Is increased activity a sure sign of stress?

[threadgoode]

Good day, everyone!

I got my first BP about a month ago and she's doing well, having shed once and eaten 4 times without ever refusing a meal. With that said, after about three weeks, she started becoming increasingly active throughout the day, to the point where I was concerned by how often she slithered around her tank. Most of it is at night/dusk/dawn, but she'll occasionally roam her tank in the afternoon in broad daylight, too. Her movements aren't flighty (though sometimes I think she does move faster than would be considered normal for a BP?) and I checked her respiration rate-- she wasn't breathing shallowly or laboriously by any means. She spends a lot more time outside her hide, but hasn't stopped using it, either.

Right now, she's tucked securely inside her hide and has been that way for a solid few hours. Her temps and humidity are closely monitored with multiple digital thermometers/hygrometers and t-stat regulated, so I'm fairly confident in her husbandry as nothing has changed (only improved) since her arrival.

I know the rule of thumb is "a hiding ball python is a happy ball python" but it just confuses me that she's eating and shedding properly while still exhibiting signs of "roaming stress". Could it be that she actually feels secure enough to explore, or am I really doing something wrong?

If it helps, husbandry specs are:
- 20 gal glass tank
- maintained 60%+ humidity (rarely, if ever, drops below 55%) with a 10-20% boost during shed
- 88-91F hot spot, cool side dips to 73, but she has a third "middle hide" where the heat gradient is low-mid 80s
- CHE above tank to maintain ambient temps at ~80F
- appropriately sized water bowl
- coco husk substrate
- a few clumps of sphagnum moss for humidity (I do keep a very close eye on it to make sure it's never too damp or begins to mold)

As always, a great big thank you to everyone who offers their two-cents!

[Craiga 01453]

Doesn't sound like a problem.

It could be hunger. How much does she weigh and what size prey are you feeding? If I had to guess, she's hungry.

Also, you don't want her cool side dipping below 75.

Other than that everything seems fine.

[Alter-Echo]

A few of mine will do this, though mind you it's in the evening but it's before the lights go out. Usually it's when they are hungry.

[Sunnieskys]

Well said craig.

[threadgoode]

Yes, I do believe hunger could be it. Her last weigh-in had her at 134g. The place I got her from said she was feeding on live hopper mice every 7 days, but I have been feeding her f/t rat fuzzies (I've seen on a chart that they are equivalents to mice hoppers, but please correct me if I'm wrong) every 5 days since I was a little skeptical and she seemed a bit underweight. I started weighing the fuzzies after I ran out of the larger ones. The last two I've fed her were 14-15g. They look a bit on the small side, though. I've been meaning to start her on small rat pups (in the 19-20g range) every 7 days. Do you guys think that's a good idea? Or should I feed larger while still keeping on a 5 day schedule since she's still relatively young (4months)? I know not to exceed 1.5x her largest width, but right now I feel like she's eating prey barely reaching 1x her largest width.

[threadgoode]

Also, thanks Craig for calling out my mistake on having the cool side too low. I'll get to bringing the heat up immediately!

[Craiga 01453]

I say start with the rat pups. 19-20 grams is a good size right now. Every 7 days will be fine.

[cchardwick]

I have a few ball pythons that are 'runners'. I think for some it comes natural, they just have a more curious nature to them. For some of my larger females they tend to run a bit when its breeding season, I believe they are looking for a mate. In that 20 gallon tank your BP may feel a bit exposed and insecure. I'd suggest adding more decorations to the tank like some fake plants and driftwood, maybe cover up three sides of the tank and just leave the front open too. I've found that most ball pythons will stop running when you move them from a glass tank to a grey tub (ARS tubs in my case).

[CALM Pythons]

I have one thats very active. She only spends from around 5:30am to 6pm in her hides. When she comes out she climbs for hours and will nap on a perch for a hour or two, she wakes and climbs some more. She will even lay stretched out in the open basking. I had to tell myself to stop dwelling on it because I was actually looking for problems that work there hahaha. She isnt stressed or afraid and will come to my arm if i open the door and wAit there long enough ( she moves like a turtle) climbing onto me. Here is a pic of what she does for 12 hours out of 24


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[artgecko]

I see increased activity when they are hungry. I also have one female that is much more outgoing and active. The other day, I was checking tubs and she was at the front of her tub. When I opened it, she started to poke her nose out. I left her tub open while I did other things and found her exploring the top of her rack lol. The other two BPs in that rack stayed snug in their hides inside their tubs the whole time...But both of those are very shy individuals that need a hide inside a CB70 clear tub to feel secure. This girl doesn't even use or need a hide in her tub.

She is my one BP that I'll eventually get a PVC cage for to facilitate her exploring / moving around. The others seem far too reserved / skittish to enjoy a larger open cage.