Killer bee

[zina10]

Beautiful Ball Python !! Well chosen

I remember when I first got into snakes. I took good advice but also liked to do what I thought "worked well". Until it didn't..
A lot of live and learn.

Its good to keep an open mind and listen to the people that have done this for far longer. Makes the learning curve quite shorter.

Ball Pythons are very secretive snakes. It seems to me that your guy is seeking out warmth. I know when we keep them they aren't in the wild. But "in the wild" the hiding places they choose are often tight, dark and WARM. Termite mounds are out in the sun, the entire structure. Its made out of material that heats up WELL and holds heat well.

Your hide looks to be made out of some type of material that most likely does not hold heat well (stone/concrete material ? Hard plastic ?) If anything, it doesn't let the heat of the light penetrate, nor hold it. That, plus the colder bottom of the cage under the hide makes for quite the "cold" hot hide. Your Ball Python has to choose between getting warm (on top of hide) or feeling safe (inside a dark, tight place) Now, he cannot voice his opinion. He cannot "show" it.

He still thrives, he eats, and that is great. But there may be stress. They don't show it like other animals. If our dogs and cats started hiding in small, dark places...we would worry !!! Well, for the Ball Python its the other way around. The ones that seem overly active, and out and about, or laying out in the open. All that is actually a sign of something being not quite right.

But again, I've been where you are. I thought "I knew" my snakes. They seemed to do alright. What I did seemed to work just fine. But over time I learned better. But it is something you will most likely have to experience for yourself

If you don't mind, here are a couple of suggestions. Cover the outside of the back and side of that cage with some material. Something that will hold your humidity and temps better and also make the Python feel "not so exposed" I would also keep the top covered for the same reason. In the wild, they often get snatched up from above, that is where danger comes from. Not constantly sensing "motion" or movement from above, will let him settle down a lot.

Consider a under the tank heater under the "warm end". Perhaps a hide made of a different material that holds warmth better...Driftwood ? Clay?

In the end, this is your snake and your decisions to make. You have a beautiful specimen and you can enjoy him for many, many years to come.