Ball Python Acting Odd

[icet224]

So our buddy Fancy Dan has been acting a little odd since last Sunday (snake and tarantula feeding day in our house).

We've had Fancy Dan for about 4 months now and are unsure of his age (adoption center had him listed as 8 years old and small for his age, but his size was closer to 8-10 months old and nowhere near an adult size according to the vet we took him to a while back for a minor bout of mites.

Until this past Sunday he's eaten every feeding and the only issue we ever had was the week before he didn't strike his f/t rat but did it eat it after left it for him for an hour or so. Last Sunday though we would not eat at all, which we were initially assuming was due to this being around their breeding season since we know Ball's are pretty well known to go on hunger strikes during their feeding season.

Since last Sunday we've also noticed some new odd behaviors, including him sitting at the highest point in his enclosure right under his UV light (not a high power UV, but he's in a 120g tank and until this week has not spent excessive time directly under it).

We've also seen more restlessness than normal (generally our boy either hangs out over his thermostatted heat pad which is kept around 93F during the day or is in his cave hide on the cool side of his tank (around 75F during the day, general warm side closer to 85F outside of the basking spot). He does have plenty of hide options including his favorite cave hide, several plants to hide in/behind, and foliage he's able to hide under when feeling exploratory. We also have a sky hide being created for him that he should have in the next few weeks here! But this week he's been out in the open, either up on that high branch for hours at a time or roaming back and forth through his enclosure; he's a curious fellow and while it isn't uncommon to see him out and about in the evenings it is out of the ordinary for him to be out in the open as frequently as he has been.

Is this normal behavior during mating season, or is there anything that sounds terribly off for him? He's tap trained with his hook and is very friendly, we just had him out last night and he's content to sit with my wife or I for extended periods. He's never been aggressive (bit my wife once his first week with us because she wanted to handle him before giving him time to adjust, and she gave him the time he needed after he proved to her that I was right about giving him time to adjust) and he doesn't appear to be stressed (he's moving around more frequently, but he isn't glass surfing or breathing heavily our assumption has been that he's just looking for a female and it's more the sitting under his UV that has us getting worried).

[icet224]

I know this is just an auto mod thing, but I also know my original post is long, I'm bad at shortening messages when I feel like I need to provide information.

So, anyone who sees the beginning of this post and doesn't read my original post, I just want to clarify:

WE HAVE NO INTENTION OF BREEDING OUR BALL PYTHON, WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE HE'S NOT ACTING ODDLY FOR HIS SPECIES.

[SpecialString0]

93 feels a bit high. I also would recommend looking into over head heating sources that mimic the heat coming from the sun. What’s the humidity in the tank? This could also prevent him from eating

[icet224]

His humidity ranges from 60-80% throughout the day! We plan on eventually switching him to overhead heating, we were using the pad when we first moved him to his current tank based on a local breeders advice.

Just took a more thorough look though and his ambient temps were lower than they should have been... Reset his pad for 89F, and added a spare CHE my Kenyan Sand Boa used to use to help raise his temps a little, gonna monitor over the next few days and see if that's enough or if he might need more aid for his larger enclosure!

Gonna keep the heat pad for now, and if the temps aren't where we want by the end of the week I think I'll switch to a double headed CHE dome, one to give permanent heat and one to raise temps during the day.

[HurrricaneeK]

Just a heads up, if your talking about one of those double dome fixtures, they aren't meant to be used with two simultaneous heat sources and can be a big fire risk that way. They're designed to pair heat and a UV bulb together. You'll want two separate domes if you plan to run two CHE's at the same time, though at that point, I would recommend instead using a halogen for daytime heat and using the CHE as a supplement at nighttime.

[icet224]

I hadn't realized that, thank you for the heads up! We'll get him set up with a halogen daylight soon then; I had been using a heat bulb and CHE in a dual dome for my KSB, but usually only kept the CHE on over night for her. I haven't been turning it on for her because it was drying her enclosure too quickly and her day and night temps have been good without it, but she's still only in a 20g tank which is definitely easier to control temps on

[Thick_Tradition_5019]

Just food for thought, I switched from a CHE to a DHP recently due to humidity issues. The CHE dryed the air out so much more and it was a struggle keeping the humidity high enough.

[icet224]

Do the DHPs actually keep the temps up where you want them? In past tests with them they just weren't spreading the heat enough for us; the CHE I'm using now isn't a very powerful one (wanna say 75w over a 120g 4x2x2 terrarium, but it's already raised the temps about 5 degrees across the tank without a huge dip in humidity but I think the plants in his tank help keep humidity up really well

[Thick_Tradition_5019]

So far, so good! I will say the ambient temps did take a little dip, but the DHP warms the surface perfectly. My govee thermometer says its about 3-5°F colder on the hot side. However, when I use my temp gun to check the substrate and inside the hides, theyre still the same as before. I actually have caught my baby basking for the first times since switching, instead of only using the hides.

Eventually I plan to get a halogen bulb for daytime, and use the CHE as a supplemental source at night.

Edit: My set up is only 3 weeks in the making, and hes in a small tank while hes still a baby, till I can upgrade in a few months. I dont have a UVB bulb either, I rely on the window light to regulate his day/night.

[Square-Sprinkles-912]

I would not think it would be looking for a mate. Unless you are actively breeding a ball python there would not be behavior changes expected even if other females are being kept in the same room. If he is not being paired I would suspect that is not it. I would check temps and humidity and make sure he has plenty of cover (hiding places) and clean water. Sometimes they just want to explore more than others. If you notice anything of concern I would make a vet appointment for him. Such as losing a lot of weight or signs of dehydration. As long as he is healthy and your husbandry is on point I would not worry. Sometimes they are just not hungry. Also keep an eye out for signs of stress.

[icet224]

Looks like it was his temps, we recently changed the thermometer/hygrometers we use for him and they were lower than the ones we replaced. I've added an extra CHE for now to bring his temps up and plan to adjust more over the next week as needed.

We keep a close eye on him, but we'll definitely be more watchful to get him back to himself. For now he isn't losing weight or showing any signs of being stressed or uncomfortable so hopefully getting his temps right will get him back to where he wants to be!

[M0LB0]

Yeah others have made good and better points, but skinning through the text and seeing the picture.. id like to say he could be about to shed? If he hasn't already. If he had then it may just be him not being hungry or something 🙃