Hiding after eating?

[El_Dorado]

I fed my new BP for the first time yesterday. I gave her two weeks before I tried because I had bought her just after she ate and she looks like she may be in her time to shed. She ate like a charm! After hearing so many stories about BP not eating, I moved the mouse after 3 inches and WAM. So much better than watching it on TV!

She ate and then did her yawns. She moved around quite awkwardly for about 5 minutes, and then I left her to herself for about an hour. When I went to check on her later (I'm a very paranoid mommy), I found she was hiding in her shavings, up against the UTH. The UTH is at 88 degrees right not, as I had some issues with it getting too warm and that seems to be the only temperature I can get to stay steady at. I've never seen her hide under the shavings completely submerged for so long, as she was there all night and was still under this morning when I checked.

Is this normal behaviour? I understand that she will not want to see me while she is digesting, but usually she is in one of her hides. I'm probably worrying too much, but I thought I should ask the experienced just in case!

[mpkeelee]

ur snake is just trying to get close to the UTH to keep her belly warm so it can digest better. its normal. 88 is a lil too low. 93 is what u should aim for. also, how are u controlling the UTH?

[jfreels]

The only time I ever see my ball is when I miss feeding day. I keep my ball at 91-94 on the hotspot.

[El_Dorado]

Okay, I'll bump up the heat tonight. Thanks! I'm using a dimmer to control the UTH.

[jfreels]

I use dimmers as well. On the weekend I'll go into the reptile room around 1 PM when it will be it's absolute warmest. I will then bump the dimmers to the max temp that I want the hot spot to be. That should ensure the temps don't go crazy. I also check them twice a day and changed them if needed, but using this method has made me not have to adjust it so much. When I first started using the dimmers, it seemed that every time I went into the room I would play with the temp. It became very frustrating. Thermostats are in my future!

[El_Dorado]

Thanks the tip! I will definitely try that on the weekend. It does seem like I'm always changing the temperature, thank goodness for hardy snakes!

[kane_abel]

Dimmers are tricky to getting them to stay at an exact temp. It took a whole afternoon and evening for me to get mine straight.

[mpkeelee]

u should just get a thermostat. i use the reptitemp 500 for now until i move back home and get a more permanant setup. they are only about 25 bucks. and u dont have to keep messing with it

[El_Dorado]

I tried finding one local for a while, as I am unable to order online, but had no luck.