suddenly temperamental ball python (who loves water...)

[kldoss89]

ok my male bp has really got me scratching my head in confusion. i took him to the vet about 1 1/2-2 months ago or so for an upper respiratory infection. during his treatment period, he had an almost successful shed (only had about 3 inches of old skin on his tail, which i was easily able to take care of) he was not terribly moody during his shed, though that might have been from him being sick.

however, when i fed him last week (sun june 2) i upped his mouse size to adult large because he was getting bigger. he ate it fine, but within 5 days, he was snapping every time i went by his cage. he is in a glass cage, but is in a spare closet to keep a good control on temp and humidity (which i monitor with thermostats) and give him privacy. he has never been like this. a friend of mine suggested that since he eats frozen mice, i might consider giving him a live mouse this feeding to get his hunting needs fulfilled. i was not comfortable doing that so i pulled the mouse's tail yesterday after he wrapped it to make him think its struggling. he was still snappy last night after he ate (which is normal) and asleep this morning when i checked on him. im hoping that helps some. but just in case, has anyone else ever noticed their bp change temperaments so suddenly? was it because they were hungry? could he already be shedding again? last time, he stayed dull for a good 3 weeks before he finally shed, but he was also sick at the time (it was just not a good time for him). however this time, i have not really noticed much color change yet. do they even shed that close together?

also, he is not a normal bp anyways. he rarely curls in a ball when he is scared. he jumps, but never strikes. he is ALWAYS active when i take him out. i was worried that he might be getting stressed out, because i read somewhere that bps are not normally active. but he has never once missed a feeding (i feed every 7-9 days). he also LOVES water. he does not have ticks, nor is he dehydrated. i had this confirmed with a vet. but he will happily spend a good hour or more in his water dish every day. the vet checked him for scale rot and everything, and said by looking at him he would never know that he was in the water that much. raising the humidity in the tank does nothing to break him of his water habit. should i be worried, or just let him be? sometimes i wonder if he is full ball python or if there is another python somewhere in his blood.

edited to add something i forgot:
another example of how he loves water and is not normal: his last feeding (the one on june 2) when he grabbed the mouse, he landed in his water dish. he never released, and went through the whole squeezing and eating process in the water. there was literally water flowing out of his mouth and he was struggling to do anything without drowning himself. i was scared to move him though because at the time, i didn't know if you could move a snake who was in the middle of a feed safely. he was never once phased with the water, and there were several times that he was completely submerged (face and all) in the water for several seconds.

[Kaorte]

Have you checked the snake for mites? If the snake is mite free, then he might just like how the water feels around him.

What are his hides like? Does he fit super snugly inside them?

[Andys-Python]

I don't know much about your snakes change in temperment but I've had my BPs strike and coil in their water dish before too. When they do this, I'll grab the prey (while the snake is still coiled on it) and lift the snake out of the water. Then remove the water dish until feeding is complete. I've never had a snake let go of it's prey when I do this. I'm assuming they just think it's a pretty strong rodent and they just grab on tighter.

Added note: I also have some that like to enjoy their water dish - pool.

Andy -

[mackynz]

I'm not sure what you're thinking is tempermental here...

And as far as ticks you don't really need to worry about that. It's mites you have to look out for and they are much, much smaller. If your husbandry is spot on I would take a good look for them.

Also while it's best not to disturb them while they are eating (and he was obviously okay on this occasion) if you think your animal is going die you wouldn't intervene because it might mess up his eating? I'm not sure I follow your logic.
Probably best to not feed him near the water dish.

[kldoss89]

he fits very snugly into his hides. if i didn't know better, i would think he is too big for them. but i know bp's like tight spaces so i let him be.

also, it was a mess up on my part. i meant he was checked for mites, not ticks. i got it mixed up because he had a tick that the vet had to remove. he is mite AND tick free now lol. sorry about the mess up.

and mackynz: i wasn't worried about messing up his eating. i stayed right by the cage and made sure he was ok. i just wasn't sure if i should move him or mess with him while he was eating would cause him to snap or go crazy on me. i would have helped him if he needed it. and i have learned since then that it wont necessarily hurt him or me if i do it, since like i said i was able to kind of tug at the mouse tail last night during his feeding (to mimic live feeding).

hope that clears things up...

[kldoss89]

oh and by temperamental, i mean he used to be very active, but never tried to bite me. now all of a sudden all i have to do is open my closet door and he is hissing and snapping at the glass.

[Annarose15]

How big/old is he? One adult mouse might be leaving him hungry, especially if you think he has outgrown his hide. Also, did you have him checked for internal parasites? If he came from a place wretched enough to allow him to have a tick on him, I wouldn't put that out of the question.

[Willie76]

Seems to me (IMHO) SOMETHING is stressing him out...

You mentioned you were monitoring temps with thermostats. Did you mean thermometers? What kind? Dial type or digital? How are you monitoring humidity? What kind? Dial type or digital? What types of heat sources are you utilizing (lights, UTH mats, Flexwatt, radiant heat panels)? Are they being regulated by thermoSTATS? What exactly are the temps and humidity. Do you have a digital temp gun to get a good, accurate measurement of the temps? What are you using for substrate? How often is it cleaned or replaced? You say he's in a closet. Is he in complete darkness 24/7? Have you noticed any tiny black "dots" in his water bowl? How much does he weigh? How old? One adult mouse seems a bit light on the food side. Have you tried rats (they're much more filling)? If he's eating adult mice try a rat pup or a weaned rat.

Could be so many things so a few answers would sure help.

[mackynz]

also, he is not a normal bp anyways. he rarely curls in a ball when he is scared. he jumps, but never strikes.

oh and by temperamental, i mean he used to be very active, but never tried to bite me. now all of a sudden all i have to do is open my closet door and he is hissing and snapping at the glass.

My guess is it's something husbandry related as well. And as far as him being "very active" before that's not necessarily a good thing they are pretty sedentary animals.

[kldoss89]

i will try to answer all of your questions. sorry if i miss some:

no i have a thermostat, as well as thermometers. i have an uth that is plugged into a thermostat (just in case) as well as a reptifogger on a hydrostat (i had a LOT of issues with humidity, this is the only thing that has helped regulate it). i have a digital thermometer that i only use as a back up to make sure my thermostat is working correctly. i also have a lamp with a red lightbulb in it that is on a 12 hour timer and a second thermometer under that.

i have a cage carpet type thing that is spot cleaned as needed, but thoroughly cleaned every week (typically right after he poops)

he is about 10 months old (not 100% sure but this was the vets guess). ive had him for a few months and he has been perfectly fine before this week. nothing that i know of has changed in the last 3 weeks at least except i gave him bigger food. i might try rat pups though.