2 Very pressing questions.. Any advice appreciated.
I purchased 2 ball pythons about 10 days ago.
One is about 3 feet long .. the other is about 2 feet.
Their past care giver was irresponsible. Their cage
was filthy and required me to throw everything out.
There was a dozen mice carcasses mixed in the mulch.
I spotted a few mites on the soggy end of their perch
branch where it was touching the damp substrate.
I quarantined the snakes. Gave them both a warm bath.
Washed out the enclosure thoroughly and replaced all
interior accessories except for the resin cast water dish,
thermometer and hygrometer (which were also scrubbed).
Anyway..
Here are my 2 questions:
1 // I've replaced their hide log with a 9"x6" cardboard
box. They seem to spend all their time (day&night) out
in the open beside their water dish. Is this normal???
I've been told that they enjoy privacy. Furthermore, prior
to the new enclosure renovations they enjoyed their time
on the opposite end of the tank on top of the heat pad
where there was good privacy behind the log & leaves.
Why are they now hanging out in the open on the other
side of the enclosure?? ALL DAY?? AND NIGHT??
2 // I've inspected them several times a day for mites.
The snakes look mite free. Could it have been another
type of moisture loving insect family I saw earlier thriving
in the log and substrate? I would be grateful for any info.
Thanks,
Sho