Hi...New here and have a question.

[Savannelee]

Hi everyone...Im new here and my name is Savanna
I just bought a baby ball python - Diablo, just under a week ago.
I have everything I should have for it ...It seems comfortable, is very friendly and has eaten its first meal. The only thing is it very rarely goes into its hide. I have some plants in there and would rather hide under a leaf than go into either of its hides...Is this normal?
Thanks

[therunaway]

well, just so happens my baby does this too, my plant and his hide are directly over the uth, or under tank heater, but anyway, they will go anywhere they feel the most secure and most safe, they are nocturnal, and my plant makes a shadow over where he lays under the plant, im guessing it is, he will eventually go in the hide, what hides are they, half log? if so go get cups from the dollar tree, and then just cut a hole in it, just a "half circle" hole on one "side of a circle" if you understand tht, but yeah, im guessing its pretty normal, if the plant and warm hide are over the heater hes probably most warm there, just make sure you have a thermostat to keep the heater under control, ive seen gruesome burns on snakes from the uth.

[Savannelee]

Also my snake seems super comfortable and never curls up into a ball...Is that good? Or could it be stressing...I try to handle it quite a bit and it seems ok with it, it likes to expolre and/or sit in my lap or climb me and curl up around my neck. Could i be over handling it? And what would be some signs its stressed.

[zeion97]

Hi everyone...Im new here and my name is Savanna
I just bought a baby ball python - Diablo, just under a week ago.
I have everything I should have for it ...It seems comfortable, is very friendly and has eaten its first meal. The only thing is it very rarely goes into its hide. I have some plants in there and would rather hide under a leaf than go into either of its hides...Is this normal?
Thanks

Hey! Welcome to the site! It's always good to have a new with the love of herps! But this is my personal experience, I've seen snake that hide a lot, and Ive also seen snakes that rarely hide. Remember every ball has it's own personality. You have the nippy ones And you have the loveable ones. Could we get some more.info? Like your humidity, temps, how you monitor them, and what provides the heat? Do you use a Under the tank heater to a thermostat, or lights? What do you use as substrate? Something which seems small can stress out a ball more then what most people believe!

[Savannelee]

well, just so happens my baby does this too, my plant and his hide are directly over the uth, or under tank heater, but anyway, they will go anywhere they feel the most secure and most safe, they are nocturnal, and my plant makes a shadow over where he lays under the plant, im guessing it is, he will eventually go in the hide, what hides are they, half log? if so go get cups from the dollar tree, and then just cut a hole in it, just a "half circle" hole on one "side of a circle" if you understand tht, but yeah, im guessing its pretty normal, if the plant and warm hide are over the heater hes probably most warm there, just make sure you have a thermostat to keep the heater under control, ive seen gruesome burns on snakes from the uth.

Thanks Jason...My hides are the fake rock type. And it is under thr uth with the plant above it. I do have a thermostat and everything is good ( proper tempertures) Happy to hear its normal and my little girl is happy Thank You!

[Solarsoldier001]

from my experience the tighter the ball the more unsafe it feels. When they loosen up i believe that they are comfortable and not stressing at all. I think when they are tightly balled up they are more stressed. But that's just my experience. I'm not 100% sure.

[Savannelee]

Hey! Welcome to the site! It's always good to have a new with the love of herps! But this is my personal experience, I've seen snake that hide a lot, and Ive also seen snakes that rarely hide. Remember every ball has it's own personality. You have the nippy ones And you have the loveable ones. Could we get some more.info? Like your humidity, temps, how you monitor them, and what provides the heat? Do you use a Under the tank heater to a thermostat, or lights? What do you use as substrate? Something which seems small can stress out a ball more then what most people believe!

Im happy I found this site...Very useful!!
My snake seems very lovable, im Lucky I have a 100 watt infrered heat lamp as well as an uth. The subtrate is tropical cypress bedding and my temps are about 85 degrees and I use a spray bottle once a day to mist the tank.

[Savannelee]

Awesome...Thanks for the response, Love this site!!

[therunaway]

Thanks Jason...My hides are the fake rock type. And it is under thr uth with the plant above it. I do have a thermostat and everything is good ( proper tempertures) Happy to hear its normal and my little girl is happy Thank You!

no problem, where'd u find those fake rock type? can u post pics of them, id love to get my hands on them.

[Savannelee]

no problem, where'd u find those fake rock type? can u post pics of them, id love to get my hands on them.

I have no idea how to post a pic on here yet but I got it at a petstore called Purple Seahorse. I live in Canada and see them in almost every petstore.