Won't go in hide?

[kc261]

We just got our baby ball python today. When we got her home we opened the lid of the deli container she was in, put it on its side in her new home, and sat back to watch. It took her very little time to crawl out of the deli container and start exploring. And exploring. And exploring.

I would guess it was at least 2 hours later when she finally slowed down. She just went around and around her tank, and made circles around her hides and water bowl, and crawled over the tops of them, and knocked over the Accurite temp/humidity gauge, and crawled up the sides as much as she could. She made more than one trip from one end of the tank to the other without touching the ground because she crawled on top of all the things in the tank.

But she never went in the hides. When she finally did sort of curl up to rest, it was beside the thermometer. One time somewhere in the middle of her activities, I picked up one of the hides and placed it carefully over her, because I thought maybe the reason she was running around so much was because she couldn't find a place to hide if she couldn't find the entrances or something. This did get her to freeze for a minute but once she realized the hide wasn't going to eat her she just crawled right out. We tried it again after she seemed ready to rest, but she just crawled out from under the hide and returned to the place beside the thermometer.

The activity level was higher than I expected. But it was evening and part of the reason we fell in love with this baby was that she was the most out-going BP hatchling we've encountered in the month or so since we started seriously looking at them, so it didn't totally surprise me either.

However, the refusal to go/stay in a hide does seem strange to me. Should we be concerned? Do snakes sometimes take a while to learn to use the hides in a new home? She seems to want to go up, and the entrances to the hides are at the ground level, so maybe she doesn't realize she can get inside?

Any insights would be very appreciated! Thanks!

[frankykeno]

She's a baby and she's scared. She's not sure if anything lives in those dark caves so naturally her instincts are to be cautious and check things out. Roaming her enclosure is just part of the flight response and eventually she will calm down, start using her hides and be fine. Try to make sure she's left alone this week, kept warm and safe and just do basic cage maintenance but no handling or attempts to feed at first. Try not to hover over her much as this puts you in the posture of a predator and tends to freak the little ones out. Do make sure her enclosure lid is absolutely escape proof. Anything more than a 1/8" give and snakes can manage to wiggle out and get lost.

[ballroom]

I agree a Ball Pythons natural tendancies are to Seek out hides and small places. Getting a snake in a new environment will cause it to search and check things out But itll eventually settle down and use its hides. Just be patient and like frankykeno said leave her alone till she settles in.
Michael Cole
Ballroom Pythons South

[Blue Apple Herps]

I imagine that it will eventually seek refuge in a hide. Though you may have gotten a weird one that doesn't hide. A pastel I got this year never hides. hangs out around and on top of his hide, but never goes in. He eats just fine and is doing great - just never likes to hide. Go figure...

[kc261]

Thanks for the answers everyone! She is definitely much more settled down today. I have seen her roaming around the tank a few different times throughout the day, but never for an extended time like she did yesterday. Just a couple of minutes ago I watched her go into one of the hides for the first time that I am aware of. She came back out already, but at least now I know she can find the way in.

Thanks again!