Is this normal behavior for a new snake?

[moorea]

I am likely worrying for nothing but it is better to be safe then sorry.

Our new baby arrived to us in Montana from Florida on Tuesday early afternoon. He was born 9/11/13 and was roughly 150 grams on arrival.

He was supposed to be a morning delivery, but fedex was a little late and the box and the snake felt pretty cool when opened.

We put him into his enclosure and he went right for the hotspot balled up and stayed there for about 1/2 an hour. He then explored the entire tub and went back to the hotspot. Later that evening he moved to the cool side and stayed there.

When we woke up yesterday (day 2) he was in the hide on the cool side and has not come out since. We handled him minimally on Tuesday (arrival day) and not at all since. I did finally have my husband raise the hide and touch him this morning just to make sure he was alive. He was.

Our ambient temps on the hot side are about 85 degrees and the surface is 91 degrees.

Ambient temps on the cool side are 81 degrees and the surface is about 79 degrees.

Humidity has been holding pretty steady at 55%

[NH93]

Yep.

"A hiding ball python is a happy ball python".

Do have a look at the ball python care sheet on the main forum page if you haven't already! Great stuff in there

[moorea]

Yep.

"A hiding ball python is a happy ball python".

Do have a look at the ball python care sheet on the main forum page if you haven't already! Great stuff in there

Thanks for the reply. I have read all of the care sheets and FAQ's.

I wasn't so much concerned that he was hiding or inactive. I just really didn't expect him after coming from south Florida to settle into the cool side of the tank.

And while I did not expect him to be roaming the tank day and night, I would have expected in over a 24 hour period to maybe be balled up and inactive in a different spot.

Guess I am just a nervous new owner and with no movement at all and not being able to see if he is dead or alive inside the tiny hide, I am worried he is going to die there and I won't know it. It makes it harder to follow the instructions to let him settle in and not handle him for the first week. I am sure once I have had a little time with him and I am more confident that his enclosure and temps are working well, I will be less nervous.

[NH93]

Thanks for the reply. I have read all of the care sheets and FAQ's.

I wasn't so much concerned that he was hiding or inactive. I just really didn't expect him after coming from south Florida to settle into the cool side of the tank.

And while I did not expect him to be roaming the tank day and night, I would have expected in over a 24 hour period to maybe be balled up and inactive in a different spot.

Guess I am just a nervous new owner and with no movement at all and not being able to see if he is dead or alive inside the tiny hide, I am worried he is going to die there and I won't know it. It makes it harder to follow the instructions to let him settle in and not handle him for the first week. I am sure once I have had a little time with her/him and I am more confident that his enclosure and temps are working well, I will be less nervous.

You'll get used to it! After eating mine don't move out of their hides for days at a time. Sometimes, usually right before feeding (or the day before) they get quite active and climb even, because they are looking for food. Just give him at *least* a week to settle before handling; I'd even wait about 3 consecutive and successful feedings, just to be sure s/he's not stressed before handling (which causes stress).

Congrats though!!

[Eric Alan]

I just really didn't expect him after coming from south Florida to settle into the cool side of the tank.

The cool side (and warm side for that matter) isn't any more or less cool no matter what part of the country he's living in. He's just hanging out where he feels the most comfortable.

[moorea]

The cool side (and warm side for that matter) isn't any more or less cool no matter what part of the country he's living in. He's just hanging out where he feels the most comfortable.

I guess south Florida does not have much to do with it. Although, I did live there for a decade and I am still convinced that hot is just hotter in Florida then any where else on the planet (that is why I moved, couldn't take the heat, so I got out of the oven). A 95 degree day always feels cooler here then it did there. But of course that has to do with our lack of humidity here and Florida's over abundance of humidity. And we are controlling his humidity levels as the breeder was, so you are correct, his hot and cool sides should be the same. Just needed to apply logical thought.

I still some how expected him to spend more time on the hot side and eventually wander to the cool side to cool of and then go back to the hot side! That is what I would do if I did not generate heat. It will take some time to start thinking like a cold blooded creature does!

[wideglide]

Yeah you definitely can't use your personal preferences and experiences and relate them to your snake's. It will confuse you every time. Have you ever tried to eat a 10 pound piece of meat whole?

Rob

[Mrs.Smith]

It seems some snakes prefer warmer and some prefer cooler. My big male boa is almost ALWAYS on his "cool" side and I keep his temps a little lower because I know him. They will thermoregulate by moving from one side to the other when necessary. As long as you keep his temps in range you'll both be fine. Congratulations on the new snake =)