I need a Los Angeles Vet for my ball python.

[Bogertophis]

https://www.snakesforpets.com/can-ba...ns-hear-sound/

According to this, yes. So excessive street noise, yes. Say, like a motorcycle whizzing by. And some air vibrations, which explains why she freezes when I talk to her and say, "Ah, there you are. Do you want to sit in my lap?"

She probably can also *smell* me. When I'm in the room, she always turned her head towards me, and when she's about to try to escape, takes a flick of her tongue in my direction before dashing. (Yes, I know their eyesight is poor, but their sense of smell outmatches ours). She also sometimes actively comes to find me. I know that sounds weird, but a few times she escaped, then realized there was no food, and then came to my bed, slithered over me and waited. (And mind you, I really did try to secure her cage. But she managed to bop her head against the screen enough to loosen the old silicone, and then pushed out. (during breeding season). She injured her nose on the screen once. Mind you, at the time her cage was big enough and well-furnished.

She once escaped and hid under my desk and stayed there for a month. I couldn't retrieve her, but checked on her. She'd flick her tongue at me.

So, some air sounds, yes.

But definitely her behavior isn't a typical ball python by a long shot. She's female, so is supposed to be all still during the breeding season, but she's not. (My other female isn't either, so I don't know about that--maybe they didn't study enough... The most escapes I've had were during the breeding season.)

This one hates belly heat and I'm trying to figure out how to accommodate that. Her favorite hiding spots outside her cage are all heat from above, rather than below. None of my other snakes seem to care. But this one really cares. Her current favorite spot is on a book, positioned just so (otherwise she will not hide there and believe me I tried other positions, but then she disappeared or tried to escape.) on the rack system with the heat coming from above heating the snake above her. She'll sit there all day. And then I gave her a water bowl and she'll drink from the water bowl, go back and then at night want off the spot, explore and go find me, and then I let her sit on my lap under a blanket, before putting her in her cage, then in the morning, when I pass by, she squirms her head against the screen until I open the cage, and then I put her back on that spot. She's deemed it her favorite spot in the entire apartment. And I'm trying to adjust her basking spot better, a few times, but she wants *that* spot and protests until she gets it.

She likes to greet the sun in the morning. She'll come out at dawn, stick her head out. When she was smaller, she'd also try basking in it. And then go back to hide in mid-morning to evening. She begs for food, too, by putting her head on the place where I put the rats usually around the time I feed her.

Also, I think ball python sense of direction is better than we give credit for. She managed to navigate back to her open cage when she escaped where her water bowl was.

None of my other ball pythons do this, though. They all go back to their hiding spots easily. They hide for most of the day, and they don't care where the heat is coming from. Her daughter, though, begs for food, like she does.

She does not like me touching her head--which is to be expected, but she'll freeze in place if I use a q-tip and have neosporin on it. (This one confounds me. Every other snake always runs away.) I do periodically check her mouth for mouth rot and check her teeth, especially if her sounds are a bit off.

Iunno, they definitely have personalities 'cause they have preferences and different behaviors. She's really quirky for a ball python.

Waiting for the results of the test. Her tail is a bit swollen from where they were drawing blood, but I figure that's normal given what happened. She's still treating it as sensitive. (Doesn't let me touch it, hold it, and holds it in such a way it doesn't touch objects. I'm doing a thorough clean out with F10 sc. TT It hurts me I can't upgrade her like I planned though. It'll be a few months before I can upgrade her to a bigger cage. She deserves at least a 4-5' cage. (I want a 6ft, but my apt is too small)

This is long post & I'll comment in the same order as what you've written-

We're in agreement (also w/ this & other articles) as to what snakes can actually "hear".

How she perceives you when in the room: unlikely to be "scent" if she's in her enclosure & depending on the distance & air currents in the room. Snakes see motion pretty well, but they just don't rely on vision to know for certain what's heading their way- to narrow it down takes all their senses (touch, scent, warmth). I'm not sure how far away snakes w/ heat sensing pits can detect body heat, so that may also be part of her recognition. In my long association with snakes, their vision seems mostly to recognize the approach of either prey or predator, until whatever it is gets closer & their other senses can help distinguish which one it is.

Seems odd that she'd not like "belly heat" but maybe it's too hot? What is the accurate temperature inside her home where she can contact the warmth most directly w/ substrate pushed away???

Sense of direction: not only BPs but all snakes MUST learn their way around in nature (using all their senses as best they can) so they can find their way back to safety (shelter from excessive heat or cold, & from predators). Snakes are very hard to test, but some attempts have been made, using touch & scent cues designed for snakes, that reportedly showed they learn their way around as well or better than rats in mazes. So keep that in mind.

I also know from personal experience that snakes learn & remember things better than most people believe. I also agree with you that snakes, not just BPs, have their own personalities too. But we only see what we are willing to acknowledge when we do see it, eh? It takes an open mind, so not all will agree there, but that's okay. I'm quite sure that you see more interesting behaviors because you clearly spend more "quality time" with her than many others do with their pet snakes, & provide her with an enriched environment with periodic activity outside her enclosure- this all makes perfect sense. If you kept a child locked in a room for years, they'd not learn things either- they'd seem very clueless, & of course, you'd be charged with child abuse too. (I'm not, however, suggesting that anyone lets their pet snakes "free-roam" their houses -either indoors or out- without close & constant supervision, as there are dangers for them at every turn for which their instincts leave them unprepared, & because inevitably they're much better than we are at playing "hide & seek".)

She's obviously in good & caring hands with you. Thanks for sharing your thoughts & observations.