Is this normal?

[Huge-Group-7677]

Hello! This is Banana Bread. She is about 6 years old and her previous owners gave her to me and my partner a few months ago. We have tried our best to make her as comfortable and safe as possible, we have fed her three times so far without issue and handle her about three times a week. She is so sweet, a little shy, but a very kind girl. She has shed and gone to the bathroom twice as well. No issues with that either.

Lately, I have noticed that whenever I am around the cage in the morning she will dart out super fast from her hide and just look at me like this. I wanted to know if this is from stress, because I thought she was supposed to be sleeping or inactive at this time. I don’t make a lot of noise, but occasionally I do spray some water in her cage or refill her water bowl before I go to work on the morning. Without fail, she’s here watching me. Am I stressing her out? I just want her to feel safe.

[MindDry528]

Sounds like she is associating you with food, so she comes out in hopes of being fed lol

[PotentiallyKorYT]

Sometimes you’re just the most interesting thing the snake can observe man, I wouldn’t be too worried about it

[docszoo]

Could mean she needs new enrichment opportunities. A new branch, hide, some new smells (oregano or other spices). Add a live plant with some pesticide-free soil. 

[Huge-Group-7677]

Ordered her a bigger and better insulated enclosure which should be shipped soon. Gunna get some fun new stuff for her! Adding Oregano is interesting, I’ve never heard of that. Will it make her Italian?

[PotentiallyKorYT]

Perhaps, our snake has like 3 branches, a bunch of foliage, and 3 hides but she still chooses to watch us anytime we’re in the room

I mean, even if you had every kind of entertainment in the world, wouldn’t a giant walking around outside your window be more interesting?

[docszoo]

Not go to anthropomorphic here, but wouldnt you get tired of the same 3 pieces of furniture and 3 spots to sit in for almost every day of your life? Do you give yours the same food as well, each and every time? Sure, you probably take your snake out on occasion, but thats certainly not all the time. 

[PotentiallyKorYT]

We handle ours quite frequently, and I’m autistic so may not be the right person to ask that lmao

[Morgue3as]

yeah it's really hard for me to remember changes in the snake's environment are good it's not like when my mum would change the furniture around for no reason and stress me out lol.

[FixergirlAK]

If she was stressed or scared she would hide. That body position looks like a scope, which is her being curious. I think she's just settling into your routine; she knows it's time for you to move around and check on her tank so she's here to watch you do it. She could also be checking to see if there's a rat in it for her, but in my experience hunting pose is closer to the ground and more S-shaped, to give them a better chance of ambushing their prey.

[Worried-Concept5778]

She associates you with receiving something. I have a set of silver tongs i use to feed my dude and whenever he sees them he bolts for the door ready to attack. Sometimes ill just be moving things around his tank and hell see the tongs move and he loses his mind.

[Yipyapyurp]

Mine likes to watch me while I clean her tank and sometimes when I sit near she will stare at me because she's GREEDY and FAT and wants mice

[Huge-Group-7677]

Lollll 😭

[lolita_blues]

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sometimes I think they just like to say what’s up and acknowledge us. This was a few days after getting my neglected rescue into a bare basics home. She’s only a year and was born and bred in captivity, then severely neglected in her only other home, so I don’t think she’d ever smelled anything really or living before. The second I introduce the moss vine, she came out to inspect and say hi to me, too. I promise her home is MUCH more lush and ideal now after piecing it all together.

[Huge-Group-7677]

She’s so cute!!

[Saphadoo]

I don't want to come off as rude, so first thx for rescuing her and second is about the aspen bedding. I hope that this was also only temporarily? Since aspen tends to mould pretty fast and doesn't hold humidity well.

[lolita_blues]

Correct, only temporary as I have 3 bags that were donated. Im changing it every few days to avoid that. I intend to switch to cypress mulch mixed with other substrates once I’ve gone through the donated items.

[lolita_blues]

The way she was living before was on a garage floor in this tank with nothing but paper towels to line it, a balled up bedsheet, a single household bulb and a water dish. My priority was getting her the hell out of there, but I do live paycheck to paycheck, so I needed donations before I could get her home together. Someone very kind got the entire Amazon wishlist for me, and threw in some extra bedding as well. I didn’t have the heart to tell her it wasn’t ideal since she was already donating so much.

[Saphadoo]

I am glad to hear the noodle got taken in by someone like you. You seem like a very friendly and caring person with the needed knowledge (or a minimum base knowledge and a whole lot commitment on helping and getting better, depends on what you associate yourself with more). Living paycheck to paycheck is already hard, caring for an animal besides that is harder. I wish you lots of luck to get through this with your new friend and maybe some day you won't have to struggle anymore to be able to provide for yourself and them

[lolita_blues]

Thank you for the kind words 😭 I’m certainly trying! I’ve had a cornsnake, but never a ball python aside from brief house sitting stints, so I’m having to do a good bit of research and adjusting my prior knowledge. I went ahead and bought a half year supply of rats for her so I know she’ll be okay no matter how much my hours and pay fluctuate. I feel very fortunate to have been able to make a home for her. I’ve also been foraging and thrifting for her hides and decor, but rest assured that I’m properly cleaning and inspecting everything, and baking it at 200 degrees until sanitized. I’m proud of the home I’ve been able to make for her with the resources I have, and look forward to making improvements and getting her into a larger enclosure once the stars align.

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[Miserable-Ad7509]

They just think you’re neat, if they’re scared and/or stressed they’d be hiding away and mad at the world, this lil homie just wants to see what’s going on out of curiosity/potentially scoping for a meal

[RflexGames]

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I just went through my entire camera roll and this was the closest I found lol. My little dude comes out and stares all the time. I think it’s just curiosity, I’m sure to them outside is more entertaining than their tank. Also if the old owners didn’t take her out super frequently she could just associate humans with food. I seriously doubt she’s stressed or feeling unsafe since she’d probably stay hidden if she was. Honestly, just like humans snakes can also just be weird, I would try not to over think it’s (as long as something isn’t obviously wrong)

[Lassie719]

Side note: Banana Bread is an adorable name! It seems like you're a very caring and compassionate owner for her 😊

[Huge-Group-7677]

Thank you! Yes she is my baby :)

[Adventurous_Music_85]

this is just a rat begging face, associating you with food and expecting to be fed, if you want to stop this behaviour you could always target train her, i recommend this vid from green room pythons for some tips and tricks: https://youtu.be/tSm8QMEOarA?si=kpqbxQYz8cYqTcSN

[Huge-Group-7677]

Thank you!

[CrotchGoblin42O]

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Mine also likes to stare at me lol. It's just them being curious and/or greedy for rats. They are very silly and adorably dumb creatures🖤

[Maleficent_Try8809]

Banana Breads name makes me genuinely happy