Now we've had Cleo for a little while we have been able to pick up patterns in her behaviour. I'm going to describe them here and we'd appreciate it you could look it over and see if it sounds 'normal' to you. We're learning more about balls, and we think she is content, but want to make sure we're not reading the signs wrong.

When we first got her, and put her in her viv, for the first few days while she was active she would be checking out the top edge of the viv. Looking for a way out. She no longer does this.

If we have to get her out of the viv for some reason (viv maint, or just because we want to handle her) she never balls up - in fact we have never seen her do this at all. That doesn't sound too normal for a ball python! If we accidentally spook her by for example, moving a little too fast around her head while handling she'll pull her neck back into a S shape for a few seconds before continuing on with whatever she was doing before.

She has eaten everything we have offered her (even during shed). When she has eaten what we've offered she will go patrol her viv, doing to my eyes what looks like a hunting routine. She will go investigate an area cautiously, then set up what looks like an ambush. Up on top of a hide in a strike pose, wait there for a little while, then go climb a plant and do the same thing, hide behind a rock and do the same. Stealthily move around the viv with massive tongue action. Very entertaining to watch! Eventually she will retire to a hide for digestion, but she seems to be on the hunt for quite a while sometimes.

Like all balls she spends most of her time in her hides. However this next part is the behaviour we'd like most comment on. Briefly the set up is as follows, standard warm hide / cool hide. On timers we have a regular light way above the viv that is on 6am - 6pm, then 6pm - 6am we have a moonglow light, again up away from the enclosure, it just sheds a really dim blueish light. (We tried the IR red ones, but they were either so dim as to do nothing really, or too hot (heat is controlled independantly of these lights). Anyway - back on point. We are at work all day, so I'm sure she spends it napping in the hide of her choice. But pretty soon after we get home of an evening she sticks her head out of the hide she is in, usually a inch or two, her head is fully out and usually some neck. She appears to be watching us (her viv is the in the room with our computers so we do spend quite a bit of time in there of an evening). If we approach the viv to check her out she doesn't shy away, in fact she seems more active, checking us out back. Now of course I would like to think this means she is not afraid of us and is curious. What do you think? We were expecting not to see her much, but generally when we look over during evening hours, shes looking right back at us.