BP hiding too much??

[Bo 17]

Hey guys this is my first post. So I have my ball python named Bo who is about 1.5 years old. I’ve had him since he was 6 months old.Ive noticed that he almost never comes out of his hide even at night. At night he just sits there with his head pokes out. The only time he does is during feeding time, when he’s drinking and when he’s moving from hide to hide. He moves around fine when I’m handling him, has never missed a meal and is otherwise healthy. His temps are good and he has two hides and some other clutter. He’s in a 40 gal. I was wondering if maybe he doesn’t come out because it’s too open and if I should add more clutter. I would send a pic of the setup but this is my first time and I’m not sure how lol. Thanks!

[Streller]

Welcome to the forum.

There's no such thing as a royal hiding too much. They're at their happiest when they're either stuffing their faces with prey or if they're hiding away. You're worrying over nothing! I would suggest that yes, perhaps you can add some foliage in his enclosure/wood/tunnels to clutter the place up a bit and offer him some more cover between the two hides. Royals like feeling secure, which is why they like being in their hides. Offering cover may change his behaviour and get him to explore a bit more, because there will be more to explore while also feeling enclosed and secure.

Even if he doesn't move more when you provide him with more cover, please don't worry about it. He sounds perfectly healthy and his behaviour reflects this. Nothing wrong with a royal that likes to just be a lump.

As for uploading a picture. I suggest you upload it to a site like Imgur, then right click & copy the image location URL (make sure it ends in .png/.jpg/etc.) and then in a post type (IMG)URLHERE(/IMG) with square [ ] brackets instead of parenthesis.

You could also use the WYSIWYG editor and just paste the URL of the image in the field when you click the picture of a tree next to the video reel.

[KMG]

Hiding too much?

Not possible.

Some snakes are like owning a pet rock.

[Bogertophis]

Agree with the others here, this is normal behavior for a BP. They are "ambush-predators" meaning they prefer to lie in wait for clueless prey to walk by, then pounce!
What you're seeing is a clue that his thoughts are on food. BPs do not go in search of prey when hungry, unlike many other kinds of snakes do. They peek out of their
secure hiding place & wait. If they were humans, they'd be waiting at the front door for Domino's pizza to get delivered.

[Zincubus]

Hey guys this is my first post. So I have my ball python named Bo who is about 1.5 years old. I’ve had him since he was 6 months old.Ive noticed that he almost never comes out of his hide even at night. At night he just sits there with his head pokes out. The only time he does is during feeding time, when he’s drinking and when he’s moving from hide to hide. He moves around fine when I’m handling him, has never missed a meal and is otherwise healthy. His temps are good and he has two hides and some other clutter. He’s in a 40 gal. I was wondering if maybe he doesn’t come out because it’s too open and if I should add more clutter. I would send a pic of the setup but this is my first time and I’m not sure how lol. Thanks!

How many branches are there in his viv / RUB ??




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[Zincubus]

Hiding too much?

Not possible.

Some snakes are like owning a pet rock.

If ya put branches in a viv with a Royal/ Ball python they will happily climb around them in the evenings ... they’ll climb more than Corn snakes who have a reputation for being decent climbers themselves.


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[Bo 17]

He has one big branch and and two big clusters of fake leaves. I was thinking that that’s maybe not enough.

[KMG]

If ya put branches in a viv with a Royal/ Ball python they will happily climb around them in the evenings ... they’ll climb more than Corn snakes who have a reputation for being decent climbers themselves.


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They certainly will. I find mine out at times laying on her big driftwood. Certainly in her hide more than the open though.

My Bloods? Nope. Pet rocks..... Not that a have a branch strong enough for my big one. My Dum is not far behind.

The arboreals are much more active and I love to watch them climb but the most active one I have is the Hognose. This one and my last climbs all around it's house.

[Zincubus]

He has one big branch and and two big clusters of fake leaves. I was thinking that that’s maybe not enough.

The more branches / bark pieces/ fake foliage the better - they all provide security and hiding places . They will climb in the evenings.

I’ll try and find a photo I took of FOUR of my Albino Royals in adjacent vivs ALL out climbing ..


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[Luvyna]

Seconding adding more clutter so he feels more secure coming out to climb. Also note that BPs can be very secretive so you might not see him climbing as they tend to do so in the middle of the night when the house is dark and quiet and you are asleep. Sometimes you can tell they've been out at night because you'll see the substrate has been pushed around or some decor has been pushed out of place.