Hiding too much?

[Jhussey]

Is there such a thing as a BP hiding too much? I have two hides in my enclose, one in the cool end one in the warm end. He likes to climb up into the one in the warm end durning the day (it's about 8" tall and hollow so he can climb all the way to the top) and stays under the one in the cool end at night. I never see him. I brought him home Wednesday, and he was very curious, moving and crawling over everything. Ever since Friday though I haven't seen him at all. It's coming feeding time, the place I bought him fed them every Friday, but I decided to wait and let him adjust alittle before feeding him. Is it normal for them to hide all the time? I know BP's are naturally shy, but he's going to have to eat at some point, and I don't want to disturb him if he's still adjusting. Thanks for the help.

[llovelace]

A hiding BP is a happy BP

[Kaorte]

The only time I see my BP's is right before feeding when they are out and about looking for food. Other then that, they are ALWAYS hiding. This is good.

Give him a week with no handling/feeding for him to settle in. After a week has past, try offering food. If the snake is still in the hide, gently remove the hide and offer the food. Don't worry about disturbing them. If you are disturbing him to feed him, he is probably pretty pleased.

[Jhussey]

Ahh good to hear! Thanks for the help!

[amaurer2]

My little guy must be a social butterfly then. When I first brought my BP home, he did the same thing by hiding all the time. Now, however, he's always out moving around his cage. He seldom uses his hide box.

[justind]

I don't remove the hide when I feed. Your BP should pop his head out and come to the food as soon as he smells it, he may be more likely to eat if he still has his hide because he feels more secure.

[Kysenia]

One of the final decisions to switch to all racks with my bp's is because I never saw him during the day anyways. BP's are nocturnal by nature.....so they should be hiding if all is good during the day in their hides. At night when the lights were off i would consistently find him out and about....but during the day nowhere to be found.....

With the issues that come with an aqaurium set-up main thing being non-stop humidity control and monitoring I decided to go to racks. In short if all is good for the most part they should be hiding during your daylight cycle.

[zackw419]

I don't remove the hide when I feed. Your BP should pop his head out and come to the food as soon as he smells it, he may be more likely to eat if he still has his hide because he feels more secure.

Yup, mine likes hunting from her hide. I even find she more likely to eat if she is hunting from her hide, that way the mouse isn't able to crawl on her.

[Jhussey]

Thanks everyone! Lots of great info here, things they don't tell you in a book. It does bring another question though, I see alot of you feed them right in the habitat they live in, I've always been told this is a big no no, because the will become "Cage aggressive" and strike at you everytime the cage is open, thinking it's feeding time?

[justind]

It's basically a myth that if you feed in the enclosure it will become aggressive. As long as your hands don't smell like rodent and you handle your BP regularly it should be fine. Keep in mind every snake is different, some are naturally more aggressive.

If your BP will eat in a separate enclosure there is nothing wrong with doing that if it makes you feel better, a lot of people on here do it that way as well.