BP WAAY more active than normal

[Caffeinatrix]

Hi,

I have a BP that's probably about 2-3y/o (I've had him for 1.5 years, and he was a rescue. I've already been through a full cycle of the seasons with him, so I thought I was pretty well versed on different behaviour, during different times of the year, but he's thrown me for a loop, the last couple of months. He's been ridiculously active, like only staying in his hide when he's sleeping. He's always moving around, and if he is in his hide, and he sees me, he'll come out. I know they get restless when they're hunting, but he's increased his eating. He's eating medium rats, one every 2 weeks (he was going about 4 weeks during the warm weather, and 8 in winter), and I handle him at least once a week. I fed him two weeks ago, and he took a day to process the rat, and then went right back to roaming around. He's in a 20 long, with two lamps, 60% humidity, and mid-80's temp.


He's happy and healthy otherwise, just really active. Also, he may be a she (the store said the guy who dropped him off said he was male, but he's about 3.5 feet, and growing), so could it be that she's in heat? Do you guys think I should be concerned, or is this pretty normal for heading into Fall weather?

[Fidget]

I'm definitely not the most experienced voice you'll hear from up here, but it sounds like he may be hungry. Have you tried feeding him weekly? What's his current weight? Does he have a warm side in his enclosure? I'd step up his meals to once a week and see what happens.

[PorcelainxDoll]

I think hes hungry too. Try to feed once a week.

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[eatgoodfood]

I would say for sure that feeding him bi-weekly is not enough. Also, you state your temps are mid 80's, is that the cold side? The hot side? or the whole tank? Are you only heating with the heat lamps? You should have a hot spot with a surface temp of about 90.

[MrLang]

Check your husbandry... more specifically your temps?

[Kaorte]

One thing you need to know about ball pythons is that their habits change a lot. Sometimes they are super hungry, sometimes they won't eat for 8 months. Sometimes they like rats, and sometimes they like mice. Sometimes they cruise endlessly, and sometimes they just hide 24/7. Nothing is set in stone with these guys.

That being said, I don't think you are feeding him often enough. I would suggest getting a cheap kitchen scale to weigh the snake with and weigh his food. You should feed about 10% of the snakes body weight.

During the warm and cool months, were you only offering him food every 4 or 8 weeks? Or was he fasting?

"mid 80's" for temps is really not enough info...Do you actually know the temps? Do you have a digital thermometer? What kind of hides are you giving him?


Ball pythons don't go into "heat"... they are reptiles. Also, their size doesn't dictate their gender. I have males that are tiny, and males that are bigger than some of my females. The only way to know the gender is to get the snake probed. Popping is kind of difficult on adults.

[SRMD]

As karote said you should defiantly get some scales and weigh him! then for sure you will know if you are feeding to little.

[Caffeinatrix]

It's about 85 on the cool side and 92 on the warm side. I've got heat lamps and a UTH, on the warm side.

I was offering rats weekly, and wound up with temporary pet rats for a few months. Since the weather warmed up, he's been eating every two weeks. I had tried offering every week, when his appetite picked back up, but he wasn't having it, which is where I established the bi-weekly feeding schedule. For quite a while, I would buy a rat every week, and just make it as comfy as I could, until he decided to eat. Eventually, that got to be too much of a hassle, and my cats freaked the poor rats out. I don't know how much he weighs, I'll pick up a scale tomorrow, and find out.

I didn't figure reptiles went into "heat" like mammals. I presumed they have some sort of internal timing that tells them when to mate, though. I never worried about sexing him, because I don't intend to breed him, so his actual gender doesn't really much matter to me.

[Kris Mclaughlin]

My bp is about 2.5 years old very healthy and a social butterfly. She loves to be held by just my gf our daughter and I. She'll smell other people and check them out but loves just sitting with me checking out the world. Pretty active bugger. She was shy when I took her out of a bad place but man she changed!

[The Serpent Merchant]

It's about 85 on the cool side and 92 on the warm side. I've got heat lamps and a UTH, on the warm side.

I was offering rats weekly, and wound up with temporary pet rats for a few months. Since the weather warmed up, he's been eating every two weeks. I had tried offering every week, when his appetite picked back up, but he wasn't having it, which is where I established the bi-weekly feeding schedule. For quite a while, I would buy a rat every week, and just make it as comfy as I could, until he decided to eat. Eventually, that got to be too much of a hassle, and my cats freaked the poor rats out. I don't know how much he weighs, I'll pick up a scale tomorrow, and find out.

I didn't figure reptiles went into "heat" like mammals. I presumed they have some sort of internal timing that tells them when to mate, though. I never worried about sexing him, because I don't intend to breed him, so his actual gender doesn't really much matter to me.

Is your UTH being regulated by a thermostat? Where are you measuring temperatures from and what are you using to do so?