Restless but not hungry?

[Ivyna J Spyder]

My BP has been unusually restless the last few nights.

He (or she, still not sure) is in a 20 gallon long along. Two identical hides. Warm side 90-92, cool side 75. Paper towel substrate. (His hides are fairly new, but he's been using them for weeks with no issues.) He's my only BP.

He normally is curled up in his hides all the time and peeks out to eat and drink. But he seems to be avoiding his hides entirely now, and seems to be trying to escape. When I take him out, he seems to be a little 'on edge' for lack of a better term.

The last time he did this, the cage hadn't been cleaned well enough (he's very fastidious!) so a good scrubbing later, everything was fine. This time it didn't seem to make a difference.

He eats a small rat once a week. He ate one last week, but I offered one today and he totally ignored it. So whatever's bugging him, it's not that he's hungry.

Nothing else has changed... I'm at a loss.

[m00kfu]

How old/big is he? Could just be looking to breed.

[West Coast Jungle]

Sounds like stress maybe or he is looking for some female action. My adult boys do that but they can smell the ladies next door. If he is young I would say most likey insecurity/stress.

75 is cool down breeding temps. could make him go off feed.

[joshn6805]

Stress is probly what your experiencing. are the sides and back of the tank covered? is the tank in a high traffic area of the house?

[Ivyna J Spyder]

He's over 2 years old I believe.

His tank is in the corner of my room and covered on all sides (the front is covered with fake plants so it looks nice but gives him extra cover) The only person he'd ever see is me on occasions I go to check on him.

[Slim]

There's no way he could have mites is there? Have you looked him over and checked his water bowl closely to eliminate them as a cause?

[Ivyna J Spyder]

Definitely not. He's my only snake, and I haven't been around any other snakes... ever, really. Haha. I assume snake mites only come from snakes?


Whoa, today he's actually partly inside one of his caves! Still seems restless though.

[Slim]

Definitely not. He's my only snake, and I haven't been around any other snakes... ever, really. Haha. I assume snake mites only come from snakes?

True, snake mites are spicific to snakes, but there have been cases where they picked up mites from substrate purchased at a pet store. I just thought I'd ask to try and eliminate things.

[Ivyna J Spyder]

Nope, I use paper towels.

He's really trying to push out of the tank... Thankfully it's impossible, but I worry he's going to rub his nose raw on the top screen. I wish I knew what was bothering him.

If it's really that he's male and looking for love, is there any way to make them get out of that mood? With temperatures or anything?