Is my baby Ball Python ok?

[Bogertophis]

...Your baby looks very healthy and beautiful and the way he was hanging off the vines with the S-shape to his neck, staring down,
looks to me he is already looking for food....

Back when I raised a few BPs, I found that one of them had more "confidence" to pounce on his food (live rat crawler) from above; he'd wait from on top of driftwood.
So I think your vines are a good idea & he may well like to "hunt" from there? All of our snakes have some of their own personality, that's what makes them so much
fun to watch.

[Team Slytherin]

I think you've gotten some pretty stellar advice here, but I've got to simply chime in and say you picked up a beautiful little baby there! Congrats!

[Abigail23]

Wanted to update on him. I got his hot spot to 89-90 and his cool side to 78-80. Ambient temp is 80 as well! Even though the temps all right now he still in his vines not going into his hides. Same “S” shape position. So I’m starting to think he either hates his hides and feels safer hiding in his vines or he’s really hungry and hanging off “waiting” for food to pass by

[Bogertophis]

Well as long as you know the temps are ok, don't worry about where he likes to hang out (literally, lol...). Snakes like to grab onto things to feel secure*, & some
like to climb more than others. (*actually, they can hardly move if you put them on a smooth glass table; they use their muscles & their scutes to grip & push against
even the slightest surface texture, & they prefer knarled branches way over smooth dowels.) As BPs grow larger & heavier their climbing won't likely continue anyway.

[Abigail23]

Haha ok. I’ll try to worry less. I’ve been so stressed. I just keep thinking about the whole “a hiding Ball Python is a happy Ball Python” so I was stresseeeed!!! Like why isn’t he hiding ahhhh. Maybe after he gets some food this weekend he’ll change up a bit!

[Bogertophis]

Haha ok. I’ll try to worry less. I’ve been so stressed. I just keep thinking about the whole “a hiding Ball Python is a happy Ball Python” so I was stresseeeed!!! Like why isn’t he hiding ahhhh. Maybe after he gets some food this weekend he’ll change up a bit!

That's just it though...he thinks he IS hiding. Relax "helicopter mom"... And yes, he may be looking for food too, but he's not
starving. He's just showing you what he likes- he looks pretty happy to me.

[Zincubus]

I've skitted through the thread ...

What kind of hides are they incidentally??

Just wondering if they're those open ended log hides which offer virtually no security at all ..


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[Abigail23]

He has some DIY bowl hides I made from little plastic bowls. They’re just right for his size, and I even added some crumbled up paper towel in there for “back support” as someone suggested.

Tried feeding him a f/t hopper today. (He was on live before I got him) and he completely ignored it didn’t even come down from his vine. I’m pretty sad about it was really hopping he’d eat.

I left the mouse thaw out room temperature for an hour over his cage to get the smells going. Then I put it in hot water for 15 and also used the blow dryer till he surface temp was 98-100 to make him seem alive. Wiggled it around tried to get his attention and nothing

i didnt leave the mouse inside with him, I guess I’ll leave him alone and try again next week.

[SMTHook]

How did he react to the smell? Did activity increase? Tongue use increase? In other words, did the smell excite him?

[Abigail23]

Nope he didn’t even move from his vine. He just stood there. I threw the mouse away and took down his vines to see if that’d encourage him to use his hides and now he’s just wandering around, flicking his tongue around and climbing to the top of the cage trying to “escape” he’s a month and 3 weeks old. I don’t want him to go too long without food so I’m getting worried