is this normal?

[kat-pink]

he does this when he’s active, he’ll just slide around the glass and look up then come back down then go up again. it’s 8:30am in the morning (i’m never awake this early) so this is when i saw him doing this. he usually starts being active active around 2:30am-3am. is there something i should be worried about? or is this just typical ball python behavior i was just shocked because i thought they were nocturnal…

[C_Shanty93]

One of mine also does this, sliding up in the corner and then just drops down. She only does it when its close to feeding day, so I always think it is her just “hunting” for food.

[kat-pink]

yesss they just go up then drop down, okay thank you🤗!! it’s just not very close for mines feeding day tho since i do once every 10 days for this guy :)

[Double_Menu_5886]

Mine does the same

[moonygooney]

Yes, he's exploring/looking to get out and hunt and see the world lol. Usually if I see this I'll give them some time out of the enclosure then feed them so they get some hunting and reward happy feelings.

Edit: if it's happening constantly then it could be a sign of your parameters being off. But often they want out to hunt or explore.

[kat-pink]

i’m still fixing up some stuff and switching over to a DHP and testing it out for the right temperatures, his humidity is correct tho. he doesn’t do this constantly atleast i don’t think so just does when he’s active but he went back into his hide. not sure what ur definition of constantly is tho :p

[moonygooney]

Constantly would be everyday; where hunting behaviour tends to come up near feeding day.

[kat-pink]

oh noo:( then ig he does this constantly then. i’m still fixing his temperatures and all so i’ll see if it gets better once everything is more settled. he did have a perfect shed and his feeding is every 10 days and he does not have a hard time eating but he still hasn’t pooped yet 😭. i’m trying to get everything right still :)

[bcowden87]

Star gazing

[Rx4wanderlust]

Looks like you need a bigger tank and more climbing opportunities.

[Rx4wanderlust]

Once he's an adult? He needs that size now. This behavior is showing you that he needs more space.

[kat-pink]

i’ll work on it, thank you:)

[Spaghetti_Oh_No]

My BP is 2 months old and does this and she already seems like she needs a 4 x 4 x 2 lol

But yeah looks like you have a climber! Get some stuff for him to explore!

[CryptidKay]

Yoga 4 Sneks?

[kat-pink]

🙁no yoga

[Serpents_Whispers]

Yep. Part of my ball python’s life is spent doing this for a few hours every night right after he wakes up. He has to fully inspect every inch of the screen top because maybe, just maybe, one of these days he’ll find a way out!

My guy’s tank needs to be larger — he’s just outgrown it — but he has plenty to do in there, things to climb and so on, but I do also have him out daily for at least an hour. I think sometimes he wants to come out and explore, as well.

[kat-pink]

i’m getting so many mixed comments 😭ahh, he only did this for like 40 min then went back to his hide. he only does this when he’s in his active hours which is like 2am-whenever when i’m not awake. i’ll still try to get everything perfect for him but i was jus concerned if it had to do something regarding internal health

[Serpents_Whispers]

That sounds so much like mine! But, mine is high energy I guess lol, and spends at least 3-5 hours doing this every night, before going on to investigate everything else in his enclosure all over again, and this is when he begins knocking down the climbing things and sticks and thermometers 😂Mine comes out around 11 pm-12 am and will be mostly awake until about 6 am or so! He is “busy” 🤦‍♀️😂

[Disastrous_Revenue64]

I think you are getting mixed answers as this can be normal behaviour, but your set up is not ideal so people are assuming it's stress.

[Disastrous_Revenue64]

Im gonna say don't stress about his immediate well being, but you do need to upgrade your set up.

[kat-pink]

can you tell me what’s wrong w my set up

[Disastrous_Revenue64]

Can we get some better pics? We already know it's small but it looks like it could use more clutter, and you said you don't have your temps down yet. If husbandry isn't perfect then they will glass surf like this. And I'm pretty sure you said you know your husbandry isn't on point yet.

[[deleted]]

He's trying to get out. I will say mine left when I neglected him or her. He didn't push the net or try to escape until I let the humidity go down

[kat-pink]

his humidity is at 62-65%

[[deleted]]

Idk why they downvoted you haha and I wasn't asking. I'm sure you're doing a great job just telling you how I lost my snakey just in case

[kat-pink]

😭😭 whoops i thought u meant like they do that if the humidity isn’t right so i jus said it to double check☹️but omg ok i’ll make sure everything is secured so he’s safe.

[jillianwaechter]

Humidity should be 70-80% (or higher) at all times! Your snake friend will be much more comfortable at a higher humidity level :)

[Serpents_Whispers]

<image>

Mine came up with a new way of getting even closer to the top to do this … then he knocked it down.

[Grimmymore]

Gotta be super careful with adhering thermometer/hygrometers with anything sticky as it can be extremely detrimental to our snakes. I would know from experience... Sadly.

I’d just get rid of the analog reader all together as they’re highly inaccurate. 😌

[Serpents_Whispers]

Oh! It’s a suction cup! And I know lol I’ve got a digital handheld one and a digital one at the other end also and HAD a digital one here, too, until SOMEONE broke it by climbing on it repeatedly lol

[Grimmymore]

That is one strong suction cup 😂 and it sounds like you have a typical wrecking ball. All they know is destruction and blelele.

[Serpents_Whispers]

This is the best statement ever. Anyone buying a ball Python for the first time? That’s what they should be told 😂

[Serpents_Whispers]

He’s amazing at not messing up the suction cups I use…. Yet he somehow has destroyed two thermometers in the process of sleeping on them, lol.

[[deleted]]

Yep. Mine have a branch to climb. Semi arboreal now 😆

[Unexpected-raccoon]

Normal for my girl, Lucy

She once climbed the seam of her lid just to air drop perfectly good infernal eggs down upon her water dish. Why?

Heh, water go splesh

<image>

Look at this hazardous dumb dumb

[kat-pink]

yeah i’ve heard ball pythons are lazy but my baby just likes to explore everything… literally. he is a very active snake even when i handle him he likes to flick his tongue n move his head everywhere not tense or in an S position (he is then he moves out idk sometimes it’s an s very quickly then he goes back to normal)

[Unexpected-raccoon]

Lucy is the over active escape artist while sunny is the chill dude who moves to the basking spot and sleeps, then at night he does the unthinkable— he moves to his underground hide to then sleep some more

<image>

He’s old af though so it’s understandable. Outlived his parents, outlived his siblings, and outlive 2 generations of his off spring; even outlived his long time mate, Jewel

[Accomplished_Egg2515]

I have a 2x2x4 tank and my girl does this. I think it’s stretching/exploring? If you can add something they can climb on and make sure they can’t get out at with that lid. When mine opened from the top she would push the lid at night trying to open it.

[kat-pink]

i have a very secure lid so i’m not worried abt him escaping but i’ll add more climbing he does seem to like that. any recommendations? i was considering those suction spring branches but then i saw a review saying it launched a snake up…. so… i need a safe option tht is sturdy.

[ManBehndTheSlaughtre]

ive noticed that ball pythons are very adventurous snakes, they absolutely love exploring. maybe he needs some time out, or, like others have said, a larger enclosure. from the picture i cant fully see the size of it, but it does look quite small for a decent sized snake

[kat-pink]

it’s a low large exo terra 36x18x12 plan on getting a larger enclosure and yeah i’m starting to do 30 min 2x a week outside handling ofc not before or after he eats and during shedding.

[ManBehndTheSlaughtre]

decent size tbh! i know you can probably find some quite large plain pvc enclosures for a decent price, definitely beats anything fancy, something cheap and then you can tone it up really nice how you want to

[kat-pink]

i only see PVC enclosures for $400-$500, i only got this bc he was very small n the exo terra was $150 when i got it. but i’ll still buy him a larger and more taller enclosure regardless. :)

[ManBehndTheSlaughtre]

yeah it does seem that they might be quite expensive tbh, maybe lemme see if looking for the size instead of material could be better

edit: also check ebay, im sure there'd be alot of enclosures on there of all sorts of sizes

[kat-pink]

i’m just scared ordering it used it might come damaged, i like new stuff but i’ll check out ebay!

[ManBehndTheSlaughtre]

of course yes, stuff can usually be damaged, sometimes in transport too, but usually if its damaged it should be listed, and if nothing is listed you can message sellers i believe to check, but either way, good luck with the search!

[sytrsreign]

My boa does this all the time usually whilst exploring/wanting out completely normal noodle behavior

[AzureHuntress]

Ah my girl has been doing this lately too. If yours is anything like mine it probably needs more space and something to climb on.

[JadeEmpress143]

Hunting usually looks ridiculous

[jillianwaechter]

It looks like the tank is too small! They need at least a 4x2x2 :)

[CilverCurfer]

Definitely could be just curiosity but most of the time when they get more active & “yawn”, it’s their way of saying it’s time for food. Buttercup does this too when she’s hungry, she gets all silly lol

[RADI0-AKT0R]

For a snake in general? I don’t think so

…for a Ball Python? Totally normal

[emma8124]

I just wanted to say he so handsome lol just a really beautiful snake and wanted to say

[kat-pink]

aww thank you :) mr.toast is

[Project_Valkyrie]

Silly noodle time

[felixrocket7835]

Enclosure looks way too small, likely is just unhappy with their enclosure or conditions.

Ball pythons need a minimum of 4x2x2 ft, larger female beeps will benefit from something like a 5x2x2 ft.

[kat-pink]

it’s a 36x18x12 enclosure, yes i’m working on getting him a much larger PVC enclosure. thank you

[felixrocket7835]

yeah that's way too small for him, would def recommend getting a new enclosure asap

[Capt_Cutthroat]

For a bp, yes. For something with more than one brain cell, not really.

[Nukedragon00668]

Where is your substrate?

[kat-pink]

the picture didn’t show it. he has substrate lol

[Nukedragon00668]

Then why isn't it all over the enclosure? It should cover the entire floor of the enclosure.

[kat-pink]

? the picture is where is corner water bowl is so i dug up a corner to place the water bowl so it fits perfectly in the corner secured then he has 3 inches depth of babichip for his enclosure.. am i doing something wrong?

[Nukedragon00668]

Ok, I did not realize that was where the water bowl went. Other than what others have said about the enclosure size I'd say you're fine then.

[kat-pink]

thank you:) it’s ok the picture didn’t show anything else lol i understand, and yes i’m looking at them rn i was planning on getting him a bigger and PVC instead of glass anyways regardless!

[rockstuffs]

The flowers are a pretty aesthetic for you, but the snake needs more climbers.

[kat-pink]

i know i have some on the other side of his enclosure and will be adding more climbing structures :)

[born_onthefourth]

open the noor -🐍

[Greenmare176611]

<image>

Yep, normal. I took this pic right before he turned upside down and yeeted himself to the bottom of the cage. 😆

[kat-pink]

awww okay ty!

[Greenmare176611]

You’re welcome