! I actually did have a larger tank when I first got her and she did not like it. She refused to eat and was extremely active. I befriended someone who has multiple reptiles and she is the one who helped me with getting my new supplies. I am monitoring the temperature with a controller that plugs into the CHE lamp and also a hygrometer in the tank. By the way, the CHE lamp does not emit light, only heat (84-86 degrees). When I moved her into this she stayed in her hide all the time for two weeks and finally ate a frozen thawed (I had been struggling with this, I’ve had her about 2 months). When she got the mild infection, that’s when I had to change the bedding to paper towels and keep the humidity very low. This is when she escaped. Since i put her back in this is the when she started pushing. I continued the treatment and the vet gave me the go to put her back in the humid environment, but it has continued. So with that it seems like it’s because she’s learned that’s how she’s escaped, which she can’t do anymore. Just not sure how to get her to stop. She used to love it and I put it back exactly how it was.
    It's not so much the size of the tank, but how "cluttered" you make it...BPs love to hide and need multiple hides (as I already mentioned); many also use fake vines & other furnishings to increase privacy for their BP- and since it's a tank, it's easy to also cover the back, sides & bottom with something that both gives privacy & also insulates the cage (which will help almost no matter where you live). Your highest temp. in the cage is 84-86*? That's a little low...you want closer to 90* max, & about 80* on the "cool" end. If a snake is too cool, that's a main reason for them to refuse to eat. One reason I suggested a bigger tank* is so there's room for 2+ hides, but also because it's hard to offer the needed range of temps in so small a tank. *Many here (incl. those who breed, like Deborah, Stewart Reptiles) prefer & recommend tubs (& on the small side too)- see her instructions for BPs. Either way, I still think your set-up needs some work. A larger tank should work if correctly modified with enough privacy so the BP feels "secure"; also hides must be just slightly bigger than the snake, with only one doorway...if too big, or open at each end like those tree bark tunnels, BPs don't feel secure.

    And I'm just finishing dinner...that's why slow response.
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 03-30-2020 at 10:23 PM.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  9. #9
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    If you look under "Forum" (upper left) then scroll down & click into "BP Husbandry", there are "sticky" threads (ie permanent advice given & not for discussion/response)
    such as the following: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ips-and-Tricks
    I suggest you do some more reading...
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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