Unusual BP behavior??

[gtlevine]

So I have only had my Bumblebee BP for a few weeks. She is a beautiful 08 baby with quite the personality. I thought BP's like to hide and don't like getting held. Mine has a cage full of hide spots and she never uses them. She is crusing the cage, perched on the logs and rocks, and when I hold her she never curls up and comes right out of the cage and very active and curious. She eats like crazy so I guess it is not problem, but I expected a little more shy activity for a BP based on comments from this forum. How many of you have similar personalities from your BP's?

Gary

[starmom]

Can you describe your snake environment?
Typically, if a ball python is cruising their cage all the time it means that the snake is stressed and perhaps a husbandry error is occurring.

[hawaiianice99]

mine usually cruise their tanks when they are getting hungry or right after i handle them, if they dont want to deal with anything they just hide out.

as long as their living conditions are alright and they are eating and drinking well then i say you just have a bp that doesnt like to hide out as much.

[WizzySRT10]

mine cruises his tank once and a while usually trying to figure out how to escape.

[truthsdeceit]

I always thought an active BP was a good sign. As long as they're eating right your all good.

Most BP's like to hide but a lethargic snake is way worse than a active one. They all have their own personalities.

[gtlevine]

Can you describe your snake environment?
Typically, if a ball python is cruising their cage all the time it means that the snake is stressed and perhaps a husbandry error is occurring.

The cage has Cyprus mulch as bedding, two water bowls, a thermostat heat pad under the cyprus set at 90F, and a red night light to warm the air. The ambient stays around 82F and I now am doing better on the humidity keeping it around 55. It seems I have things set right, but I expect less activity.

One thing is I feed one small mouse every five days and she is aggressive. Maybe she is getting hungrier and I need to up the prey size? I noticed that the few times she is under a log, her head sticks out and when I come by the cage and make noise she pays close attention. Maybe I am over analyzing this but since this is my first BP and am a little cautious.

Gary

[starmom]

Gary,
Do you know how much your snake weighs? I like to feed prey size that is 10-15% of the body weight of the snake. It could be that it is time to feed multiples, depending on the weight of the snake

[gtlevine]

Gary,
Do you know how much your snake weighs? I like to feed prey size that is 10-15% of the body weight of the snake. It could be that it is time to feed multiples, depending on the weight of the snake

I don't know her weight, but I fed her again today. It was weird, she was out crawling around again all day. I gave her a bigger size mouse and she attacked it instantly. Now she is relaxing in the corner of the cage, but right out in the open. She is avoiding the hide spots altogether. I don't get it, but the way she eats she has to be feeling pretty good, right?

Gary

[starmom]

Can you take a picture of the enclosure?

[gtlevine]

Here is the enclosure. You can see on the left is a thermostat for the UTH set at 90F. The red bulb stays on and the ambient is 82F. Now that I covered some of the upper vents, the humidity is staying around 55 to 60. You can see part of the BP in the right foreground. She has been relaxing there since feeding earlier today.



Thanks for your help.
Gary