Left home, snake is acting weird

[ApathyAngel]

I've had Jeffrey, a 10-year-old female ball python, for 8 years now. She's a giant jerk (I assume it's a holdover from the extreme neglect she endured before I got her), but she knows me and we've worked on her tolerating being handled, to the point that holding her doesn't result in me bleeding anymore.

I've been a stay-at-home mom for the last 12 years, and recently went back to work, driving truck. I'm away from home for 2 weeks at a time. My husband and kid have taken over the snake care.

Neither of them know anything about snakes, I was always the one handling Jeffrey and taking care of feedings, tank maintenance, and cleaning. In the beginning, that was necessary just because she was so unpredictable and aggressive, and I'm the only one with experience with snakes. Now she's calmed down, and it became more habit than anything else for me to be the one taking care of her.

But now I'm gone, and I left my husband instructions and made sure my thermostats were set up correctly. I showed him how to check and maintain the humidity level, how to feed her, etc. Everything should stay the same.

Except it's not. She's acting weird. Exhibiting behaviors I've never seen her do before. Tipping over her hide (no small feat, she's full grown and that hide is huge, and heavy), climbing on top of it, shoving her water dish around, it seems every day for the past week, my husband has called with a new weird thing she's doing.

And today, she refused to eat (yes, I know BPs are notorious for that. Jeffrey might refuse food once a year, if that. She was starved and malnourished for the first 2 years of her life. She doesn't refuse food now. She has a feeding response that puts my previous snake, a tiger retic, to shame).

My first question every time he calls is, "what's the temp and humidity?"

And the answer is always the same. "85 on the high side, 77 on the low, humidity is 55."

The temps on the thermostats are fine. Basking spot is 93.

Nothing has changed. Nothing is different. Except for the fact that I'm not there.

I know snakes can recognize faces, and Jeffrey's favorite thing when she's in a good mood is to hang out with her head resting on the opening of her hide, watching us go about our day. I know she's used to me being the one doing everything with her.

I know she realizes that I'm not there anymore. I know she understands that someone different is handling her and taking care of her and feeding her.

But I also know they don't really develop emotional bonds with their owners. They're a solitary species. Not socially motivated at all. So it seems unlikely that she's acting out because she misses me.

But I really don't know what else could be causing this. And I'm nervous because I can't get home to check on her myself for another week. I don't know if there's anything wrong that my husband doesn't see because he doesn't have experience, and I might be missing because I'm not there to see it for myself.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Any ideas what might be causing her weird behavior? Should I have the husband take her to the vet, or am I overthinking this?

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[Homebody]

I'm as puzzled as you are. I suggest you have your husband open an account on the forum and post his questions directly to us. Pics of Jeffrey's set up might help.

[Lord Sorril]

I wouldn't overthink it.
She may have developed follicles/ova and they are making her uncomfortable-This is the time for it (in my area).
My large females like to float in their water bowls when this happens.
Time will sort that out.

[Homebody]

...But now I'm gone, and I left my husband instructions and made sure my thermostats were set up correctly. I showed him how to check and maintain the humidity level, how to feed her, etc. Everything should stay the same.

Except it's not. She's acting weird. Exhibiting behaviors I've never seen her do before. Tipping over her hide (no small feat, she's full grown and that hide is huge, and heavy), climbing on top of it, shoving her water dish around, it seems every day for the past week, my husband has called with a new weird thing she's doing...

I was reading through your previous posts about Jeffrey and notice that the atypical is typical for Jeffrey, and hide flipping isn't unprecedented. I wonder if, maybe, since you aren't there, you're imagining things to be worse than they are. It's not just Jeffrey's first time without you, but also you're first time without Jeffrey. So, it's perfectly natural for you to worry.

[Bogertophis]

Maybe her attitude is the result of being a female named Jeffery? (Yes, I'm kidding )

I don't think snakes recognize faces so much, but maybe our overall shape/size and SCENT- & even the way we move? You (your family) could try putting a worn article of your clothing in with her & see if that makes her calmer, & reassured?

I kinda do think she "misses you"- she is "comforted by your familiar presence" at any rate. But a meal skipped here & there won't hurt anything & you'll be home soon anyway- I wouldn't worry.

[ApathyAngel]

I'm as puzzled as you are. I suggest you have your husband open an account on the forum and post his questions directly to us. Pics of Jeffrey's set up might help.

I made that suggestion to my husband and he thinks it's a good idea. I was able to get home and check on everything, and her tank is fine, she's fine, she ate without hesitation when I fed her. Hubs is definitely opening his own account on the forum, and will ask any questions he has, until he gets more experience. I added a pic of her setup.



It's an Exo Terra tank, 36x18x12, and she's been in that for the last 5-ish years or so, ever since she outgrew her smaller tank. I use a UTH and a ceramic heater, both on thermostats. I've got a digital temp/humidity gauge on either side of the tank, as well as a spot-thermometer to check her basking spot, just in front of her hide.

I uncovered the cold side for the picture, but usually the far corner on the cold side of her tank is covered to serve as her cold hide, and I've got a humidity box that I shove in there when she's in blue, but she almost never uses it (except to poop in. She likes to poop in that. Better than her water dish, I guess). Sheds in one piece 95% of the time, she's always been a good shedder and good eater. She's a hair under 5 feet long and weighs 2200 grams.

I wouldn't overthink it.
She may have developed follicles/ova and they are making her uncomfortable-This is the time for it (in my area).
My large females like to float in their water bowls when this happens.
Time will sort that out.

That's a good point. I was able to get home and check on her, and she was more than eager to eat this time, so it might have just been discomfort last week, or maybe just some random little thing I started overthinking because I wasn't here to check on her myself. Thank you!

Maybe her attitude is the result of being a female named Jeffery? (Yes, I'm kidding )

I don't think snakes recognize faces so much, but maybe our overall shape/size and SCENT- & even the way we move? You (your family) could try putting a worn article of your clothing in with her & see if that makes her calmer, & reassured?

I kinda do think she "misses you"- she is "comforted by your familiar presence" at any rate. But a meal skipped here & there won't hurt anything & you'll be home soon anyway- I wouldn't worry.

I appreciate this. Lol, she's a weirdo, she needed a weird name. She actually didn't have a name for a long time. The kid who owned her as a hatchling gave her a name, and that's what we used at the vet and stuff, but it never really fit her and I didn't use it at home. She kinda grew into Jeffrey.

She was totally vicious when I first got her, and I spent years and years working with her, getting her to the point that I trust her around my kid. She's come a long way from the neurotic little psycho I brought home, and I like to think she and I have come to an understanding of each other and developed a lot of trust. Maybe she does miss me, or at least some version of that. I don't like anthropomorphizing animals, but it's always been clear that she knows me and trusts me. I've gotten very good at reading her body language, and it's rewarding as hell when I pull her out of her tank and she immediately relaxes because she knows me and knows she's safe.

I got home for Mother's Day and checked everything. She's healthy, she's fine, her setup is fine, and I just fed her a few minutes ago and she struck immediately. I probably am overthinking this, and she'll be fine. I'll try the idea of putting an article of clothing in with her. Ended up having to do that with my dog, and it seemed to help. Can't hurt to try.

I was reading through your previous posts about Jeffrey and notice that the atypical is typical for Jeffrey, and hide flipping isn't unprecedented. I wonder if, maybe, since you aren't there, you're imagining things to be worse than they are. It's not just Jeffrey's first time without you, but also you're first time without Jeffrey. So, it's perfectly natural for you to worry.

Lol, yeah, she's a weird one. You're almost certainly right. I came home and double checked everything, and she's completely fine. It's just me being worried because I've never left her alone before. She's a jerk, but she's *my* jerk, and I adore her. I know I'm just worried and possibly a little anxious because I miss the little brat.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[Bogertophis]

...She was totally vicious when I first got her, and I spent years and years working with her, getting her to the point that I trust her around my kid. She's come a long way from the neurotic little psycho I brought home, and I like to think she and I have come to an understanding of each other and developed a lot of trust. Maybe she does miss me, or at least some version of that. I don't like anthropomorphizing animals, but it's always been clear that she knows me and trusts me. I've gotten very good at reading her body language, and it's rewarding as hell when I pull her out of her tank and she immediately relaxes because she knows me and knows she's safe...

Good job- I know the feeling. Sometimes the "worst snakes" (the ones we have to work really hard to get them to accept us) do end up to be the most rewarding. I'm sure it's because we've seen first-hand how far they've come with us.

One of my rat snakes that I hatched out almost 4 years ago has always been super high-strung from the beginning. Hated to be touched or picked up-she would thrash around like a wild thing. I worked with her a lot- I'll never forget the time when she was about 2 years old, she snuggled into my long sleeve for an hour+ (while I was online), just peeking out at my cuff, watching me but obviously pretty comfortable. That was real progress, finally.

She still reacts a bit when first picked up, then settles down & relaxes with me very well- it's clear she remembers she is safe with me- & that's a great feeling. She's getting calmer about feeding too- from the beginning, she's been the craziest snake I've ever fed, & that's saying something as I've raised quite a few. Even though she is only fed pre-killed rodents, she thrashes & rolls around wildly all around her tank with it for quite a while before she eats it- it's hilarious to watch. I'm sure glad she never did that with my hand-

[ApathyAngel]

Good job- I know the feeling. Sometimes the "worst snakes" (the ones we have to work really hard to get them to accept us) do end up to be the most rewarding. I'm sure it's because we've seen first-hand how far they've come with us.

One of my rat snakes that I hatched out almost 4 years ago has always been super high-strung from the beginning. Hated to be touched or picked up-she would thrash around like a wild thing. I worked with her a lot- I'll never forget the time when she was about 2 years old, she snuggled into my long sleeve for an hour+ (while I was online), just peeking out at my cuff, watching me but obviously pretty comfortable. That was real progress, finally.

She still reacts a bit when first picked up, then settles down & relaxes with me very well- it's clear she remembers she is safe with me- & that's a great feeling. She's getting calmer about feeding too- from the beginning, she's been the craziest snake I've ever fed, & that's saying something as I've raised quite a few. Even though she is only fed pre-killed rodents, she thrashes & rolls around wildly all around her tank with it for quite a while before she eats it- it's hilarious to watch. I'm sure glad she never did that with my hand-

Yep, exactly. You perfectly expressed how awesome that feeling is.

Even now, Jeffrey's been mellow and handleable for a few years, and it's still an awesome feeling when she just relaxes and curls up on my lap or draped around my shoulders.

She will never be as affectionate as a dog or a cat, sure. But it's just such an awesome feeling when a solitary animal who had a rough start to life decides to hang out with me for a little while. Definitely worth all the blood I lost those first couple of years.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[Bogertophis]

Yep, exactly. You perfectly expressed how awesome that feeling is.

Even now, Jeffrey's been mellow and handleable for a few years, and it's still an awesome feeling when she just relaxes and curls up on my lap or draped around my shoulders.

She will never be as affectionate as a dog or a cat, sure. But it's just such an awesome feeling when a solitary animal who had a rough start to life decides to hang out with me for a little while. Definitely worth all the blood I lost those first couple of years.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

All in all, I've had very few bites from Mirikel, & they were only in her first year (thankfully because she was much smaller then), but I've had lots of practice at "keeping a light touch" for highly reactive snakes. I've "successfully" handled coachwhips & many more. It's a reminder though, just how scary we must seem to our slithery friends, & while they're not literally "affectionate", it feels awesome to be accepted by a wild thing, especially those that also had a rough start being mishandled by others. It proves they can learn- they're not merely "instinctive" creatures.