Soaking? What is normal soaking bahavior for BP's?

[BostonMacK]

I am just curious on this one. My BP has been doing great for the 6 months I've had him but I have never seen him try and soak in his dish yet. Is this one of those things where some snakes will soak and some chose not to with no ill effects? I have read that you should have a water bowl large enough to soak in but that would take up my snakes entire cage. What's the deal on this everyone? Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

[Sputnik]

Some will and some won't, I have a number of them that will soak the entire duration of the shed process. While other's choose not to at all.

I think it is a very individual thing!

[syearout]

If you do have a snake that soaks, make sure they don't spill water out to soak there substract. I had a snake that would spill the water and then the substract would be soaked. She subsequently got scale rot. VERY VERY BAD. I have several that don't soak at all.

[hoo-t]

None of my snakes have a water dish big enough to soak in. Excessive soaking is a sign of something wrong. Mites and low humidity are two reasons. Keep the humidity in the 50 - 60 % range, and your snake won't need to soak.

Steve

[ama1997]

If the snake has always soaked. I wouldnt worry to much about it. If it never did and just started then id check and make sure its humid enough. If thats ok then id check for mites. I had one female that would never soak. Then every time i went by her cage she was soaking. I looked closer and seen the mites on her and the in the water. just something to look for. Most likely nothing to worry about.

[rabernet]

Only five of mine have bowls big enough to soak in, and none of them do. The only snake I ever had soak ended up having mites (even though I had pre-treated her with Reptile Relief before bringing her into my home). Turns out the eggs hatched 30 days later. Got my first (and only) can of Provent-A-Mite and treated her enclosure and she never soaked again.


Now I always pre-treat enclosures with P.A.M. and have not had to deal with mites again.

[BostonMacK]

Thanks everyone. I knew about soaking being a possible warning sign for mites or skin conditions however I was curious as to if it's a normal behavior from time to time otherwise. Better yet, is it normal for my snake not to soak? Sounds like it's a personal taste kind of thing

[hoo-t]

It is most definitely normal behavior for a snake to not soak.

Steve

[Sunny1]

I also agree that it is normal behavior for BP's not to soak. Although I do have a bowl that would be big enough for my girl to soak in if she chose to, I have never seen her soak in the 3 months now that I have had her. I have a larger bowl mainly because I have her in a glass tank and it helps keep the humidity up.