Help, ball python trying to escape

[Bogertophis]

...Ground temp on cool side is 26°, hot side is 28.6 but it's probably hotter than that, since my BP moved the thermometer probe up from under the substrate. For substrate i use coconut fiber, and to get out my boy tries to push up the lid.

You cannot be guessing what the high temp. is in his home, & 26-28 is okay for cool/ambient, but not warm enough for digestion- his "warm side" should be 30-32*, but you also MUST make sure it's not exceeding that. There's a fine line between health-promoting & un-safe for BPs.

And the temp. probe belongs on the OUTSIDE- never inside where it WILL get moved or wet, & not register accurately. Once you set the thermostat to achieve the right warmth inside, you need to be double checking more than once (& under the substrate where the snake can potentially make contact) with an accurate temp. gun- you cannot rely on what a t-stat is set to, you have to make sure of what it's actually achieving. And it's totally unsafe if the snake can move the probe, your snake can get injured- "burned"- by excessive heat.

[Nephil]

RE using one long hide- just saying it's not optimal to provide the range of temps he might need, since heat from one side gets held in & the "cool end" might not be cool enough, see?

But if he likes it, by all means use it, or rather, one like it- it's just that you also said it was toast from mold issues. If this is natural wood, it might help to get another one & seal it first with a pet-safe "no-voc" waterproofing before you use it- that way, hopefully mold won't take it over.

The other thing though- & this is pretty standard advice- is that it's best to use 2 MATCHING hides of the right size (& height & only one doorway), one on the cool side & the other on the warm, so your snake doesn't feel compelled to only use the one he physically prefers instead of the one providing the optimal temperature he needs- & this changes all the time, due to digestion & shedding.

I didn't think of the matching hides before, but it's a good idea. I really feel like changing up the skull-like cave first, but now im really unsure since he has been resting there all night, and he used it only a few times before. Maybe he's just warming up now after a long summer, and requires a better quality hide while using the only one he has on that side. Might use something similar to the log before, but sadly the log itself is only good to throw out.

[Nephil]

His "floor plan" is wide open- not enough cover & hides for him to feel safe- BPs hide most of the time in nature, & even when hungry, they're "ambush-predators", NOT active hunters. They grab prey that gets cluelessly too close to where they're hiding. Out in the open, predators like hawks (etc.) have BPs for lunch. Seeing him in his home is nice for you, but apparently it's not making HIM feel at home. Might want to add some fake foliage etc.

I do realise there's too much space and i do want to add up something, i just didn't yet cause of the natural log that occupied most of the space molded up unexpectedly.

[Nephil]

You cannot be guessing what the high temp. is in his home, & 26-28 is okay for cool/ambient, but not warm enough for digestion- his "warm side" should be 30-32*, but you also MUST make sure it's not exceeding that. There's a fine line between health-promoting & un-safe for BPs.

And the temp. probe belongs on the OUTSIDE- never inside where it WILL get moved or wet, & not register accurately. Once you set the thermostat to achieve the right warmth inside, you need to be double checking more than once (& under the substrate where the snake can potentially make contact) with an accurate temp. gun- you cannot rely on what a t-stat is set to, you have to make sure of what it's actually achieving. And it's totally unsafe if the snake can move the probe, your snake can get injured- "burned"- by excessive heat.

I apologise if i made you misunderstand, but it was just a momentary guess since my BP was just slithering around moving everything and also slightly moving the thermometer up, while i always put it right on the plastic floor under the substrate. When the probe is where it should be, it measures 30° C, just like it does right now after putting it back in place. I did commit the mistake of putting the thermostat probe right with the thermometer's right under the substrate, and since the stat had to warm up through a layer of plastic (as explained from one person in my previous thread) it was overheating and had temp "roller-coasters". I sandwiched the thermostats' probes between the mats and tub, and it all seems to be okay now. I left the thermometer probes in cause they won't make the mats overheat even if (for example) some water spills on one of them, but i do often check if they are reading the temp where they should be and if there's some liquid interrupting them, i also keep them down with a pebble so they aren't that easily movable. But i keep the therm probes in not only for the mat reason, but also cause they read the spot right where the snake can be on, but i can change up things if needed. I will buy a temp gun too, since everyone keeps reccomending one.

[Bogertophis]

I didn't think of the matching hides before, but it's a good idea. I really feel like changing up the skull-like cave first, but now im really unsure since he has been resting there all night, and he used it only a few times before. Maybe he's just warming up now after a long summer, and requires a better quality hide while using the only one he has on that side. Might use something similar to the log before, but sadly the log itself is only good to throw out.

"Matching hides" is standard advice for BPs & other snakes. They're shy & they want to hide but tend to choose "safety & security" (ie. the hide they prefer) over the right temperature. If the hides are identical, he'll choose according to the correct temperature.

I would suggest losing the "skull" thing- snakes grow slowly but meals make them suddenly wider- they've been known to get stuck in the holes on such things & need some dangerous cutting (the skull apart) to rescue them- sometimes the snake gets hurt. You never want hides or any decor that have such holes- they're intended for tropical fish- they don't get stuck. You want something like this instead, so the snake can always get out. The skull also has too many openings for a snake to feel secure in anyway. He's using it out of desperation. Your snake is stressed- please fix that a.s.a.p.

[Nephil]

"Matching hides" is standard advice for BPs & other snakes. They're shy & they want to hide but tend to choose "safety & security" (ie. the hide they prefer) over the right temperature. If the hides are identical, he'll choose according to the correct temperature.

I would suggest losing the "skull" thing- snakes grow slowly but meals make them suddenly wider- they've been known to get stuck in the holes on such things & need some dangerous cutting (the skull apart) to rescue them- sometimes the snake gets hurt. You never want hides or any decor that have such holes- they're intended for tropical fish- they don't get stuck. You want something like this instead, so the snake can always get out. The skull also has too many openings for a snake to feel secure in anyway. He's using it out of desperation. Your snake is stressed- please fix that a.s.a.p.

Those kind of hides you showed me definitely don't look aesthetically pleasing, but something cheap and especially safe for my BP will be perfect. I order things from amazon, but the problem is i really struggle with inches, i only know what cm are ahah ^^". My boy is about 50 cm with something, and he got wider and stronger compared to before when i bought him (he got fat, but not overweight i mean haha). Have you got an idea of what size i should get him? I don't want to do any big mistake again and get him a hide that is too big or small, and almost everyone on this forum knows more things than i do.

[Zincubus]

Even a few branches and pieces of dried bark would make a huge difference - get them from local parks / woods / forests



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[Nephil]

Even a few branches and pieces of dried bark would make a huge difference - get them from local parks / woods / forests



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Woah, looks amazing! I just dont feel like trusting natural wood anymore haha

[Erie_herps]

If you sterilize it by boiling and baking/microwaving it shouldn't bring in any pests or insecticides. I always sterilize everything from outside (usually leaves) to avoid bringing in mites, flies, centipedes, spiders, snails, pesticides, etc.

[Bogertophis]

If you sterilize it by boiling and baking/microwaving it shouldn't bring in any pests or insecticides. I always sterilize everything from outside (usually leaves) to avoid bringing in mites, flies, centipedes, spiders, snails, pesticides, etc.

I don't think "sterilizing" would remove pesticides at all- if there's ANY chance that decor (branches etc) from outside contains any pesticides, DO NOT USE THEM.

Also, while baking (etc) will kill most pests in the wood, it won't stop mold from growing later on. Mold spores are floating around most everywhere, just looking for a home.