spotted python hiding under substrate ?

[shaffycat]

Hi everyone
just wondering if some one could shed some light on why our little spottie is doing what she is doing atm
ok so she is about 16mth old and has been eating and sheding on a regular basis
her cage temps have been stable and she has been handled only now and then to get her used to it.
her set up is a layer of bark type substrate which she seems to like and under that we put a layer of black plastic

ok so now the strange bit... over the last 2 weeks she has eaten her food and then done her usual bask under the lamp to digest then she dissapears underneath the black plastic and stays there ..... she was due for a meal on saturday and we got her out but noticed she was milky looking so we left her and after a little bit she again just went underneath the black plastic and thats where shes been ever since...we are not worried about feeding her as she would probably come out if she was really hungry but we are wondering why she has gone into this hiding mode as she was normally a lot more socialable and would come out at night for a bit of a cruise around her cage - she is very used to her set up and knows the warm end from the cold end and uses it accordingly

we have also put the temp probe underneath the plastic where she is and it's sitting at 25.6 atm
the cool end is sitting at around the 27 - 28 mark and the warmer end around the low to mid 30 area

so does she want the cool end cooler or is this just a phase she is going though.... we thought she would come out for her shed as she was very milky looking but so far nothing so we are going to leave her alone and see what goes on

is this normal behaviour ?

 

[smithson]

if shes in shed mode its ok how long has she been milky for?

 

[Python-Lover4lyf]

When they shed (sometimes) they just decide they want to hide from the world so that's why she's hiding and it's taking so long because where she is the temps are low. Temps effect how long it takes to shed. The cooler it is the longer it'll take. Just give her some more time and she'll come out all nice and new and ready for a feed

 

[shaffycat]

if shes in shed mode its ok how long has she been milky for?

about a week so we figure she is just taking her time

 

[smithson]

ok it can take up to 7 days from the eyes going back to the norm

 

[angie90]

Very normal for a snake in shed. All of mine hide for 1-2 weeks beforehand.

 

[shaffycat]

thanks everyone... lol I'm more concerned about her than my son (his snake) he is more chilled about it all - I'm like a new mum all over again with a new baby
we did notice that her last shed took a bit longer and I guess as she is growing longer and longer each time it will take a bit more time to work through.
and yes she always ends up so beautiful shiny and new and ravenous for a feed so I guess I will just have to be patient

 

[richardsc]

yeah,would be hiding under there due to being close to shedding,she would feel more secure under the plastic i would imagine,like a tight fitting hide,a week or so after being milky is normal,so should see a shed very shortly

 

[shaffycat]

can't wait to see her new shiny coat... lol she is so pretty when she has shed. I am so addicted to watching her when she is out and about in her cage I miss it when she's in hiding

 

[Python-Lover4lyf]

she's taken longer the last and present shed due to it cooling down as i mentioned earlier the cooler it is the longer it takes for them to shed. Oh well the wait will make it so much more special when she does finally shed aye ...

 

[shaffycat]

ok so our little girl has finally shed ...... we checked her out on the weekend and her discarded skin was all neatly knotted up under the plastic with her so we got her out for a bit of a handle and a feed which she took no problems. after feeding she had a bit of a bask then disappeared under the substrate again and looks like staying there again for some time....

I'm wondering if the globes we have in atm which are the blue phillips brand are too bright for her.... we were using the crompton ones but are having trouble getting more - I noticed the phillips ones are not coated with as much blue colouring as the crompton and thought maybe she dosen't like the fact that they are so much brighter..... ?
it's really strange as she was so much more sociable and tended to explore her cage and would even sleep on her stick and basking log out in the open and now the last few weeks she just hides under the substrate ??

I am ordering in more crompton globes to see if it makes any difference so was curious if anyone thinks this might be the case or just that she likes to hide - otherwise she is growing really well and loves her feeds so don't think there are any health issues
we even turned down the heat just a 'smidge' to coax her out as it's approx 25 degrees under the substrate and thought she would come out to get warmer but she was happy to stay there.
anyway just wondering as I am a typical mum and always like to see my babies happy and healty both human and reptilian
thanks

 

[notechistiger]

It is getting colder now. Odds are she doesn't want to be as social (not that snakes are social >.>) if she's slowing down for the winter.

 

[shaffycat]

oh ok.... was thinking towards that direction - so she is happy to be at the colder tempreture then ?
also do we just leave her be or do we get her out and offer her a feed ?
do we leave the tempreture settings as it is or turn up/down?
sorry for the questions.... I do a lot of reading but there is a lot of information out there and some of it can be misleading so prefer to ask you guys on here as you seem to be really helpful and I am loving learning about our little girl as we go