BP Strange Behavior

[dandezebra]

Aloha all! I have been scanning replies for a while now but decided to register so I can post this issue.

I have had a male for 4.5 years and have gone through some of normal issues with this snake. Eye skin remaining after a shed, refusing to eat during the winter, humidity and temperature modification, etc.

About 1.5 months ago, I noticed that my snake was coming out A LOT during the day as opposed to at night, which is usual. He is not hunting, as he has refused to eat multiple rats / mice during this time. He is generally against the wall (75 gallon glass) of my aquarium trying to get out. He has also taken to not going in his hide during the day but curling up in the middle of the tank in between his main hide and water.

I am a teacher and the snake is in my classroom so my night observation for the last few years is limited. His usual behavior in the dry winter months (I live on Lake Superior) is that he is less active and only eats once a month or less.

His hide temperature is in the low 90s while the temperature in his tank is usually in the low 80s depending on the heat in the classroom. The only thing that I can think of that has been different is the humidity level in my classroom due to a different air exchange system being put in the school - making it less. This may have affected the tank humidity as well. I am in the process of getting a new gauge to look into this. I am worried, however, that there is something wrong with him and I do not know what else to look for. I am also in the middle of nowhere with very limited access to anyone knowledgeable of this. I am actually two hours from a petstore. Luckily, there is a rattery nearby so I can actually get food!

Thanks in advance for any advice! Let me know if anyone needs more information!

Nick

[reknirt]

So you don't know what the humidity level in the tank is?

[dandezebra]

Sorry, I forgot to mention the specifics. The humidity averages a little above 50% most of the year. I am in a classroom, so the humidity does fluctuate a little more than I would like. In his hide, it is averaging higher obviously and because of the size of the tank, decreases towards the lid (python doesn't go there).

As I said, the humidity has been slightly less recently ~5% but this has happened before and never been an issue - at least one that has caused this behavior.

[Eric Alan]

It could be that his natural instinct to breed has been turned on by changes in his environment outside of your control. During that time, mature males tend to become more restless, choosing to focus all of their attention on finding a mate (even at the expense of eating sometimes). Since it doesn't sound like you have a reason to find a mate for him, the best you can do is make sure everything within your control is taken care of and to let him do his thing. This kind of behavior is very common - especially at this time of the year.

TLDR: Snakes are gonna be snakes. Keep on keepin' on.

Best regards,
Eric