is this normal?

[dickyknee]

he is acting completly normal in the tank and most of the time when you hold him but he balls up when you put him in ur pocket on ur hand.... like u hold him on ur hand n put him in the pocket of ur jacket he'll ball up and then when you take him out he'll stay like that and not move till hehas to.... if that makes sence.......??

Hally i'm not an expert by any means , but if you have only had it for a few days and you are sticking it in your pocket , i would say its stressed out . I know its hard to not paly with them when you first get them , but leav him to settle for a awhile .
I would suggest you do get some "wire cages " for your lights as other have said , the cage looks good though .

handling after a feed is not good , but i am sure it will not end in certain death .

 

[Hally]

yeah im just saving up for the light cage..bit short of cash after byeing the herps...lol....

 

[rumpig]

Definately put a wire cage over the heat lamp. One of yours snakes will sit on top of it and get burnt one day.

 

[pythoness]

also Hally, live plants are not the best choice, as they can harbour bacteria and mites. there are so many types of beautiful fake plants that are easy to keep clean and wont die in the tank.
don't think that has anything to do with his stress, just an observation.
mwah.
P.

 

[Hally]

thanks for the tips guys...i will move the plants and put cages over the lights...does any one else have anything to say about the cage or the snake

 

[krusty]

i have never seen a snake do that.

 

[ScottBec]

We have a coastal and two other hatchies - they've never done this but an observation about your viv, well a personal opinion is maybe put something on the wall for the snake to hide in that's off the ground...

I know Reptilian and some others use the plastic pots from bunnings that have a flat back, then screw to the wall - I thought our little hatchies would get in and have some trouble getting out of the big ones, so I used paper mache' to make little hang on the wall boxes - I'll fire up the camera and take a pic for you - - -

But all three of our snakes love them - usually by afternoon they have their heads over the top, watching what's going on and waiting for the sun to go down...

 

[ScottBec]

here is one of them - they don't have to be flash - but something for you to consider - and cheep!!

 

[Hally]

thanks for the great idea i will get onto it straight away....i never thought of something like that i knew i had to get a hid up high i just didnt no how to do it

 

[peterjohnson64]

People with heaps more knowledge than me have already replied to this but I would have thought that the enclosure is too big for the snakes. It will be great when they grow a bit but they should really be in tubs for now. Secondly, buying a light cage will probably end up doing more harm than good unless you cover it with fly screen mesh. A hatchie carpet will be able to get through the normal size mesh on light cages. If he does this and then the light comes on he may have difficulty getting out quick enough. Personally, I would buy a couple of tubs and put them inside that cage for a while.

 

[Hally]

yeh i tried that but there a little to big for tubs and dont look comfortable there about 45 or so cm.... with the light cages i was going to put mesh around them so they couldnt get through neways... but thanx 4 the idea...

 

[pugsly]

Put them into click clacks on a heat mat mate. You will notice the difference, snakes dont need alot of room, 2/3s there body length is plenty for the length of the enclosure, most breeders keep there snakes in tub systems and they do fantastic.

 

[cris]

A few tips for ya :wink:
Make sure when u feed them they are in seperate containers otherwise one can constrict and/or eat the other by accident.
Rather than a light cage just position the branches so they cant reach the bulb, after a month or 2 of good feeding put on a light cage.
As mentioned they would do better in a smaller enclosure, or if u dont want to do that put in some more shelter such as a larger hollow log cut in half, or cover half of the front of the enclosue with something. young snakes are very nervous and generally stress alot in such a large open space.
IMO the 'balling' is almost definately stress related behaviour, he is hiding his head so u cant kill him.

 

[punk_uzi]

yeah my coastal did exactly what yours was doing 4 a while but i left him alone for about a week then he was good you just have to let them settle in for a while

 

[Nome]

yeah my coastal did exactly what yours was doing 4 a while but i left him alone for about a week then he was good you just have to let them settle in for a while

Huh? I don't get it, wasn't Hally using your log in before? You posted up the pics of the cage, etc.. I'm confused.

Whoever owns the enclosure.....I would also suggest you remove the heat rock, there's been a many accidents with those used with pythons.

And if you don't already, using actual hides, places they can go into and fit their wholeself into and not be seen will also help your snake/s settle down. you can get good fake rock hides quite cheaply from various reptile suppliers.

Good luck with her/them.

 

[punk_uzi]

yeh ur right we live together lol we just wanted to see if the pic worked n i was being stupid... but yeah we have actual hides if you have a look at the pic of the enclosure u'll see it towards the back on the floor its a black rock.. were taking out the plants n moving things around 2moz we got a log 4 them to... so there will be lots of hides etc 4 them

 

[triptych_angel]

Good luck with your snake....i hope it calms down for you.

 

[punk_uzi]

Thanx He already has... for instance this morning when i was changing the newpaper and water he came up 2 me n was crawling all over my hands... so i think he'll be fine....

 

[scotchbo]

see a little bit of patience and he is your mate in no time lol

 

[punk_uzi]

lol... sure is....