New BP very active during the day despite good husbandry and appetite.

[SU1C1D3MACHINE]

Hi everybody,

New account here, but had been reading the forums for a long time prior to getting my new ball python, Monty, a couple of weeks ago. I'm needing some opinions/thoughts on my little guy, but I want to give a little back story to get ya'll up to speed:

Tank set up:
Before I bought him I set up a 40gal terrarium with two hides (1 hot/1 cool), I keep the hot side ~90-93F and the cool side ~78-80 w/ UTH controlled by a thermostat. I have a digital thermometer with a probe on the warm side, one with a probe on the cool side, and one with a probe at the midway for ambient temp (ambient usually 80-83F). I have digital hygrometer with the probe at the halfway ~1 inch from substrate and I keep the humidity about 50-65% depending on how often I spray it. There are also cheap-o dial thermo/hygrometers still in there that I initially bought for convenience until I got my digitals in the mail. I have two small trees, a large water bowl, a big tree trunk, and some extra stuff to "clutter" his house so he is more comfortable. His terrarium is in my living room, but it's only me here and there aren't a lot of footsteps.

After bringing him home I left him alone for five days, fed him two rat fuzzies, and then didn't handle him for two days. I weighed him when I could handle him and he was 243g. His behavior was typical, he would pretty much just hangout in his warm hide.

Now, here is where I need some help. The last week or so he began to get very active during the day, like he is trying to escape his cage because he was hungry or something. His temperatures are fine on all thermos, his humidity is fine on both hygrometers. Out of curiosity (I should have done this previously!) I weighed the fuzzies and they were only like 6g a piece, so I assumed he needed the next step up in food. I went and bought him rat pups (~22g) four days ago, fed him and he was back to being chill for the next couple of days. Well, he is now active again. I've checked his husbandry, he doesn't have mites, he peed a few days ago and I cleaned it out. He hasn't pooped yet so maybe that's it, but he is acting like he is hungry again and trying to escape his cage.

Any advice, thoughts, or opinions would be greatly helpful. I'm not sure if he is just exploring because he is young, or if is he hungry and if should I try and feed him every 5 days. I was thinking give him a rat pup + rat fuzzy next time (~28g) and see if that helps.

Thanks ya'll.

[Craiga 01453]

Welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of snake keeping!!

Sounds like you've done a great job getting everything set up. I might drop the hot side down a bit though. I go 89-90.

Also, the 2 general rules of thumb for feeding juvenile BPs are:
1) feed prey approx the same width as the snake at its widest point
2) feed prey that is 10-15% of the snakes weight.

So, you've been feeding a bit under those guidelines, but not by much. I see no need to feed every 5 days. Just feed an appropriately sized meal weekly and you'll be good to go.
He's likely cruising because he's a bit hungry. Since he hasn't pooped yet he's likely using the entirety of his meal to sustain his growth. He also may be looking for an ideal spot to hide and the warm side is a bit too warm for him.

I don't think you need to change much, but a few minor tweaks may make all the difference you need.

Good luck and keep us posted, we're happy to help

[SU1C1D3MACHINE]

Welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of snake keeping!!

Sounds like you've done a great job getting everything set up. I might drop the hot side down a bit though. I go 89-90.

Also, the 2 general rules of thumb for feeding juvenile BPs are:
1) feed prey approx the same width as the snake at its widest point
2) feed prey that is 10-15% of the snakes weight.

So, you've been feeding a bit under those guidelines, but not by much. I see no need to feed every 5 days. Just feed an appropriately sized meal weekly and you'll be good to go.
He's likely cruising because he's a bit hungry. Since he hasn't pooped yet he's likely using the entirety of his meal to sustain his growth. He also may be looking for an ideal spot to hide and the warm side is a bit too warm for him.

I don't think you need to change much, but a few minor tweaks may make all the difference you need.

Good luck and keep us posted, we're happy to help

Thank you, Craig. I've tried to be on point with his husbandry, but I'm still learning as I go. I've now got his hot side at 90.3F and he is now just chilling half way in his hide and halfway peaking through the glass. I'm fortunate that he eats F/T rats like a beast so I think I'll try one rat pup + fuzzy to get the % up and see if that keeps full a bit longer. I appreciate the feedback and will update.

[Craiga 01453]

Thank you, Craig. I've tried to be on point with his husbandry, but I'm still learning as I go. I've now got his hot side at 90.3F and he is now just chilling half way in his hide and halfway peaking through the glass. I'm fortunate that he eats F/T rats like a beast so I think I'll try one rat pup + fuzzy to get the % up and see if that keeps full a bit longer. I appreciate the feedback and will update.

Happy to help! You're off to a great start. And keep in mind, there's not one "right" way to do things. So try to stick to what experienced keepers are advising while you learn the basics. Then, as you learn more and have some experience "reading" your snakes body language, you'll be able to tweak things so it works best for you and your snake.
Keep up the good work!