Why does my snake do this???

[Sadie]

Mine only "pace" like that when they don't have hides.

Security thing I would say.

[juddb]

just make sure it has a real dark secure hide . and also it might just be hungry, a few nights before my boy duncan eats he is usually crawling around the cage all night. my new girl is the same way.

[JLC]

My snakes never try to escape. I'm not saying they wouldn't take the opportunity if it presented itself.....but they're content enough in their own homes (apparently) that they are not always looking for a way out of it. I would definitely take that sort of behavior as a sign to look more closely at my husbandry.

[rabernet]

I don't know that a normal, unstressed ball python is always trying to escape. None of my seventeen are trying to actively get out of their enclosures. They may cruise around, but they aren't pushing at the lid by any means.

[Amy1217]

i think that it is normal for BP to get up and crawl around, and push on the top a little bit, but not for them to frantically try to escape, as many people have said here. Make sure that your temps are find, and if he just has 1 hide, go ahead and give him another one, to make sure that he is feeling secure.

[mr~python]

they will try to excape every chance they get.

that is incorrect. if your snake/s always try to escape take a look at your husbandry.

they should hardly ever try to escape. the only reason you would want your snake to be trying to escape is for food reasons.

ofcourse the odd push on the sliding door, screen, etc. is normal (just looking around), but them doing that all night is a bad sign.

[rmune0750]

Well I wouldn't say it's completely normal Ryan. BP's are nocturnal and of course move about when they wake up and part of that is checking out their enclosure but what exactly do you mean. Is the snake sort of frantically trying to escape or just nosing about? How long have you had the snake and has it always done this or is this a new activity?

the snake is just nosing about, its always been like this at night

[rmune0750]

a snake trying to escape all the time is not normal. what are your temps and humidity? does it have sufficient hiding areas?

yes, i have a hide on each side of the tank and the temps and humidity r correct

[rmune0750]

In my experience this is a symptom of a stressed snake - too much handling, about to defecate, inadequate hides, wrong temps (especially too hot).

i dont handle my snake that often so its def not from too much handling, i think the snake is just nosing around

[rmune0750]

just make sure it has a real dark secure hide . and also it might just be hungry, a few nights before my boy duncan eats he is usually crawling around the cage all night. my new girl is the same way.

thats definitely it, b/c I had to wait an extra few days before feeding my snake b/c i was on vacation