new girl not staying in hide box on warm spot

[mommanessy247]

i just picked up my female mojave last night. we got back from our trip at 2am this morning and i went straight to setting her up in her new home. oddly she prefers to be stuck to the top of the front glass sliding doors instead of inside her hide box on the warm side. when i went to try to put her underneath the hide to let her know its there she felt a little cold. i know she's still new but i really thought she'd explore a little (which she did for the better part of the early morning hours) then find the warm spot and hide there for awhile.
what the heck is she doin'? my bf thinks that due to the fact that warm air rises, maybe she found a warm spot...i dont agree cuz the warmth on the warm spot is provided by a U.T.H.
i'm confused. why wont she hide?

[Cody John Steele]

I've had mine not use their hides, and just cruise around because my ambient temps were too low.

[mommanessy247]

hm well, i really have no way of checking the ambient temps right now...i use a temp gun to check the temperature of the mulch at the bottom of the terrarium. will low ambient temps make a bp sick? the temp in the house will effect the ambient temps inside the terrarium right? we run our heater as much as we can afford to to keep the house at a reasonably comfortable level.

[steveboos]

I had a girl do this in a Vision cage. I didn't have small enough hides and it was too open. When i filled it up with hides a larger water bowl and driftwood, she was always in the hides.

Something is wrong with either temps or the cage setup, revert to the basics and so will the snake!

[blushingball419]

Do you have a hide on the cool side too? They need to be able to regulate their temperature, and she might be smushing herself up against something to try and feel secure. If you do have another hide in there though, then I'd just say she's still getting used to the whole place. Or, like steve said, the hides could be too big for her.

And yes, low ambient temps can lead to respiratory infections. It shouldn't go any lower than 75F, and even that's pretty cold. Around 80 is the best. If you don't have any supplemental heat on the cool side (ie heat bulb or another heat mat), then it will be whatever temp the surrounding air in the house is.

[mommanessy247]

well the temp gun is telling me the warm side is 90-ish and the cool side is 77-ish...i say "ish" cuz the exact degree changes every time i check the temp at those spots but it doesnt fluctuate more then 1 degree.
the set up is exactly this...
U.T.H- underneath the back left corner of terrarium (it is hooked up to a thermostat set to its highest temp setting)
1 hide box directly over that warm spot at back left corner.
1 hide box at back right corner, this is the cool side.
1 water dish next to each hide box near middle of terrarium against the back.
there really isn't much open space.
i know pictures would make this so much easier but my camera is down at the moment.

[mommanessy247]

blushingball419- the hide boxes just barely cover her entire body, they do if she's coiled up the right way. would running a single small space heater near the terrarium fix the low ambient temps inside the terrarium?

[blushingball419]

Yup, a small space heater near the tank would definitely help You might just have to mist more often to keep the humidity up. Actually 77ish isn't too bad, but it could be raised a few degrees. Just be sure to monitor the temp while the space heater is running to make sure it doesn't get too hot at first.

Well it sounds like your hides and the rest of your setup is great, so she's probably just still settling in. Since she knows where the warm spot is, I'm sure she'll use it when she feels like it.

[mommanessy247]

ok i just decided to just leave everything alone for the rest of the night and see if that helps the temps and humidity build up a little. i'll check everything again in the morning and run the space heater if nothing changes.
thx

[JLC]

It can take several days (sometimes up to a couple weeks) for a snake to settle into its new home and behave as we would expect them to. Just give her some time.